Department Statement

Sociology Department Statement, 2021 - In Solidarity with our Asian and Asian American Communities

To all who make up our CSU communities:

We stand at a pivotal moment in our nation’s history as we reckon with white supremacist violence against communities of color. The Department of Sociology at CSUF unequivocally condemns the gendered racial violence perpetrated against our Asian and Asian American brothers, sisters, and gender nonbinary peoples across this country. The rise in anti-Asian violence and harassment related to the COVID-19 pandemic has historical roots in racism that has characterized Asian migrants as carriers of disease who are “forever foreign.” The former president’s racist rhetoric of the “China virus” and “kung flu” contributed to these hateful acts. With over 3800 reported cases of violence against Asian Americans, 68% perpetrated against women since March 2020 (see below for more information on stopping AAPI Hate), we as a nation can no longer ignore and minimize anti-Asian racism, including its ties with settler colonialism and U.S. military occupation in the Asia-Pacific region.

The time to speak is now and to stand in solidarity with all of our Asian and Asian American students, faculty, staff, family, and communities who have experienced racism, violence, and discrimination. For anyone who might feel targeted, scared, angry, sad, and fearful for their elders, family, friends, communities, and themselves, please know we are here to support you. As a department, we send strength, support and love to the eight victims of the Atlanta shooter and their loved ones, six of whom were women of Asian descent. If you experience distress, it is your right as a student to connect with the Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS)Opens in new window (Phone: 657-278-3040). You are also entitled to the resources at You@fullertonOpens in new window , a virtual wellness platform designed to help you: 1) to succeed, 2) to thrive, and 3) to matter.

We need pan-ethnic, multi-racial, and gender and sexual-equity-based solidarities if we are to realize social justice. We draw our inspiration from a long history of Asian American movement organizers and activists who have worked in solidarity with the Black Freedom Struggle and Black Lives Matter, with Latinx peoples detained at the border and put in cages, and with Indigenous peoples to stop the Dakota Pipeline. In response to this crisis, Asian and Asian American community leaders ask that we see and act according to the reality that our freedom is collectively bound. We seek to continue this legacy of collective liberation against fascism, which divides our communities of color.

Thus, we embrace our diverse student body and our wider communities. We proclaim our department and courses, our faculty and staff, as repudiating hate speech, actions, and policies that compromise our beloved communities. Our educational spaces are dedicated to empowerment, knowledge building, equity, equal rights, dignity, and access for all of our students, regardless of citizenship, religion, sexual and/or gender identification, and race. In these sanctuary spaces, we can come together and counter the policies and ideologies that invigorate hate, and which stand to compromise social justice. In these efforts, we seek to build a loving and socially just community where our Asian and Asian American brothers, sisters, and gender nonbinary people can learn, grow, and fully embrace their lives.

In love and solidarity,

The Faculty and Staff of the CSUF Sociology Department, March 18, 2021

APIDA Resources:

For more information, or to report anti-Asian American violence, please visit the Stop AAPI Hate websiteOpens in new window . Stop AAPI Hate is an organization formed by the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council, Chinese for Affirmative Action, and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University.

To learn more and get involved please see Asian American Justice + Innovation Lab (AAJIL) websiteOpens in new window .

Our campus Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) provides a range of support services including a group for our students who identify as Asian Pacific Islander Desi/American. Please review the CAPS flyerPDF File Opens in new window for details.

We also encourage you to visit the Asian American Studies (ASAM) websiteOpens in new window and consider taking classes in that department in the future.

We stand in solidarity with the following university organizations, who are also offering support to students:

Counseling & Psychological Services: 657-278-3040

Dean of Students: 657-278-3211

Titan Dreamers Resource Center: 657-278-3234

African American Resource Center: 657-278-3230

Asian Pacific American Resource Center: 657-278-3742

Chicana/o Resource Center: 657-278-2537

LGBT Queer Resource Center: 657-278-4218

Support CSUF as a Sanctuary Campus

We welcome all members and partners of the people’s university to sign the following petition (written by R.A.C.E.) to support CSU Fullerton in becoming a sanctuary campus:

Sanctuary Campus Petition opens in a new window

The Faculty, Lecturers, Affiliated Faculty, and Staff of the CSUF Sociology Department, November 16, 2016