Statement on Atlanta shootings and anti-Asian American discrimination

The following message was sent to all students, faculty and staff by email on March 18.

Members of the SUNY New Paltz community:

In solidarity with the Asian and Asian American Communities and with faculty colleagues who have spoken out in recent days: We stand in grief and outrage with the Asian and Asian America Communities for the violent deaths of six women along with two others in Atlanta this week.

Sadly, their deaths are not random acts of violence. This country has long struggled with racism against those of Asian descent. From the days of the nation’s expansion west, to internment camps, to the rhetoric that labeled COVID-19 a “China virus or “Kung Flu,” and so many moments in between. The deaths of these women are also rooted in misogyny, as Asian women have been fetishized and objectified as exotic other.

We condemn this and other acts of hate against the Asian and Asian American Communities and within our mission pledge to continue to name, confront, and dismantle racism and the hierarchy of human value in all its forms.

Sincerely,

Donald P. Christian, President
Tanhena Pacheco Dunn, AVP for Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion and Chief Diversity Officer