Campus-Wide Message
In Response to the Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay Tragedies
February 1, 2023
Dear Pan Asian Council Community Members,
We understand that many have been wondering what we would say or do, if anything, regarding the tragic shootings at Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay. We thank you all for your patience as we worked to solidify plans before addressing the community. Attached is an official statement from our council along with information on a community support space we will host with the Asian Pacific American Cultural Center (APACC) this Friday to grieve the victims and to support each other during this difficult time. More details including the Zoom link will be in the letter. Our statement also includes campus resources and ways to support the victims and their families.
We thank you again for your patience and understanding.
Pan Asian Council's Response to Attack in Atlanta
March 17, 2021
Dear students, colleagues, allies, and friends –
Yesterday’s attacks in Atlanta that claimed the lives of 8 people, 6 of whom were Asian women, has sent shockwaves through our AAPI communities. We also recognize that the day before, on Tuesday, 33 Vietnamese refugees were deported from Texas to Vietnam despite many organizers attempting to stop this event. The numerous incidents of harm and violence this week are just the latest in the surge of hate crimes that have left many of us are hurting, afraid, and angry. And yet many more of us are seeking strength and solidarity in our community. We are here for you. You are not alone.
Please join us this evening to come together in community and unity -- to process, support, and uplift one another. Facilitators will be present to hold safe space and guide us in processing.
An Open Letter to Our University Community on Anti-Asian Harm
March 17, 2021
Please the open letter to our University Community by Executive Officer and Associate Vice President for the Division of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Dr. Liz Tovar, Associate Provost and Dean of International Programs, Dr. Russell Ganim, and the Pan Asian Council here: https://diversity.uiowa.edu/news/2021/03/open-letter-our-university-community-anti-asian-harm.
Pan Asian Council's Statement - Response to COVID-19
April 2020
The United States now leads the world in confirmed cases of COVID-19, rising to the top of the chart at an unprecedented rate of viral transmission. The pandemic has instilled social and economic anxiety as it manifests hot spots of infection across the nation. The Pan Asian Council (PAC) recognizes that as fears and tensions rise around the global pandemic, so too does anti-Asian discrimination fester in our communities. Dedicated to addressing and advocating for the diverse needs of the numerous Asian, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Indigenous communities at the University of Iowa, we acknowledge that racist sentiments have directly affected our members. We condemn anti-Asian bigotry, recognizing that xenophobia often disguises itself as a sensible reaction to crisis. We unequivocally reject: the racialization of the COVID-19 pandemic; the framing of COVID-19 as a wartime attack from foreign lands into our national borders; and the prescribing or associating of a nationality to the virus and disease, which only works to confirm that nationality as the viral disease.
See this page for full text and signature for solidarity.
Diversity Councils' Joint Communication
Diversity Councils' Joint Open Letter to President Harreld and Top Administration
July 2020
See full text of the Open Letter and response on this page.
** This open letter is written, delivered, and published jointly by all the Diversity Councils. Our coalition is rooted through collaboration and communal, horizontal leadership. As such, this letter stands on its own: we have no spokespeople for the document and we will not be doing individual interviews with the press. Because of our commitment to open dialogue and transparency, we will post relevant communication from the letter recipients as well as our own replies or follow-ups that we may subsequently write. All inquiries can be directed to Diversity-Councils@uiowa.edu **