A P AM ASIAN

PACIFIC

AMERICAN MENTORS

NEWSLETTER

APAM TEAM HEADS: Julia Catolico '21 Juliana He '21 Xinyi Zhang '21

NEWSLETTER EDITORS: Hailey Kang '24 Joyce Kim '24

ISSUE I, SPRING 2021

What is APAM? The Asian Pacific American Mentoring Program (APAM) strives to mentor first-year and transfer students who self-identify as Asian, Pacific Islander, Desi-American, multiethnic, and/or multiracial (APIDA)

by

creating

community

at

CMC

and

facilitating

the

discussion of APIDA issues. APAM welcomes and explores APIDA identities within historical, social, and personal contexts in an open,

inclusive

environment

and

aims

to

create

a

more

welcoming space for the APIDA community on campus.

Mentees are led by four APAM mentors and participate in fun

IN THIS ISSUE pg 2: Meet the Heads! pg 3: Marketing Team pg 4-5: Dismantling Anti-Asian Sentiment

community, career development, and cultural activities! Though we

were

away

from

campus,

40

mentors

and

58

mentees

participated in the program. This year, mentees and mentors bonded

by

participating

in

events

involving

academic

guidance, social events including movie watching and online games via zoom, and discussed topics including racism in the APIDA

community.

In

addition,

we

also

brought

three

new

officers to the marketing team this January.

pg 6-7: Recent APIDA News pg 8: Spring 2021 Past Events pg 9: Resources Available to the APIDA Community

Despite being physically detached from the CMC community, this

year’s

mentors

overcame

new

challenges

of

creating

relationships with their mentees in a virtual setting. On behalf of

the

APAM

team,

we

thank

support of APAM over the years.

everyone

for

their

generous

Claremont McKenna College

Meet the Heads! Julia Catolico '21

Juliana He '21

I am a Filipina/Chinese American from Saratoga, CA majoring in Science Management with a sequence in Biotech and Data Science. Since joining APAM my freshman year, I have met so many amazing people who are passionate about advocating and creating a supportive community for APIDA and minority students on campus. I am so proud of the hard work that our mentors do, and being a head mentor has been a truly rewarding experience because of them. Outside of APAM, I am a jumper for the CMS Track and Field team, work as an RTA/MTA for CMC's Student Technology Services, and am currently interning for a start-up that is focused on reducing the number of babies who develop food allergies. In my free time, I enjoy cooking new dishes in the kitchen and am currently working on perfecting both my taro bun and zongzi recipes.

I am a Chinese American and first-generation college student from Oakland, CA. I’m a senior and a Government and Economics dual major. I first joined APAM as a mentee during my freshman year and became a mentor in my junior year. As a mentor last year, I learned more about APAM’s work and the APIDA community at CMC. I appreciated the advocacy my head mentors were involved in and wanted to make sure their hard work advocating for the APIDA community continued. Being a head mentor has been very fulfilling, and it is great to know that I am continuing the work of the many heads before me to create a better CMC experience for current and future APIDA students. Another organization I am involved in is Claremont Women in Business, where I manage the Finance division. When not doing work for CMC classes or clubs, you can probably find me listening to musical soundtracks or binge watching Netflix shows.

Xinyi Zhang '21 I am an international student from China, born and raised in Beijing. I am a senior majoring in PPE (Philosophy, Politics, and Economics). Like Julia and Juliana, I joined APAM as a mentee during my freshman year and served as a mentor during my sophomore and junior year. APAM really provides me a sense of belonging, and I deeply appreciate the help from my mentors. I cannot think of a better way of repaying to them by devoting myself to the CMC APIDA community. Moved by previous head mentors’ efforts, I hope to carry on their legacy and provide more assistance to incoming first-year students. During spare time, I enjoy doing some yoga, cooking for myself, and driving. I recall the wonderful time that APAM went hiking at Potato Mountain. When the pandemic is over, we really hope APAM can gather like that again.

page 02

Marketing Team

Bettina Benitez '22 Content & Social Media she/her/hers Major: Computer Science & Economics Dual Boba Order: Strawberry Black Tea w/ pearls

Katie Chen '23

Anne Jang '21

Social Media & Website she/her/hers Major: Economics & International Relations Boba Order: Oolong Milk Tea

Head of Content she/her/hers Major: Government & Philosophy Boba Order: Jasmine Green Milk Tea w/ sea salt foam

Hailey Kang '24

Joyce Kim '24

Noelle Song '23

Content & Newsletter she/her/hers Major: Biochemistry Boba Order: Passion Fruit Green Tea

Content & Newsletter she/her/hers Major: Chemistry Boba Order: Coconut Milk Latte

Head of Social Media & Strategy she/her/hers Major: Economics & Media Studies Boba Order: Jasmine Green Milk Tea

page 03

Claremont McKenna College

Dismantling Anti-Asian Sentiment On February 26th, 2021, over 130 CMC students, faculty, and staff attended APAM’s “Dismantling Anti-Asian Sentiment” event. Some topics discussed included attacks on the APIDA (Asian Pacific Indian Desi American) community and the model minority myth and its relation to recent events. We truly appreciate everyone who came or took time to learn about recent APIDA news. This event is part of a series that APAM is leading throughout the semester on anti-asian sentiment, so please stay tuned for future events. If you weren’t able to make it and would like to learn more about recent events involving the APIDA community, below is an overview. In addition, on page 9 is a list of available resources for APIDA identifying students within the Claremont community.

What has been happening? Since COVID-19 originated in China, people blamed its spread on China and Chinese people. In America, this first manifested as people avoiding Chinese restaurants and Chinatowns before states started shutting down in March, but there was no proof that people were catching COVID-19 from Chinese neighborhoods. This blame has spread to the entire APIDA community and has affected members regardless of age, ethnicity, geography or status. As a result, there has been an increasing amount of anti-Asian hate crimes. According to the New York Times, there has been a 1900% increase in the past year, and Stop APPI Hate has documented 3,000 reports of hate around the US this past year. However, it is important to note that many anti-asian hate crimes have not been reported as those affected may have had difficulty in communicating or chose not to report out of fear. In addition, Asian American attacks historically have not been categorized as hate crimes, and mainstream media platforms choose not to report Asian American attacks as they aren’t considered “newsworthy.” During the event, the audience was asked a question about how they heard about about these anti-asian attacks; 90% reported hearing it through social media or APAM messages rather than the mainstream media. page 04

Claremont McKenna College

Dr Keiji Fukuda, Assistant DirectorGeneral for Health Security, WHO

This may seem like a trivial issue to some, but disease names really do matter to the people who are directly affected. We’ve seen certain disease names provoke a backlash against members of particular religious or ethnic communities, create unjustified barriers to travel, commerce and trade, and trigger needless slaughtering of food animals. This can have serious consequences for people’s lives and livelihoods.”

The Model Minority Myth The term “‘model minority’ has often been used to refer to a minority group perceived as particularly successful, especially in a manner that contrasts with other minority groups. The term could, by its definition and logic, be applied to any number of groups defined by any number of criteria, but it is perhaps most commonly used to frame discussions of race.” (Harvard Law School, Asian Americans in Law Journal). In the APIDA community, the model minority myth has stereotyped asians as smart, polite, and law abiding and was used to pit minority groups against each other and downplay the impact of racism in the United States. As a result, this prevents many Asian American from receiving attention of their issues, including receiving inadequate resources, racial stereotyping, and Anti-Asian violence. Through the model minority myth, Asian Americans have lost credibility in their voices. The term “Model Minority” was first used to describe Asian Americans by White America during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. However, it hasn’t only affected the APIDA community. This suppression of Asian Americans also seems to justify the suppression of other minority groups including the Black community, creating a divide between minority groups. In turn, the model minority myth preserves white supremacy as it allows these structures to stay intact and prevent minority groups from challenging racial hierarchies. The next event of our Anti-Asian Sentiment Series will be focusing on the Model Minority Myth. page 05

Claremont McKenna College

Recent APIDA News NPR: National Public Radio

NPR is an independent, nonprofit media organization whose mission is to create a more informed public. NPR connects with millions of Americans on the air, online, and in-person in order to explore the news, new and old ideas, and dive into what it means to be human. NPR makes local stories national, national stories local, and global stories personal.

Unpacking the Surge in Violence Against Asian Americans (4 minute podcast) February 10, 2021|Ari Shaprio NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with VICE staff writer Bettina Makalintal about the surge in violence against Asian Americans in the last few weeks. "Since the beginning of the coronavirus outbreak, harassment and violence against Asian Americans has grown. The racist language former President Donald Trump used to describe the pandemic's origins in China didn't help. And now there appears to be a growing number of attacks against older Asian Americans. At least one person has died from their injuries. Bettina Makalintal wrote about these events for VICE, and she joins us now..." Link: www.npr.org/2021/02/10/966498602/unpacking-the-surge-in-violence-against-asian-americans

www.mic.com Mic is an American internet and media company based in New York City with a specific target audience of millennials. They uncover issues and stories that matter through the lens of authenticity, inclusivity, and conversation.

I want justice for anti-Asian violence - but not at the expense of Black people

Feb. 10, 2021 | Melissa Pandika "The story made for click-y headlines: Daniel Dae Kim and Daniel Wu swoop in to save the day with a handsome bounty..." Link: https://www.mic.com/p/i-want-justice-for-anti-asian-violence-but-not-at-the-expense-of-black-people-61719028

page 06

Stop AAPI Hate In response to the alarming escalation in xenophobia and bigotry resulting from COVID-19, the Asian Pacific Planning and Policy Council (A3PCON), Chinese for Affirmative Action (CAA), and the Asian American Studies Department of San Francisco State University launched the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center on March 19, 2020. The center tracks and responds to incidents of hate, violence, harassment, discrimination, shunning, and child bullying against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the United States. Their approach recognizes that in order to effectively address anti-Asian racism we must work to end all forms of structural racism leveled at Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color. Their 5-pronged approach is to: Serve as the leading aggregator of anti-Asian hate incidents Offer multilingual resources for impacted community members Provide technical assistance from rapid response to preventative measures Support community-based safety measures and restorative justice efforts Advocate for local, state, and national policies that reinforce human rights and civil rights protections

Stop AAPI Hate - Reports & Releases Most Recent: February 24, 2021 Stop AAPI Hate, UCLA Asian American Studies Center to Receive CA State Funding to Address Rising Anti-Asian Hate During COVID-19 "The Stop AAPI Hate coalition and the UCLA Asian American Studies Center (AASC) have received $1.4 million in funding from California..." Link: https://stopaapihate.org/reportsreleases/

page 07

Claremont McKenna College

Spring 2021 Past Events Lunch and Learn: Career Services On February 18, APAM students visited the Career Services at the Soll Center for Student Opportunity to learn about learn about the center's various resources. The Career Services staff connects students with opportunities that foster thoughtful exploration and early engagement for their personal and professional development. Schedule an appointment with student mentors for help with resumes and cover letters or with a Career Service member to talk about essential tools for securing internships and jobs, resource sites, and graduate school resources!

Social Event: The Farewell On February 12th, APAM mentors hosted a social event that featured the movie The Farewell. The Farewell is a bilingual 2019 film in English and Mandarin Chinese. The movie is based in part on director Wang's life experiences, starring Awkwafina, Tzi Ma, Diana Lin, and Zhao Shuzhen. The movie follows a Chinese-American family who, upon learning their grandmother has only a short while left to live, decide not to tell her and schedule a family gathering before she passes away.

Social Event: Code Names On February 25th, APAM mentees and mentors played Codenames! Codenames is a game of guessing which codenames (i.e., words) in a set are related to a hint-word given by another player. Players split into two teams: red and blue. One player of each team is selected as the team's spymaster; the others are field operatives. Codenames requires critical thinking and careful listening, which are great benefits of team building games. The purpose of this event was to develop teamwork competencies like delegation, interpretation, and compromise. page 08

Resources Available for the APIDA Community: ARC Counseling & Wellness with Dr. Rebekah So

ADVANCED•RELIABLE•COMPREHENSIVE

Dr. Rebekah So works with undergraduate, graduate, and International students of various cultural backgrounds, and presenting concerns including identity/diversity issues, family issues, academic issues, spirituality, adjustment issues, sexual assault, and relational concerns. She offers group discussion therapy every Friday from 4-6 PM PST. Call (866) 485-7217, schedule an appointment online or contact APAM for more information

Monsour Counseling and Psychological Services

Monsour consists of psychologists, marriage and family therapists, psychiatrists, post-doctoral fellows, and administrative staff who are committed to providing excellent mental health and psychological wellness services to the students of The Claremont Colleges. Contact: (909) 621-8202. Dial "1" for after hour emergencies

Drop-in hours Dr. Miao Li for APIDA-identifying students Dr. Miao Li's approach for therapy integrates interpersonal process therapy, feminist therapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy, all within a multicultural framework. She works with a wide range of clinical concerns as a generalist but specializes in serving the Asian Pacific American and international student community at the Claremont Colleges. She offers drop-in hours every other Friday from 1-3 PM PST. RSVP link: www.tinyurl.com/MCAPSF20

Additional CMC Resources Within the CMC and Claremont community, APAM mentors, Residential Assistants, and First Year Guides have had training in serving as mentors and can help to find resources and offer referrals and support. Asian Pacific American Mentors: [email protected] Residential Assistants: [email protected] First Year Programs: [email protected]

page 09

HEAD MENTORS Julia Catolico '21 Juliana He '21 Xinyi Zhang '21

MENTORS Joy Sheng '22 Jocelyn Song '22 Noelle Song '23 Amrita Srinivasan '23 Derik Suria '23 Sahil Tekchandani '23 Tiffany Teng '21 Phil Tran '23 Abhi Uppal '22 Ashley Wang '22 Daniel Wang '22 Natasha Wong '22 Jayson Yasukochi '22 Mei Yinghe '21 Mira Yoo '21 Hannah Zhang '22 Aileen Zheng '23 Jenny Zhuge '21

MARKETING CHAIRS Bettina Benitez '22 Katie Chen '23 Anne Jang '21 Hailey Kang '24 Joyce Kim '24 Noelle Song '23

APIDA x CLSA Activism Collab 03/23 @ 6 PM PST March Social Event 03/31 @ 5 PM PST LGBTQIA+ Topic date TBA Model Mynority Myth date TBA

en's Histor m o

onth! yM

Karti Agarwal '22 Anisha Advani '21 Jenny Bernardez '22 Jefferson Chang '22 Patrick Chen '21 Monica Cheng '23 Andrew Choi '21 Kieran Daly '23 Sophia de Castro '23 Mapel Htet '23 Marco Hui '22 Isabelle Jia '22 Hans Melvern Kasim '23 David Kim '23 Maddie Kwun '22 Johnson Lin '21 Josh Nagra '23 Karina Park '22 Daenerys Pindea '22

Upcoming Events

Happy W

2020-2021 APAM TEAM

From, APAM March 2021

CONTACT US! @apam_cmc @cmcapam APAM (Asian Pacific American Mentors) [email protected] WEBSITE LINK! apamcmc.wixsite.com/apam