Pacific Vietnamese Student Association (UOP VSA)

03/29/2021

March 29 2021

To the University of the Pacific Vietnamese Student Association, friends and family,

As a cultural club on campus that fosters inclusivity and appreciation of the Vietnamese culture and the Asian community, we cannot let the recent events of Asian American Pacific Islander hate crimes go unnoticed. There has been an alarming rise in racist and xenophobic attacks towards Asian American communities due to the ongoing pandemic. Recently, many Asian Americans, especially our elderly, have been victims of assault, harassment, hate speech, and civil rights violations.

Asian Americans are being assumed to be associated with the pandemic, and people are taking their anger and frustration out on the Asian American community. There have been 3,795 reported incidents to the Stop AAPI Hate center within the past year, and potentially way more unreported incidents regarding violence towards Asian Americans. According to NBC News, it is reported that Anti-Asian hate crimes have increased in the past year by 150%.

A lot of Asian Americans immigrated, or have had parents immigrate to the United States, in search for better opportunities and to escape from war and hardships they faced in their homeland. They came here in search of safety, and yet, now, they’re too scared to even leave their homes to get groceries or make a living. Asian Americans have contributed greatly to the growth and development of American culture (restaurants, nail salons, etc.), and they deserve respect. Our community is being made fun of for the way we look, the way we talk, the way we eat daily, and it has become normalized. We are generalized into one ethnicity, and this barely scratches the surface of what our community is going through.

We are heartbroken and angry to see so many members of our community affected by these violent injustices, and empathize with families and those who have been directly affected, and/or have lost their loved ones. We are speaking out in solidarity with our fellow community, and encourage everyone to educate themselves and those around them about these issues. Our organization urges you to keep your loved ones close, and are offering support to those who need it. UOP Vietnamese Student Association, along with the UOP Asian Pacific Islander Senate are open to having conversations, whether it is to address concerns or to provide aid in these critical times.

UOP VSA pledges to donate to organizations supporting the Stop AAPI Hate movement. We cannot stand idly by as these injustices continue to persist, and we implore our community to be educated on current times, take action, and contribute to the cause in any way you are able to. There are also other various ways to help, such as donating to the GoFundMe’s of the victims affected and participating in events to raise awareness towards the Asian American community. Below, we have included links to resources that you can utilize to help educate yourself and others and spread awareness about AAPI hate.

With love,

University of the Pacific Vietnamese Student Association 2020-2021 Executive Board

[Donate]
www.gofundme.com/aapi
www.advancingjustice-atlanta.org/donate
www.stopaapihate.org

[Report]
www.stopaapihate.org
www.standagainsthatred.org

[Follow]
Stop AAPI Hate
Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum (NAPAWF)

Our communities stand united against racism. Hate against Asian American Pacific Islander communities has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic. Together, we can stop it. Act Now Latest News Latest Reports

09/24/2020

Hey everyone! Tomorrow is our third general body meeting, come by! This week, we'll be playing some Among Us after the meeting so come and have some fun with us 🙂

Event Page:
https://www.facebook.com/events/341871463681378/
Zoom Link:
tinyurl.com/UOPVSAGBM

09/16/2020

Hi!! I hope school has been going well for you all (‘: Come out to our second general body meeting where we’ll be playing games and having fun with everyone🥰There may be prizes😉Hope to see you all there🤩❤️

Zoom Link: tinyurl.com/uopvsagbm

09/08/2020

Hey there guys! UOP VSA is having our first General Body Meeting this Thursday at 7:30PM, we hope to see all of your beautiful faces there! :-) Come and learn more about what our organization does

09/02/2020

Hello hello!!~~

We hope you guys had a wonderful first week of school and are still making the best of everything despite it being online!

UOP VSA’s very own Executive Board will be doing an IG Takeover on our story highlights for the next week! Leading up to our very first event next week 🙂 Be sure to watch our stories to get to know all of the Exec Board members!! We look forward to meeting/seeing you all 🤩🥰~~

06/03/2020

June 3, 2020

To the University of the Pacific Vietnamese Student Association’s friends and family,

In light of recent events, we would like to reach out and offer our support towards the black community. We are heartbroken by the ongoing racial injustices that black people have been facing everyday, and as fellow ethnic minorities, we stand in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement. It’s important for us to recognize the privilege of having a platform to use our voices and to speak out against unjust violence and racism. Now, instead of turning a blind eye to these social injustices, we will break the constant cycle of passiveness and take it upon ourselves to educate our community about these issues.

As non-black people of color, we must acknowledge that we are not as affected by the current system that fails to protect or see the black community as equal, and although we also face prejudice and injustice, we must work together to change this. If you are a non-black person of color or white, please recognize the privilege that you have and use it to protect those of us who are silenced because of the color of their skin.

We encourage everyone to take action by initiating conversations about racism, oppression, and injustice that is present in our communities. By doing so, hopefully we are able to actively spread awareness. UOP VSA pledges to donate to the Black Lives Matter Movement. We implore all of you to do the same and donate whatever you can. If you are unable to, there are other various ways to help, such as writing to your local government and watching streams to raise funds towards the cause. They need all the love and support right now. We can all play a part towards this movement and to dismantle the oppressive system.

We will be providing a link containing ways you can take steps towards amplifying our voices, organizations to donate to and petitions to sign. We know that there has been a flood of resources that may be overwhelming for people, but we hope that during this time of quarantine you can use the extra time that you have to educate yourselves with the bounty of information and resources that have been shared.

With love,

University of the Pacific Vietnamese Student Association 2020-2021 Executive Board

Ways To Help

05/20/2019

Join us for Southeast Asian Solidarity Week: Students Against Deportation to launch a student solidarity week against Southeast Asian deportation from 5/20 to 5/24! We are doing a social media campaign for Southeast Asian Solidarity Week on Facebook. Here is a profile picture overlay that we encourage folks to change their profile pictures to in order to raise awareness on the issue of SEA deportation. Along with the profile pic change, we also invite you to add your own personal description and some background information on this issue. Make sure to include !

04/19/2016

Hey guys! Isn't it hot out there?! Quench your thirst with tea from T4 and support VSA! See you all there! :)