Rowan students lead march for Asian solidarity

“Stop Asian hate!”

That was the chant as Rowan University students marched through the streets of Glassboro on Saturday, March 27, to protest hate crimes and violence toward the Asian Pacific and Islander community.

“Our goal was to bring awareness to the violence and anti-Asian sentiment the Asian community is currently facing and to bring light to the recent tragedy that occurred in Atlanta,” senior Amaal Khan said, referring to the recent mass shootings at three spas that killed eight people, including six women of Asian descent.

“Now more than ever, we feel that the Asian community at Rowan University must unite with our allies and demonstrate that we will not tolerate these harmful actions or words, especially towards our elders and women.”

During the march for Asian solidarity, students were joined by faculty members and professional staff as they marched from Glassboro Town Square to the University Green at Bunce Hall.

The march was organized by Khan, a molecular and cellular biology major; Gabrielle Pingol, a senior biochemistry major; and Alaina Salugao, a junior anthropology major.

“There is no place for hate in our society,” said Monika Williams Shealey, senior vice president for Rowan’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have been bombarded with xenophobic and inflammatory rhetoric directed at the Asian American community.

“As our students made very clear in their march, racism—not being Asian—is the virus. We must work together to stop racism in all forms and be committed to continuing our efforts to educate, support and advocate for meaningful change to systems that perpetuate inequities.”