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THURSDAY
april 22, 2021 high 45°, low 32°
t h e i n de p e n de n t s t u de n t n e w s pa p e r of s y r a c u s e , n e w yor k |
dailyorange.com
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Workers rely on local support By Kailey Norusis asst. digital editor
They’ve been suffering in silence, Asian Americans. It takes an emotional toll, and you don’t have the outlets. We’re improving on that. Tej Bhatia
professor of linguistics and program faculty member in asian/asian american studies
TEJ BHATIA, a faculty member in the Asian/Asian American Studies program recommended hiring more faculty to the program and making classes about diversity more ingrained in SU students’ required coursework. wendy wang staff photographer
Amid rise in anti-Asian racism, professors say SU’s program needs more funding to best serve students. By Richard Perrins and Ashley Clemens the daily orange
S
yracuse University professors believe that a strong Asian/Asian American Studies program could be critical to combating antiAsian racism. But the university’s program needs more resources and support to best educate students. Mary Szto, a teaching professor in SU’s College of Law, said in a public forum earlier this month that the Asian/Asian American Studies program lacked resources and funding. The forum addressed the recent rise of anti-Asian hate in the U.S. and how the university should respond.
“One very concrete thing we can do is fund, give more resources to our Asian and Asian American studies program,” Szto said at the forum. “We’re under-resourced. We’re underfunded. That’s something we can start here at the university.” Anti-Asian hate has increased dramatically during the pandemic. Roughly 3,800 incidents of racial violence against Asian Americans have been reported during the pandemic, according to Stop AAPI Hate, a nonprofit that tracks hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Faculty teaching courses in the Asian/ Asian American Studies program said that education is critical to countering antiAsian hate. But underfunding and under-
staffing within SU’s program undermines these efforts, they said. Gerald Greenberg, associate dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, said in a statement that the program receives funding comparable to other similar programs within the college but would not provide specific figures. “It is an important program for the college and the university,” Greenberg said. In addition to concerns about funding, some faculty members described a lack of faculty concentrated in one area of study as an issue within the program. Asian/Asian American Studies involve unique points of view and levels of academic see resources page 4
On Christmas Eve, Tamara Dursely’s family and friends were planning to come over for dinner. But after months of work as the benefit coordinator for Syracuse’s Eastern Farm Workers Association, Dursely realized she had no food for her guests and little means of getting any. “I need help, and I need help now,” Dursely said. Dursely called Stacy Battista, the operations manager for EFWA, who immediately gathered a box of food for Dursely. This, in essence, is exactly what EFWA does, Battista said. “On Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, who’s out there to really help you at the last minute?” Dursely said. “There’s no one besides them who will jump up and run for you.” EFWA is a volunteer-based organization that offers a wide range of services to farm-based and other types of low-income workers, Battista said. The association offers food and other supplies to people who need them and helps improve access for individuals struggling to navigate health care and housing. Many of the issues EFWA’s members face stem from a lack of income, Battista said. They often have their lights and heat shut off, are on the verge of getting evicted and don’t have enough food or access to medical care, she said. “Our goal is to unite all of these workers in central New York together so that we can gain the controlling stake in what happens to us in our lives, in our livelihoods,” Battista said. “Currently, we are unable to make many of the decisions.” During the pandemic, EFWA has expanded its emergency and supplemental food distributions, Battista said. Many of the supplies it offers members come from donations from the surrounding community. “If you really speak to the needs of the community, you can show people the common ground that they have with our membership,” Battista said. “The pandemic has made this very much clearer in people’s minds.” The organization also helped its members sign up to receive COVID-19 vaccines when eligibility expanded, Battista said. see efwa page 4