OP/ED: AAPI appreciation

ONE FINAL FISH FOR THOUGHT

As the school year comes to a close, my love for the ocean only grows stronger, like the tides on a new moon.

Yes, the ocean tides are strongest on a full or new moon because of gravity… or something. As this is the concluding installment of my ocean ranting series here on the paper, I would like to use this last instance of our time together to discuss a matter of great importance. I love the ocean, as most of this school can probably guess by now. Something is harming our oceans, and all of the great creatures and plants I’ve been writing about may be at risk because of this issue. That’s right, this is an ocean pollution awareness article.

Strap in.

In at least one point in many of our lives, I imagine the topic of ocean pollution has been mentioned. I personally have forced many of my peers to endure countless pollution presentations. While ocean pollution itself comes from many small sources, all of it is tied to one connection: almost all of it comes from land.

According to the National Ocean Service, at least 80 percent of ocean pollution occurs from sources on land called nonpoint source pollution. Nonpoint source pollution basically means

that pollution can come from many different things, such as runoff, human-made vehicles, chemicals, sewage, oil spills and many more. There is no single problem. Almost everything can make its way into the ocean, and most things aren’t meant to be there. How exactly do these problems “harm” the ocean? First, there are chemicals. Chemicals that come from industries and oil spills contain materials that contaminate the water and make it non-consumable. Oils, when consumed by animals (because they don’t know any betRachel Davis ter), can cause harmful defects that stunt growth and

OP-ED EDITOR PHUONG LAM | HAWKEYE

impair reproduction, if it doesn’t outright kill the animal. Second, there are plastics. We’ve all seen that video of a turtle with a plastic straw stuck up its nose, right? If that turtle had not been helped, it would have eventually suffocated. Plastics don’t cause harm in the same way that chemicals do, but instead they stick around and refuse to decompose. Animals are most at risk from plastics when they accidentally eat the plastic or get stuck in things like nets. If you’re going to take anything away from this series of obsessing over the ocean, then take this. One: ocean animals are cool and weird. They aren’t made like other creatures on land. Some of them don’t have bones, some are just made of straight up jelly mush. They are fascinating to research and oddly terrifying to read about. Please find out about some weird sea animals on your own, and come tell me in person about them. Two: the ocean is delicate, and we have not been taking good care of it. If this pattern continues, all of these wonderful creatures and many more will be at great risk. I can’t tell you, or anyone, to “just do better,” but I can raise awareness and hopefully encourage some of you to research how to do your part in protecting the ocean. Don’t do it for me. Do it for the sharks, the orcas, the football fish, and everything that lives in the depths that we can only dream of being in. H AAPI Heritage Month: from past to present

By Mika Raring

It’s May again, and that means it’s AAPI Heritage Month. You may be thinking: what in the world is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month and why should I care? Fear no more, I am here to give a much too simplified overview.

I want to start off this article by saying there is so much to this subject and there is no way I can cram even a small fraction of the topic into six hundred words, but this is meant to be a broad enlightenment to those who might want to know more.

Let’s begin at a very basic but critical point: what is AAPI Heritage Month and who does it include? Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, or AAPI Heritage Month, takes place during May and is meant to commemorate the historical and cultural contributions of the individuals and groups included in the groups “Asian” and “Pacific Islanders.” The AAPI title includes people from the entire continent of Asia, as well as the Pacific Island groups of Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia.

Most people think of East Asia (such as China or Japan) when they think of “Asia.” But Asia includes Southeast Asia (such as Vietnam, the Philippines, and Cambodia) as well as South Asia (such as India and Sri Lanka) and Central Asia (such as Tajikistan and Uzbekistan).

Similarly, when people think of “Pacific Islands” they tend to think first of Hawaii. The Pacific Islands include the regions of Micronesia (such as Guam and the Marshall Islands), Melanesia (such as Fiji and Papua New Guinea), and Polynesia (such as New Zealand and Samoa).

Now let’s talk U.S. history. In the past, Asian immigrants have faced many obstacles in coming to the U.S. For example, Chinese immigrants working on the construction of the American railroad prompted the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882, which banned Chinese laborers and women from entering the country and severely limited those who were not laborers. Congress passed another immigration law in 1917, banning people from China, India, Thailand, Malaysia, and many other Asian countries. However, one case that has continued to resonate for other generations of immigrants from any country was the case of Wong Kim Ark, an American-born son of Chinese immigrants. Just after the Chinese Exclusion Act, he went to China to visit family, only to find that he was not allowed back into the U.S. As a result of his court case, the Fourteenth Amendment confirmed that he was a U.S. citizen because he was born in San Francisco, paving the way for future children born in the U.S. from immigrant parents to be recognized as U.S. citizens. Other laws challenged the ability of Asian Americans to settle in America, continually excluding and alienating them from the rest of the population.

In 1942, after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor in WWII, President Roosevelt signed an executive order forcing all Japanese Americans on the West Coast (about 120,000 people) into internment camps, even though only a very small amount of the German American and Italian American population who had ties to enemy countries during WWII were interned.

The U.S. also had issues with how Pacific Island communities were treated historically. During WWII, the Republic of the Marshall Islands in Micronesia was devastatingly used as a nuclear test site, destroying islands, exposing many to radiation, and forcing whole populations to move from their homelands due to the unlivable conditions caused by these experiments.

The U.S. also had a hand in the overthrow of the Hawai’ian monarchy in 1898 when it annexed the Hawai’ian Islands as a territory. Many controversies in the Pacific Islands are going on even today, such as the Mauna Kea protests over building telescopes on sacred Native Hawai’ian land.

Although the U.S. has made efforts to correct past wrongs – for example, the Civil Liberties Act of 1988 acknowledged the violations of civil liberties and granted reparations to the Japanese Americans interned during WWII – traces and effects of past discrimination can be seen all around today, throughout the media, on the streets, and in the news.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, AAPI hate crimes have increased 149 percent from previous years. Racism doesn’t only come in the form of hate crimes, however. Through the media fetishization, stereotypes and trends such as the “fox eye” makeup trend have all contributed to AAPI objectification and hate.

Now, what is the best way to help this cause and spread awareness about the topic? Although it can take the form of donating and reposting, spreading awareness is not limited to doing something for other people. Even just educating yourself and checking your privilege can make a difference in how you view certain situations or recognize that something is wrong.

I think one of the most important things that AAPI Heritage Month should teach people is that within the terms “Asian” and “Pacific Islands” there are thousands of different cultures and we need to recognize how all of them have helped society grow into what it is today.

I don’t claim to know everything about Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, but I think that’s what makes it so important to take these opportunities as a chance to learn more. H