PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA
VOL 38 NO 13 MARCH 23 – MARCH 29, 2019
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37 YEARS YOUR VOICE
Photo by George Liu
UW, family Police: Blind man mourns Vikram stabs SPD officer Jandhyala
A Seattle police officer is recovering after being stabbed by a blind man, who was reportedly harassing numerous tenants at a ChinatownInternational District apartment building on March 19. Officers were dispatched to an apartment in the 300 block of Maynard Avenue South at 10 p.m.
Vikram Jandhyala
By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY The University of Washington (UW)’s vice provost of innovation and the first Indian American to hold that position has died. The King County Medical Examiner’s Office said that Vikram Jandhyala, 47, committed suicide and the manner of death was “asphyxia by drowning.” UW President Ana Mari Cauce told the Northwest Asian
Weekly, “Vikram was a unique mix of charismatic, dynamic, compassionate, and spiritual. He was both cool and geeky, and his belief in entrepreneurship for the common good inspired us all.” The son of two physics professors, Cauce called Jandhyala “a scholar in every sense of the word. He took pride in teaching and mentoring students, as well as in his award-winning research in fields ranging from design see JANDHYALA on 16 See related article on page 10.
Seattle census office begins community outreach By Maya Leshikar NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Census Day is not until April of next year, yet outreach and education has already begun around Seattle. March 13 was the Seattle Area Census Office’s first hiring event, where job-seekers could learn about census positions and talk to recruiters. Getting an accurate headcount is crucial for federal funding and congressional representation, and census employees are the first step to
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getting it. But getting people to selfrespond is another thing entirely, especially in hard-to-count populations. The census office depends on its collaboration with community leaders to encourage participation in undercounted communities around Seattle. Annette Mummery, the Seattle Area Census office manager, knows better than anyone what a huge undertaking the census is. Recruiters are looking for applicants in every city and town in the state, and they are only just see CENSUS on 16
to investigate reports of ongoing issues with the suspect. The man had reportedly wrapped raw meat around a neighbor’s door handle, urinated on the linoleum outside their door, and smeared toothpaste on their door peephole. Tenants — who were initially afraid to come out of their apartments and let police into the building because the suspect was see SPD on 4
No kidding, they’re coding By Janice Nesamani NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY It’s a Saturday morning and fifth-grader Aashna Sikka is sitting at a computer. It looks like she’s playing a game, a color-changing monster looking for someone to scare leaves home and camouflages itself. When a girl and her friend enter the scene, the monster appears and scares them, and they run away. However, Aashna is at a Code Ninjas classroom in Newcastle and is trying to fix a bug that’s affecting the timing of her story. Code Ninjas is a center that helps children learn how to code in a fun way at an early age. “I’ve really enjoyed Code Ninjas. I like the idea of coding at a young age and they taught us how to do some of these things. We start at a very easy level and it gets harder as we go,” Aashna said. see CODING on 16
Photo by Janice Nesamani
Photo from GoFundMe page.
By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
The classroom where kids learn how to code.
SHELF
Caught between two worlds
COMMUNITY NEWS UW Japan Studies program 3
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PUBLISHER’S BLOG Overcoming depression and suicide 10
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