The shooting in Atlanta last week of eight people, including six women of Asian descent, is yet another horrific instance of pervasive racism and misogyny. I know that many of you in our community are hurting and grieving right now in response to this terrible violence. I stand in solidarity with you at this very difficult time.

We know that anti-Asian racism has increased exponentially since the pandemic started, including here in Vancouver, and that violence against women has also increased significantly in Canada and throughout the world.

I have heard from many Asian students and alumni about their experiences of racism and sexism at Emily Carr. I know that even at ECU, where we pride ourselves on our diverse and welcoming community, Asian students experience discrimination on our campus. This is unacceptable, and our EDI Action Plan aims to address and rectify the systemic racism in our own institution. I want to thank all the many faculty, staff and students at ECU who are engaged in this important anti-racist and social justice work.

For students who have been impacted by this event or any incident of discrimination, trauma-informed counselling services are available to you.

Ordinarily, we would be able to come together on campus to honour the memory of those who were murdered in Atlanta. Since we can’t do that right now, we have set up an online submission form where members of our community can commemorate those who died, and share their messages of grief, solidarity and support with one another.

For those who would like to support the families of those who died in the Atlanta attack, fundraisers have been set up for the families of Suncha Kim, Hyun Jung Kim and Delaina Ashley Yaun Gonzalez.

I also encourage you to follow and support the work of SWAN Vancouver and Butterfly, two organizations that advocate for the rights of im/migrant and Asian women engaged in sex work.