“I am very emotional with the recent attacks on people like me it has affected me and my parents and my extended family out in China as well. We are shaken to the core.”

“Let me start by stating that I denounce violence inflicted due to race. While it seems that the Chinese government did mishandle COVID-19 and covered up its origins and information that could have helped the globe deal with it, this has nothing to do with the average Chinese person or any other Asian person who was not involved whatsoever. The footage of an elderly Asian man being pushed down in San Francisco is infuriating. That all being said, this is being used for political reasons and to fit a broader narrative. To my knowledge, there is no evidence to support the idea that the Atlanta shooter acted with racist or white supremacist motives. It appears that he had a mental/sexual problem and frequented (the) spa(s) to receive illicit sexual favors. Why are we not focused on why Asian immigrants are being forced into a kind of sex slavery by malicious store owners? Frankly, it is rather despicable that politicians are jumping on this incident and using it to push their radical racial narrative. It is disrespectful to the victims and possibly gives the Chinese Communist Party fuel in defending themselves from scrutiny over the origins of COVID-19. I, of course, stand with my fellow Americans of Asian descent and with innocent people of all backgrounds. However, I also value the truth and I do not believe that the tragic, despicable Atlanta incident is being addressed honestly and responsibly.”

“Great statement. Attacks against Asian Americans have been rising recently and we need to stand together in support of the Asian American community at this tough period of time.”

“I thought it was great that the college put out a statement. What are we actually doing to help other than put out a blanket statement and say we will do things annually. Are there any virtual workshops? Is the Center of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion doing anything to educate the college as a whole? The statement is a great start, but follow-up needs to happen.”

“I’m not against this message and I do understand that this is in response to direct violence against the AAPI population. I agree with supporting the AAPI population. But guess what – violence happens every day in America against Lithuanians, Britians, Chileans, Germans, Russians….. Unless you are going to draft up a response to all of these communities as well you are segregating the AAPI population as a special group. They are special, but so are Germans, Russians, etc… and I have not seen a special announcement just for them. I believe that acknowledging the event that precipitated this message (event in Atlanta) should happen so students know where this message is coming from. In this could be an acknowledgment of the AAPI resources available at the school. However; the rest of the message should focus on Anti-Hate, Inclusion of ALL populations and creating a safe environment for ALL students of CoD. Essentially – we (Cod) do not stand for ANY violence against ANYONE. You can’t put out a PSA just for AAPI unless this country is free from violence of other cultures. You make it seem like the AAPI is above other cultures that are experiencing the same kind of hate. If this event wiped out thousands of AAPI’s this message would make more sense. But I promise you, that if we dug we would find a community of Russian or French people that also lost 8 members recently due to violence and hate. We cannot make students in these populations wonder ‘What about us? Just because OUR story didn’t hit the news does not mean it did not happen!'”

“I admire our college because they really care about us. I’m not Asian, but Latino and I know how discrimination feels like. I know what is like to feel different just because of the color of your skin, or your facial features, or your language, or culture. Being different is not bad. You shouldn’t feel like you have to justify what your culture or race is. You shouldn’t live your life afraid that you will be a victim of racist or xenophobic attacks. We all should live free and respect each other. We should all value and embrace diversity. What has been happening to my Asian brothers and sisters is repulsive. It makes me sick to my stomach to know that a pandemic has divided us so much instead of unify us. And it is even more distasteful to know that people are using the pandemic as an excuse to express their deep-rooted racist thoughts. But I believe the solution to racism is education, because it is the only way to appreciate diversity. We sometimes live in a capsule of our own race or culture and never really learn how to appreciate culture or race different than ours.”

“Why do people have to suffer and die based on other’s opinions? Easy, there shouldn’t be an answer for that question.”

“We must protect minorities! Stop Asia hate!”

“I can tell that this message was well thought out and is sincere. I think it’s a great message, very well said.”

“I think it’s a nice statement. I’d like to read a response from these communities about how COD has or hasn’t made a positive impact to them.

Giving hate to Asian people is like being racist because they are from other countries. I believe that is wrong because they are human like everyone else, they were not at fault of this virus, this virus was done by everyone. They want to put the guilt to Asian people when we as human for not taking care of our hygiene, nature and things like that. for that reason we been having a lot of illness so this is not different. Asian deserve respect like anyone else, if it were you what would you do. I support #STOPHATEONASIAN”

“As an Asian American woman, I want to see more concrete information. What ‘opportunities’ will be available to people like me? How will the college ensure our safety and wellbeing? The sentiment is nice, but there needs to be more actionable content with goals that can actually be met.”