Story co-written with Marina Cooper
Many were gathered at Western Carolina University on March 30 to participate in the Silent March for AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community.
The attendees gathered at the Catafount at 2 pm in anticipation of the silent march that went through campus. SGA along with the Matthew Tuten helped organized the march to support the Asians, Asian Americans, and Pacific Islanders community.
The event had over 60 attendees who marched on campus in support of the AAPI community. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic there has been a rise in anti-Asian violence. This march was created in the wake of three shootings in Atlanta, GA which targeted three spas, killing eight people, six who were Asian women.
Tuten, a junior at WCU, spoke about his experience as a member of the AAPI community in America and the impact that it has left on him and his family. Tuten is the student leader for ANSWER, a community organization at WCU and has spoken at events such as the “Stand Up Against Anti-Asian Violence” in downtown Sylva on March 27.
Other participants included members of ANSWER at WCU, which is a community organization that is anti-war and anti-racist left student group. ANSWER participates in many events and marches throughout Sylva and Cullowhee, NC.
Professors at WCU have also shown support for the AAPI community.
Weiguo (Bill) Yang, professor of electrical engineering for Western Carolina University sent an email to students on March 23, to speak out for the AAPI community.
“We deeply appreciate and thank the Catamount community for the continued and whole-hearted support, as eloquently expressed in Chancellor Brown’s letter on March 19th, ” said Yang.
“These tragic events reinforce the necessity to keep advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, as stated in our WCU Creed, here and beyond. United we stand strong against all forms of racial discrimination, violence, and hatred,” said Yang.
