To the AAC Community,
We are writing this blog post with the hopes of addressing some of the questions and feedback we have received from the community. We know that there have been significant changes over the past year, both structurally on campus, and with the abrupt transition to virtual communities in March due to the pandemic. Transitions are always tricky, and we know that the number that has occurred in the past academic year has put a strain on our community. If we have not come across as transparent enough in these times of changes, we sincerely apologize for that. Our intent is to never leave students in the dark and we will keep this in mind moving forward.
This past year, the community received a whole new set of staff members. Staff who were not only new to the AAC, but new to Northeastern life and culture. We want to apologize, in orienting ourselves, if students have felt bereft of staff presence at events or that things have not been transparent or well communicated. Sometimes it is hard to know what to communicate when, because as staff, we are subject to what the University wants to see, and communication isn’t always timely. We now understand that we can rely more on the feedback of our student community and that we can go forward in reaching a place where everyone is more comfortable.
During this movement for liberation and justice in light of Black Lives Matter, our organization participated in an event seeking to understand the history and significance of Anti Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander racism. We apologize for the hurt and frustration that students and others felt with our participation in this event. This event was planned as a collaboration for several months prior to its occurrence to provide a space for AAPI faculty, staff, and students to discuss and process how this racism has manifested during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Asian American Center provided moderation, resources, and available mentorship opportunities for the event. We understand from hearing student voices and feedback there was much more we could have provided and that we could have taken a better approach to the conversation. We commit to continuing to educate ourselves, open ourselves up to feedback, and bring that intentionality to our program, events, and etc for our community.
We are striving to be better role models for the community as we navigate through these tough times. We promise to foster an environment that is transparent and open-minded through the feedback given. We recognize that the students had a really good rapport with the previous staff, and that our relationship with the students will look different. But we hope that we can build a productive, open, candid, nurturing, and creative relationship with our students. That is ultimately our goal.
We understand that there will be more feedback to come as we move forward. We strongly encourage and appreciate those who have any concerns, questions, or interest in talking to AAC staff and to please reach out and meet with us virtually at this time. Our emails and links to schedule a 1:1 with us will be at the bottom. Thank you to the students who have already reached out to meet with us.
Thank you and we hope to hear from the community ♡
Rachel Moo: [email protected]
Misa Tran: [email protected]
