Standing with the Asian Community

The rising occurrence of hateful rhetoric and acts of violence targeting Asian and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities is abhorrent, unacceptable, and heartbreaking.  Tuesday’s tragedy in Atlanta marked yet another moment of senseless loss in this country, punctuating in the worst possible way what has been a growing level of anti-Asian hate speech, discrimination, and physical assaults since the beginning of the pandemic.  The perpetrators of these crimes and assaults – verbal and physical – must be held accountable, and these horrible acts must cease.   

The Cooper Union stands with our Asian and AAPI students, faculty, staff, and alumni and with the broader Asian and AAPI communities, as we do with all who face oppression and violence. 

I’m sure many of us are processing these events in different ways.  Some may be feeling the weight and pain of these circumstances; others may be looking for ways to help; and others may have concerns for their own safety or that of their family and friends.  It’s also possible that some are feeling all of these things at once.  There are resources at Cooper and in New York City that are accessible from anywhere to support us.  

  • Find Anti-Asian Violence Resources here. 
  • If you’d like information and training on how to safely intervene and/or de-escalate xenophobic harassment, ihollaback.org is a good resource. Click here for more information.
  • For student counseling and mental health resources, click here.  You can also contact Cassandra Jolicoeur, Student Care Coordinator in the Office of Student Affairs.  
  • For employee counseling (faculty and staff), you can access the Employee Assistance Program (EAP) at 800-252-4555.  
  • In the event of any incident of harassment, bigotry, or discrimination within the Cooper community or on Cooper’s campus, students should report what has transpired to Chris Chamberlin, Dean of Students, or to their academic deans; faculty to their deans or human resources (HR); and staff to their supervisors or HR. 

Earlier this week, I wrote about the ongoing, critical work we are pursuing as individuals and as a collective Cooper community to address racism and social injustice to ensure that Cooper acts and feels like an equitable institution for all.  Let us – each of us – do our part in that work, in earnest, both at Cooper and in our own networks and communities, to move toward a time when our diversity is truly celebrated, our differences respected, and our actions guided by a belief in our shared humanity.  

With hope and in solidarity,

Laura

  • Founded by inventor, industrialist and philanthropist Peter Cooper in 1859, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art offers education in art, architecture and engineering, as well as courses in the humanities and social sciences.

  • “My feelings, my desires, my hopes, embrace humanity throughout the world,” Peter Cooper proclaimed in a speech in 1853. He looked forward to a time when, “knowledge shall cover the earth as waters cover the great deep.”

  • From its beginnings, Cooper Union was a unique institution, dedicated to founder Peter Cooper's proposition that education is the key not only to personal prosperity but to civic virtue and harmony.

  • Peter Cooper wanted his graduates to acquire the technical mastery and entrepreneurial skills, enrich their intellects and spark their creativity, and develop a sense of social justice that would translate into action.