Yuxin Shen, ASA 002 A03, Week1

Week 1 Yuxin Shen Section A03

New Coronavirus has caused social panic all around the world. People's daily life is affected largely by the disease, and people's range of activity is limited to avoid being infected. Fortunately, the majority of people have realized the severity of this virus, and governments are trying their best to protect and treat their citizens. However, I felt disappointed and sad after seeing the news about "discrimination towards Asians" or statements like "Chinese people should apologize". What I want to say is that the entire world should be united in order to overcome this crisis, and right now it is not a good time to blame each other. United States is a country that encourages people to pursue freedom and personal rights, which is also the reason why I choose to study in the US. 

After reading Prof. Valverde's article Fight to Tower, A Call Action for Women of Color in Academia, she strongly defends for rights of women and colored race through her words. I can understand how Prof. Valverde feeling after being treated unfairly in her academic career, which is similar to my feeling after experiencing ridicule and criticism from others because of wearing a mask. According to Prof. Valverde, "It represents a crucial way for us to stand together for truth and justice ... we are talking about saving lives and preserving our personhood." Every person has his or her belief worthing defending throughout one's life, and people holding the same belief should work together in order to guard it forever. Prof. Valverde has set a good example for us who has such big courage to publish her thoughts to fight for rights and respect that Asian women deserve in academia. 

I expect to learn more about the rest of the context in the book Fight to Tower and other necessary knowledge about Asian Americans. Hopefully, coronavirus could be eliminated soon. 

                         


Citation:
Graber, M. R. (2020, March 14). Debunking Myths About How to Avoid or Cure Coronavirus.   Retrieved March 31, 2020, from https://abcnews.go.com/Health/debunking-myths-avoid-cure-coronavirus/story?id=69578209

Valverde, K.-L. C. (2019). Fight The Tower, Chapter 1. RUTGERS University Press.

Week 1 Blog Huiling Chen ASA001 A01

Week 1 Blog Huiling Chen ASA001 A01

Currently, due to coronavirus, people stay at home for safety reasons. And I hope everyone takes good care of themselves, family, and friends. Occasionally, people go out for necessities, some people are suffering from discrimination. I watched a video that an Asian man was humiliated in the supermarket just because he looks like Asian. This is the same case in the reading “Fight the Tower”. Valverde was hindered to ask for help for her health condition or pregnancy period, bothered by unreasonable case, humiliated by colleges, and threatened tenure. The major cause of these suffers was due to the discrimination of her ethnicity and gender as a female Vietnamese immigrant. These unfair treatments to her had huge negative impacts on her physical and psychological health. But she was brave enough to fight back and raise people’s awareness of the issue. She utilized the resources from students, community, administration, and college to fulfill the goal. However, in reality, not every appeal will be successful. But at least we should have the courage to reach out to the resources, spread out the stories, and try to call for attention when the unfair treatments happen.

Question:

Is discrimination happen only because people are different?

Citation:

Campos, E. G. (2018, November 14). Demanding change: pharmacy professionals must unite to 

stamp out racial discrimination. Retrieved from https://www.pharmaceutical-journal.com/opinion/comment/demanding-change-pharmacy-professionals-must-unite-to-stamp-out-racial-discrimination/20205691.article?firstPass=false

Mattia Sayson ASA A02 002 Week 1

The impact of this pandemic and how it has changed the world every single day is something I never thought I would experience in my lifetime. Of course, it was always something possible, but the idea of this outbreak and its societal impact was what I thought was solely part of the "world history" I heard back in my 7th grade class. Especially as a first year student who was still transitioning and figuring out the whole "college" thing, this curve ball was unimaginable. It hadn't really hit me until the walk-in lectures were cancelled and the discussion of moving out was a confirmed and tangible option. I was updated for the most part on how it slowly spread but the lock down of California set it in stone. Something that really stood out to me, however, was the heightened discrimination and racism that has unfortunately been a societal plague for centuries. A few weeks back, our President, used Twitter, one of the most prominent platforms of virtual interaction, to relay news to the current generations about the "Chinese virus," referring to Covid-19. As an Evangelical pastor has said as a response to the tweet, "Calling it the 'Chinese virus' only instigates blame, racism, and hatred against Asians — here and abroad. We need leadership that speaks clearly against racism; Leadership that brings the nation and world together. Not further divides."  As much as the coronavirus has continued to spread and increase, the hate that comes as a "2 in 1" package with this outbreak increases just as much. In an article by The Atlantic, many people who identify as Asian had faced a number of forms of discrimination. From restaurants in San Francisco's Chinatown to dirty looks to those who choose to wear masks, the hate that has associated oneself with being asian is so much more mentally impacting that I think many underestimate.
              I think the idea of inferiority that many people of minority feel because of how society perceives them is a discussion that always gets pushed aside. We do not need this pandemic to already add on to the oppression that already exists. As I read Professor Valverde's article, I could not help but make a number of facial expressions from confusion to frustration to triumph. Despite being something that happened in the past, I was silently rooting for her as I read through the article; I wanted her to succeed. Her victory was a victory for women. her victory was a victory for people of color. her victory was a victory for women in color. As a young Filipina American woman fresh in this institution and navigating this system that is not made for me, I appreciate the ASA courses that are offered as it is giving a space for all the voices that went unnoticed.

Image: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/24/coronavirus-us-asian-americans-racism

References

Brito, Christopher. “President Trump Uses Term ‘Chinese Virus’ to Describe Coronavirus, Prompting a Backlash.” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 19 Mar. 2020, www.cbsnews.com/news/president-trump-coronavirus-chinese-virus-backlash/.

Valverde, K.-L. C. (2013). Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 12(2). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu

Yasmeen Serhan, Timothy McLaughlin. “The Other Problematic Outbreak.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 13 Mar. 2020, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2020/03/coronavirus-covid19-xenophobia-racism/607816/.

Yidi Chen ASA002 Week1

As an international student from China, I have deep feelings about the coronavirus. The epidemic situation first happened in  December 2019 in WuHan. No one was paying attention to this virus and the majority of doctors thought it was just normal flu. Besides, there was a massive population flow at the period since the Chinese New Year was coming. When the government realized the gravity of the situation and tried to blockade WuHan City, a ten million level city, it was already too late. People started to panic and all medical masks were sold out in one night. Some people rushed to other places before the closure of the city, being fear of infection. The government soon made the policy that forcing people to stay at home.  One point three billion people hit the stop button at the same time. I couldn't have imagined it before January 22, especially during the traditional Spring Festival, when people visit relatives and friends. Nowadays, fancy signs remind people to stay at home.

From this epidemic, it is really obvious to see the difference between capitalist society and socialism. Given the magnitude of the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, if the outbreak of the coronavirus had occurred in the United States, the United States government would never have been able to control the outbreak. Although the American system and the Chinese system have their merits and shortcomings which cannot be simply evaluated, but in terms of preventing infectious diseases, the Chinese system absolutely beats the United States. For the U.S. government, the fight against infectious diseases is an economic one. The state cannot do anything at all costs. But for the Chinese government, they can spend billions of money for medical care and build hospitals in 10 days. Not like the United State, instead of decrease the cost of medical treatment or the COVID 19 test, they start printing more and more currency which, in a result, will wreck the economy and make inflation in the future. 

Yi Yang A01 Week 1

Yi Yang A01 Week 1

Reflection of Coronavirus

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is an infectious disease caused by a newly discovered coronavirus.The virus was first widespread and infected in China. However, the Chinese government issued timely policies and the active cooperation of the Chinese people, and now the epidemic situation in China has been well controlled. As an international student from China, I worry about my family all the time in the United States. My family is very obedient to the country's arrangement and advice, they try to avoid going out and will wear a mask when going out to reduce the contact with the virus. Wearing a mask is a common way to reduce the spread of infectious diseases in China, so I have repeatedly told my family to wear a mask when going out.

                                         (Chinese people wearing masks when going outside)

While my parents were still glad that I was in the United States and didn't have to worry about viruses, a novel coronavirus came to the United States and came with a vengeance. The number of people diagnosed is growing so fast that my parents told me to buy more masks to wear when I go out. While Americans were still treating the virus as a little flu, the experience of China made us international students very wary, so I started wearing a mask when I went out. Because of cultural differences, I didn't know at first that Americans think only seriously ill people wear masks. But the way they look at me when I wear a mask makes me feel uncomfortable.When I was shopping in the supermarket with my friends wearing masks, one of the locals even deliberately coughed at me.This may be a form of discrimination.

When I read the article Fight the Tower written by professor Valverde, I admire her courage to speak up in the face of discrimination and injustice. The difficulties she suffered did not break her, but became her motivation. But when I was in the supermarket, I just pretended not to see the stranger's racist joke and quickly left. I want to know what I should do in the face of an epidemic and when someone makes this kind of discriminatory joke about you. As a foreign student from Asia, I am very interested in the current situation and experiences of Asian Americans. I hope to learn more about them.

Citation: 
Valverde, K.-L. C., & Dariotis, W. M. (2020). Fight the tower: Asian American women scholars resistance and renewal in the academy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Pic from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.marketwatch.com%2Fstory%2Fdont-buy-chinas-story-the-coronavirus-may-have-leaked-from-a-lab-2020-02-22&psig=AOvVaw3mJqCbudyd09XsRH_gd4h7&ust=1585775177477000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCNi2wpnPxegCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAD

Cheng Zeng, ASA 002 A02, Week 1

As an international student from China, I have a strong feeling for the Covid-19 virus since the outbreak started from Wuhan, China. The virus was detected at the time of Chinese New Year which was the most important festive for Chinese people to celebrate with their families. The virus itself was not that serious but the fear it spread made the whole China became a hot spot of rumors and scandals. 

[1]

From the figure, we can see that the number of people who got infected in China boosted drastically. It was due to the ignorance of local governors and flow of people before Chinese New Year. When people saw such outbreak, they got extreme scared. When I was still taking the winter quarter in Davis, I could not believe what was happening in my country. Common people in China started to buy food and medicine crazily. Some media also spread fake news to attract eyeballs by terrifying and aggravating the seriousness. Luckily, the Chinese government took action to shut down the whole Wuhan city and most of the country that was not too late. Expert and scientist stood right in front of the media to answer every single question that the public was concerned. I think the media should always present the truth to the public when people’s health was in crisis. The public should also diagnose the good new from fake news so that fear was not spread between each other.

I am expecting ASA 002 can give me more perspectives of Asian culture. In a global view, I would like to understand the Asian’s role and its issues.

Reference:

[1]  National Health Commission of the People’s Republic of China (2020), 30/03 24h Corona Virus Report, Health Emergence Office.

Image from http://www.nhc.gov.cn/xcs/yqfkdt/202003/ec2689b0e716468fbfff7cf890c74bb7.shtml

Yvonne Peng, ASA02 A04 , Week 1

As a Chinese international student who enrolled in a quarter system, I was on the plane back to Davis in the beginning of January. At that time, I was anxious about the hard major courses' materials and upset as well because I would not be able to celebrate another Chinese new year with them in late February. The coronavirus suddenly spread out through the mainland of China around the Chinese new year. This new lethal global disease was first discovered in Wuhan, China, and the report of this new disease was somehow not published, which caused inadequate awareness and a worse medical situation. Every family, including mine, have been affected by this new disease. The Chinese government asked people to wear a facial mask and keep distance while doing grocery shopping. The chance of going out was very limited and visiting was not allowed. This strict social policy and the virus brought a stressed, nervous, and boring Chinese new year rather than the supposed reunion of families. The long period of separation and isolation also has caused depression, anxiety, and other mental diseases to people (Wang et al., 2020). Many stores that were owned by individuals had to close down due to no income during the quarantine period. However, the outcome of those sacrifices on controlling the spreading rate of the virus was outstanding. We are unlucky that we have to face this new difficult challenge, but we are lucky to not only because we have more advanced technology and knowledge to fight with this virus but also we are the witness of a huge change in history.

When the outbreak of coronavirus happened in China, my concerns about the safety of my parents and family increased day by day. My mom is a teacher, and she always believed in me and takes my reasonable advice. During the quarantine period, she followed the guide of proper cleaning that I sent to her and stayed at home except for grocery shopping. However, my dad, as a traditional Chinese businessman, believed in his own experience more than the information that I provided with sufficient scientific reference. He used to run between places and visit people to stabilize or develop new social relationships in order to take a possible shortcut if necessary. I asked and even begged him to wash hands properly, reduce smoking and drinking, and not visit anyone. I was glad that my dad was not as stubborn as he used to be. My parents would talk with me about their daily routine and safety every day, which was very important for me because I was very negative and afraid of losing any one of them.
The quarantine now has been enforced here in the U.S. My lifestyle remained the same because staying home is very normal for an indoor person like me. I started to wear a mask to class for self-protection when the first case of coronavirus was discovered at UC Davis Medical Center. Even though many people didn't speak it out, I still can sense that they thought that I was just an overreacting Chinese to the new virus. Some of them asked me if I was sick with a doubting face. I was too lazy to explain how terrible the situation can be if a person, unfortunately, got infected. Instead, I just gave them a reasonable excuse hat I was allergic to some pollen. I didn't experience any obvious racism so far, and I guess the reason may be that people understand the virus more because of majoring animal science, immunology, and pathology, so they understand why I was wearing a mask. In fact, one of my professors even encouraged students to get more hand sanitizers and face masks before they run out.

Reference
Image from: https://www.kff.org/global-health-policy/fact-sheet/coronavirus-tracker/
Wang, C., Pan, R., Wan, X., Tan, Y., Xu, L., Ho, C. S., & Ho, R. C. (2020). Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(5), 1729. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17051729

Valverde, K.-L. C. (2013). Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia. 

     Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 12(2). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu

Xiya Shi ASA002 A03 week1

Xiya Shi A03

#week1

At the beginning of 2020, coronavirus has first tortured China and then swept around the whole world in three months. As the first country that has been tortured by COVID-19, China has undergone a series of unfair and biased discrimination. Even Chinese medical teams successfully slowed the fatality rate and cured patients, the bias toward the Chinese people did not end.

Recently, some Chinese overseas students have experienced such discrimination. Last week, I heard that some Chinese students were attacked by language discrimination because they wore masks. Wearing masks is necessary to protect self and others away from being infected by the coronavirus. Logically, Chinese students should not be condemned because of their responsible and conscious behavior. Some Chinese students remove the spring festival decorations from the apartment door to prevent racial vengeance. In professor Valverde's article Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia, she also had stated, "Research has found that people of color are acutely prone to experience health issues due to racism in a variety of circumstances and in diverse institutions" (Valverde, 2013).

To solve the discrimination we faced, we must voice for the injustice. I expect to learn more about professor Valverde's experiences about how to fight for gaining women's rights and eliminate discrimination toward the Asian American community. Meanwhile, after previewing this article, I notice that people of color scholars overly presented in the low-paying range. However, those social phenomena are as well not be presented through public media. So, how can we get people’s attention to this severely biased academic flaw under the condition of being ignorant by both the public and academia?

     
References

     United Way. (2020, March 10). Coronavirus: What We Are Doing. Retrieved from https://www.uwkc.org/news/coronavirus-what-we-are-doing

Valverde, K.-L. C. (2013). Fight the Tower: A Call to Action for Women of Color in Academia. Seattle Journal for Social Justice, 12(2). Retrieved from http://digitalcommons.law.seattleu.edu