Alumni Letter Sent to President Coleman

October 1, 2005


President Mary Sue Coleman
University of Michigan
Office of the President
503 Thompson St.
2074 Fleming Administration Building
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1340


Dear President Mary Sue Coleman,

We, the undersigned Asian Pacific American (APA) alumni from the University of Michigan, are outraged at the September 15th incident of ethnic intimidation, which targeted two Asian students on campus[1]. We are dismayed at the delayed and inadequate response from your administration regarding the incident.

As former students, each of us can speak to the shared experience of racism and ignorance we had experienced as APAs on campus. Racial slurs and seemingly benign comments on our ethnicity became commonplace, the “norm” for APA student life. During our years at the University of Michigan, some of us were working arduously as student leaders to identify resources for APAs and other students of color, in order to improve the climate on campus. In 2000, the U.S. Department of Justice pointed to a University of Michigan policy[2] that was created as a model for preventing hate crimes. This policy is a bold step, however we have seen nothing to support that an actual work plan has been implemented. We understand that change takes time, but were often frustrated at the poor response and lack of transparency and follow up from the administration toward the identified needs of our community. Had there been the adequate resources, staff, and institutional support to create a safe space for students of color, the APA community would not have continued to feel so marginalized and insignificant. Had the University had a true commitment to cultivating a culture of inclusiveness and respect for diversity, such incidents of hate could have been prevented.

As alumni, we are disappointed to see students having to face the same struggles that we faced and had lobbied the administration to pay greater attention to in the past. The September 15th incident and subsequent poor accountability from the University administration is evidence that the state of affairs has not changed much. We request that you immediately and aggressively work to better understand the needs of APAs and other students of color at the University of Michigan, and that you work alongside members of the community (as determined by the APA student community) to identify the necessary resources to improve the quality of student life and learning at the University of Michigan. We urge you to not only speak of the University’s commitment to diversity, but to act upon it as well.


Sincerely,
Asian Pacific American Alumni
University of Michigan




The undersigned,
Rena Agarwal, Class of 2004

Geri Alumit, Class of 1992

Amna Abkar, Class of 2004, JD

Gaurav Budhrani, Class of 2004

Charlene Bugais, Class of 2004

Christine Catalan, Class of 2005

Nancy Cha, Class of 2000

Stephanie Chang, Class of 2005

Wen M. Chao, Class of 1995

Karen Chen, Class of 2004

Sandy Chien, Class of 2005

Ann Cho, Class of 1991

Suzy Choi, Class of 2001

Tammy Chu, Class of 2002

Chrissy Cheung, Class of 2001

Jeanette Cruz, Class of 2001

Catherine Dacpano, Class of 2002

Ha-Hoa Dang, Class of 2002

Sumon Dantiki, Class of 2004

Siddharth Desai, Class of 1999

Stefanie Dioso, Class of 2004

Shana Fu, Class of 2004

Monica Garg, Class of 2003

Cesar Herrera, Class of 2003

Roselle Herrera, Class of 2001

Sana Hong, Class of 2003

Monica M. Hou, Class of 2002

Harry D. Hsing, Class of 2000

Matthew K. Huang, Class of 2002

Joe Hsu

Dennis Hsu, Class of 2002, BA; Class of 2006, MBA

Gaurav Jashnani, Class of 2003

Bernice Jung, Class of 1993

Esther Kim, Class of 1996

Esther Kim, Class of 2002

Gene Kim, Class of 1991

Jamie Kim, Class of 2004

Jane S. Kim, Class of 2000

Jennifer Kim, Class of 2005

Jessica JiYoung Kim, Class of 2002

Min Jung Kim, Class of 1996

Sharon Kim, Class of 2003

Rebecca J. Kinney, Class of 2001

Avani Kothary, Class of 2004

Jay Kwah, Class of 2002

Jess Kwok, Class of '03

Eric Lai, Class of 2001

Ijun Lai, Class of 2003

James Lee, Class of 2005

Marcia Lee, Class of 2005

Mimi Lee, Class of 2004

Patty Lee, Class of 1998

Ursula Liang, Class of 1996

Amy Liao, Class of 2005

Leslie Liao, Class of 2001

Nhi Lieu, Class of 2004

Michelle Lin, Class of 2003

Elaine Liu, Class of 2003

Richard Lo, Class of 2005

Lisa Lu, Class of 2005

Roseanna Magat, Class of 2002

Karlo Marcelo, Class of 2005, MPP

Grace Meng, Class of 1997

Jennifer Mizusawa, Class of 2003

Jeff Mutuc, Class of 2005

Teresa Nam, Class of 1991

Daniel Om, Class of 2002

Kenneth R. Ong, Class of 1972

Amit Pandya, Class of 2001

Rupal Patel, Class of 2001

Rushika Patel, Class of 2000

Sejal Patel, Class of 2001

Chau M. Phan, Class of 1999

Michael Reyes, Class of 2004

Sujeet Rao, Class of 2004

Yena Ryu, Class of 2003

Rahul Saksena, Class of 2004

Monica Seth, Class of 2003

Arpita Shah, Class of 2001

Karishma Shah, Class of 2002

Naweed Sikora, Class of 2004

Jung-in Soh, Class of 2005

Leena Soman, Class of 2002

Doug Song, Class of 1996

Linh Song, Class of 1998, BA; Class of 2001, MSW

Steven Song, Class of 2004

Alice Kim Switzer, Class of 1991

Jessica Tang, Class of 2004

Cuong Trinh, Class of 2003

Dr. Marie P. Ting, Class of 1993, BA; Class of 1998, MA

Roger Toguchi, Class of 2001

Vivian Tseng, Class of 2001

Sabrina Van, Class of 2004

Scott Velasquez, Class of 2004

Frances Wang, Class of 1991, MA

Sonjae Whang, Class of 1993, BS; Class of 1994, MS

Isra Wongsarnpigoon, Class of 1995

Steven Wu, Class of 2001

Rhea Yap, Class of 2003

David Yeh, Class of 2002

Jessica Yu, Class of 2004

Michael Yu, Class of 2001

Diana Yuen, Class of 2003

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[1] http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/09/21/4330f61d9f9f0

[2] http://www.securityoncampus.org/schools/hatecrimes.html. This prevention model could not be found on the University of Michigan’s website.