“Unless we know ourselves and our history, and other people and their history, there is really no way that we can really have [the] positive kind of interaction where there is real understanding.” - Yuri Kochiyama

In the 1980s to the 1990s, countless groups of Asian American students came together on their campuses to call for Asian American studies programs. Student activists such as those at Northwestern University championed for these programs and the rights, needs, and interests of the Asian American student body. These are only a few pinpricks in the vast expanse of history that Asian Americans have in America; our political activism only covers a fraction of the wide and vibrant expanse of the Asian American identity, the barriers our community faces, and facets of our academic thought.

To ignore the call for Asian American Studies is to create a flawed and oppressive curriculum; to deny Brandeis students the opportunity to pursue knowledge critical to the identity and advancement of Asian Americans is to contradict Brandeis’ mission.

We cannot pursue a more socially just future as students, as individuals, without an understanding of the injustices of our past. We cannot allow the denial and erasure of our past to continue. Ultimately, we cannot subscribe to complacency any longer and our past, our history, shows that we are more than capable of rising up to make our voices heard.

We, the undersigned, call for the long overdue establishment of an Asian American Studies Department at Brandeis University and stand in support either as members of our community or allies in solidarity.

Access our Letter to the Administration, Asian American Studies and Center Survey Media Release, Op-Ed on Asian American Studies, and the BAATF Manifesto at our Medium page: https://medium.com/@brandeisaatf

To contact BAATF, email Brandeisaatf@gmail.com. Stay updated with our Facebook page Facebook.com/BAATF.