Our hearts are heavy and we stand against the ongoing and increasing violence, hate, harassment, and terror faced by Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. We denounce the murders of eight individuals, including six Asian American women in the Atlanta area yesterday. The Department of Psychology stands in solidarity with Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander individuals and communities. Racist incidents experienced by the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities have long histories in the U.S., and often remain invisible and unreported. The Department of Psychology is committed to raising awareness about anti-Asian racism and racism in all forms and addressing these inequities as they occur in our curriculum and department.
To learn more about recent reported violence against Asian Americans, read this report by Stop AAPI Hate. We encourage students to enroll in our Asian American Psychology, Multicultural Psychology, and Psychology of Racism courses, all of which address systemic and structural racism. We will provide training to our faculty and staff that addresses anti-Asian racism prior to the end of the semester. We seek to provide as safe as possible spaces for our Asian and Asian American students, staff, faculty, and colleagues in our Department. Our Rapid Response team is available to address reports of anti-Asian violence and provide support to student, staff and faculty in our UMD community.
In addition, members of the Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and all those who are impacted by racism and injustice at the University of Maryland may access support by contacting the Counseling Center or the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. For members of the AAPI community living in the MD/DC/VA area who would like to access free, virtual support, please see this group.
If you witness or experience bias, exclusion, or hate against Asian or Asian American individuals (or any individual) in the Department of Psychology, we encourage you to report these incidents to our Rapid Response Team by using this anonymous survey so these incidents can be addressed. If you would like to share an idea of how to improve equity, anti-racism and inclusion within the Department of Psychology, please reach out to the Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
In Solidarity,
Nazish Salahuddin, Assistant Chair for Equity and Inclusion; Chair, Rapid Response Team; Co-chair, Diversity and Inclusion Committee
Karen O'Brien, Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies and Rapid Response Team Member
Erica Glasper, Associate Professor; Co-chair, Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Rapid Response Team Member
Michael Dougherty, Department Chair
Joanne Leffson-Bryant, Director of Finance and Administration
Bob Slevc, Associate Chair for Graduate Studies
Department of Psychology's Rapid Response Team
Department of Psychology's Diversity and Inclusion Committee
