As a collective, we believe in interrupting white supremacy and anti-Asian hate in academia and all aspects of society.

In Canada, along with other places around the world, anti-Asian discrimination has been on the rise. Since the pandemic, Chinese, Korean, and Southeast Asian people have reported high incidents of harassment in Canada. One study in 2020 found that about 11 % of Chinese immigrants living in Canada reported they had experienced incidents of discrimination, along with higher levels of anxiety, depression, and fear since the pandemic began (Zhang et al., 2020). In a follow-up study in 2021, 35% reported experiencing discrimination (Eligh, 2021). Chinese, Korean and Southeast Asian populations, however, are not the only groups dealing with increased harassment. In 2019, the police-reported hate crime rate against Arab and West Asian populations went up to 38% (Stat Can, 2021). Overall, these statistics illustrate that Asian communities are experiencing heightened levels of stress at this time, which are likely compounding the existing systemic racism and microagressions they were experiencing prior.

Research shows that Asian populations accessing higher education navigate racism and harm from the minority model stereotype, which manifests in many ways. The minority model stereotype depicts Asian Americans/Canadians as highly intelligent, hardworking, and socially isolated (Padgett et al., 2020). This stereotype is harmful as it obscures the unique experiences of Asian communities and individuals, putting pressure on Asian individuals to perform in particular ways.

The experiences of Asian communities are often cast aside in discussions of racism because of perceived "model minority status". As Yvette Munro (2013) notes in her book report of Too Asian: Racism, Privilege and Post-Secondary Education, "Asian-Canadians in academia oscillate from being left out of the conversation entirely either because they are deemed to be performing well academically (in contrast to other racialized groups seen as struggling) or viewed as eternally foreign, other, and not-Canadian (regardless of citizenship or time in Canada)" (p. 700).