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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Youth Advocate from Asian American Student Advocacy Project
5:00:55
·
149 sec
A high school student and youth advocate testifies about his experiences with racial discrimination in school and advocates for the implementation of restorative justice programs to address bullying and harassment against Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students. He emphasizes the need for sustainable funding for restorative justice coordinators in all schools to create a more inclusive and accepting environment.
- He shares a personal story of being called a racial slur in middle school and feeling unsupported by school staff
- He argues that traditional punishments like suspension do not address the root causes of discriminatory behavior
- The Asian American Student Advocacy Project's anti-bullying campaign recommends restorative justice as a more effective approach to educating students who cause harm and promoting healing for those affected
High School Student
5:00:55
Good afternoon.
5:00:56
First I wanna thank Chair Joseph and the rest of the council for allowing this conversation.
5:01:01
My name is Seaver Chen and I'm a student at Curtis High School in Staten Island.
5:01:04
I'm also a youth advocate at the Asian American Student Advocacy Project's anti bullying and harassment campaign.
5:01:11
In my predominantly white middle school, I constantly heard my peers say discriminatory things towards Asian people.
5:01:17
I was often in fear of being targeted.
5:01:20
Finally my fear was realized when a classmate, my own classmate directly called me with a racial slur which bothered me enough to report it to a teacher who then directed me to other staff members.
5:01:30
The staff tried to comfort me by reminding me that the person who said the remark towards me was going to move school soon.
5:01:36
I left the office feeling just as uncomfortable with my identity as I did when I arrived and I wondered if I had overreacted.
5:01:43
This made me feel increasingly more comfortable with my Asian identity and I would wake up some days wishing I were anything other than Chinese.
5:01:50
What I experienced is not an isolated situation.
5:01:52
Many AAPI students do not feel comfortable in schools due to racially discriminatory remarks as a consequence of stereotypes being perpetuated through a lack of an inclusive curriculum and culturally sensitive staff.
5:02:04
Students hear microaggressions and passively racist comments every day that have no repercussions.
5:02:09
When a more severe racist remark is reported, traditional punishment like suspension will occur.
5:02:16
However, this approach ignores the root causes of the issue and does not encourage those who caused harm to learn about the negative impact they affected.
5:02:24
As a result, students will repeat discriminatory comments targeting the AAPI community with no real understanding of the depth of their actions.
5:02:33
In my situation, my peer did not learn and grow from the experience and the school did not provide space for me to heal.
5:02:39
ASAP's anti bullying and harassment campaign believes that restorative justice will be an impactful and meaningful solution to this issue.
5:02:46
Instead of simply punishing those who cause harm, restorative justice promotes an environment where they can be educated on the effects of their actions while not feeling disciplined.
5:02:54
In order to foster a more accepting and inclusive environment in schools we believe each school must have a restorative justice coordinator.
5:03:02
This meaningful change will take time therefore the funding should be sustainable and protected from being cut.
5:03:08
Schools must be responsible for addressing bullying and harassment with care instead of blaming the students.
5:03:13
Some schools have annual assemblies on treating others with respect but we need more than that.
5:03:18
All schools must have a restorative justice coordinator to invest in our sense of belonging and safety in school.
5:03:23
Thank you.