The Asian American experience is complex and different for each individual, and the University of Idaho Library and Shelley Carr have teamed up with the Asian American Pacific Islander Association (AAPIA) to create a display that showcases AAPI Heritage and Culture.
“I’m trying to show a multifaceted perspective,” Carr said. “No human group is monolithic, American doesn’t mean just one thing.”
The AAPIA is a student organization that works with the Office of MultiCultural Affairs and is led by President Anna Saythavy whose involvement with the program goes back to 2019, shortly after its resurface in 2018.
“The organization was a thing on campus before 2018 but it had died down due to the Asian American Pacific Islander student population on campus is very small, even right now I think it’s only at 1.8%,” Saythavy said.
Despite the small population, it is important to bring attention to this large group of diverse peoples and their experiences.
“Asia is a massive chunk of the world and it’s incredibly diverse,” Carr said. “It goes as far east as Afghanistan and as far west as Korea and Japan and New Zealand and Malaysia.”
The Stop Asian Hate movement has been active in these past few months as recognition of racism towards those of Asian descent has been more visible in the media.
Saythavy said she has experienced what she described as casual racism and stereotyping growing up in the Boise area and although she is glad the movement is getting attention she is frustrated that it has taken so long.
“It was great because people finally felt like their voice was being heard but at the same time, it has kind of sucked that it took such drastic events for people to finally pay attention to the community,” she said.
In this display, there is a wide variety of materials including movies, infographics, poetry, graphic novels and of course several different styles of books.
“I’ve got some nonfiction talking about some of the history of Asian Americans in the United States as well as the history behind the racism that we’re seeing right now,” Carr said.
While the goal of the display is to promote ending Asian hate, the main focus is an appreciation of cultural heritage.
“We really want to highlight celebrating these cultures,” Saythavy said. “Here’s our food, here’s our music and garnering more appreciation for those things and hopefully from that people understand that we’re all different cultures and just because we look different doesn’t mean that we are not human.”
The current display is a work in progress with plans to add more artifacts eventually but everyone should stop by and check out the colorful educational display before they leave campus, anyone is welcome to get involved with AAPIA.
“We really want to push the fact that even though we are labeled as the Asian American Pacific Islander Association, our organization is open to anybody that wants to join and anybody who wants to learn about these cultures so we are open to all vandals,” Saythavy said.
The next library display will be for pride month in June and will likely remain up throughout the summer before students return to campus next fall.
Paige Fiske can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @paige_fiske10