Student Assembly

Whereas, in 2002, Vice President Susan Murphy and Provost Biddy Martin commissioned the Cornell Asian and Asian American Campus Climate Task Force Report;

Whereas, the report’s findings in 2004 were:

• More than half of the 20 student suicides occurring at Cornell between 1996 and 2004 were by students of Asian descent.
• Bias-related incidents at Cornell, including verbal, physical and sexual attacks, often involve women of Asian descent.
• Only 6.5 percent of faculty and 2 percent of nonacademic staff at Cornell are Asian.
• Students of Asian descent who graduated in 2000 were least satisfied with their Cornell experience on a number of variables, including accessibility of faculty members and the quality of academic advising and counseling services.
• Students of Asian descent underutilize mental health services.
• Asian and Asian American students are subject to the “model minority” stereotype, holding that they do not need services beyond those offered to the general student body. This illustrates a perceived lack of recognition and awareness of the reality, experience, and impact of racism and stereotyping as they relate to Asians and Asian Americans.
• Finally, while suffering the consequences of being racially marked, Asian and Asian-American students at Cornell have been rendered “conceptually invisible.”

Whereas, the report’s highest priority recommendations were:

• To establish a centrally located Asian and Asian-American student community/cultural center or space.
• To establish a staff position dedicated to Asian and Asian-American student programs and support, with responsibilities to coordinate, create, and promote original programs and supplement existing programs campus-wide.

Whereas, the A3C the current (please rephrase) understaffing of only one Assistant Dean is insufficient in trying to meet the needs of about 20% of Cornell’s population;

Whereas, in November 2007 the Student Assembly passed Resolution 8 calling for the creation of a centrally located Asian and Asian American Center (A3C). Whereas, the administration is aware and well informed of the lack of support and commission given to the ill adequate interim center in Willard Straight Hall.

Be it therefore resolved, that the Student Assembly strongly urges Cornell to do the following for the Asian and Asian-American student population:

• Creation of a centrally located cultural center (The A3C already has a space but it needs a much larger one. Currently the A3C is a small office that can fit about 6 people.)
• Continued support of the establishment of an Assistant Dean position devoted to the Asian and Asian-American population (should we specify? through increased programming funds, increased staffing, and so on?)
• Further research on the climate of the Asian and Asian-American community (and for all marginalized communities such as other students of color, LGBT students, differently abled students, women, etc. The research should look into bias incidents, student satisfaction, and so on, similar to what the 2004 Task Force Report researched.)

Be it further resolved, that such a space at Cornell University would provide:

• A gathering place, meeting space, a hub, support for Asian and Asian American student organizations
• Connections among Asian and Asian American groups and with organizations in the broader community
• A connection with the student support system
• A range of resources that are readily accessible
• Walk in hours offered by staff providing outreach from offices around campus, as well as by the Assistant Dean’s office
• Proximity to other multicultural programs, peer counseling, and peer support services
• Programming that captures an array of Asian cultures, providing all students with an Asian cultural education

Be it further resolved, that the Student Assembly strongly urges the Cornell administration to remain committed to its diversity initiatives by taking a more proactive role in seeking additional sources of funding in order to maintain and strengthen diversity initiatives at Cornell University.

Be it finally resolved, that the Student Assembly hold the Administration accountable once again for its lack of support to the Asian/Asian American students and that this time they follow through completely with their agreed arrangements for A3C in Resolution 8 of 2007 and restore support and commitment to the Asian/Asian American students as necessary.

Respectfully submitted,

Olamide Williams ‘10
Undesignated at-Large Representative

Nikhil Kumar ‘11
Minority at-Large Representative Executive Vice President