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Home News Campus Vigil at SLCC honors victims in Atlanta, spotlights AAPI voices
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Vigil at SLCC honors victims in Atlanta, spotlights AAPI voices

By
Amie Schaeffer
-
March 22, 2021
0
Vigil outside South City Campus
Members of the community gather at South City Campus for the Peace and Justice Vigil on March 19. The vigil honored those killed in an Atlanta shooting spree that left eight dead, including six women of Asian descent. (Tamra Rachol)

Members of the community gathered in front of South City Campus on Friday to remember the eight people killed in a series of shootings at Atlanta-area spas on March 17.

The Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) department organized the Peace & Justice Vigil, which honored Soon Chung Park, Hyun Jung Grant, Suncha Kim, Yong Ae Yue, Delaina Ashley Yaun, Paul Andre Michels, Xiaojie Tan and Daoyou Feng. The event also served as a reminder of the diverse student body at Salt Lake Community College and how a college can serve as a platform to amplify these voices.

“Salt Lake Community College … just youth in general, has always led the fight in the change to a better way of living,” sociology major Ken-tay Lee said prior to the start of the vigil. “When we see racism, whether it’s overt or it’s covert, we want to say it, right? We want to be deliberate in extinguishing this.”

“We’re here because of the suffering. We’re here because people lost their family members … and we all understand suffering, and that’s why we are here in solidarity. I am here because I want to see the day when these don’t exist,” Lee continued.

Chief Diversity Officer Dr. Lea Lani Kinikini opened the vigil by reading “Blood in the Kava Bowl” by Tongan poet Epeli Hau’ofa. Afterward, the student members of JEDI led the crowd in a call and response saying each victim’s name.

Associate Vice President for Student Success, Dr. Kathryn Kay Coquemont, addressed the crowd speaking to the grief of the American Asian and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

“In addition to your grief, in addition to your anger, in it, you also have a loneliness. And it’s the worst feeling of invisibility,” Coquemont said. “And it’s bad not just because you feel invisible and your community feels invisible, but it’s bad because you’re also conspicuous in the worst ways.”

The space was opened to anyone who wanted to share their thoughts. Bianca Teh, a graphic design major and member of the Asian Student Association, spoke of how the rise in xenophobia impacted her family who are immigrants from the Philippines.

“She [her mother] was worried that we [Teh and her siblings] would get hurt,” Teh said. “She told us to wear sunglasses and caps and just cover our faces to make sure that no one knows what kind of race you are because she doesn’t want her babies hurt.”

According to California State University’s Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, hate crimes against people of Asian descent rose sharply in 2020. A spike of 149% was reported in examining 16 of the largest cities in the country.

Coquemont said she appreciated being asked to be part of the conversation in organizing the vigil at an SLCC campus by Kinikini and Dr. Anthony Nocella.

“I think there’s such power in doing it here because this is where our community is more so than any place else. We know that students of color are coming here and finding a home here,” Coquemont said.

Coquemont acknowledged students are facing negative experiences at the college as well.

“We’re here to do better by them and hear their stories … part of being a community college is saying that you’re not just a student, but we are here for all of who you are. We have your back,” Coquemont said.

Students experiencing incidents of bias or hate are encouraged to report the incident.

To find more resources, including a cultural guide to support solidarity and allyship with the Asian community, visit the Office of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Bianca Teh’s major and club affiliation. We apologize for the error.

Peace & Justice Vigil at South City Campus, March 19, 2021
1 of 17
Vigil outside South City Campus
Members of the community gather at South City Campus for the Peace and Justice Vigil on March 19. The vigil honored those killed in an Atlanta shooting spree that left eight dead, including six women of Asian descent. (Tamra Rachol)
Dr. Kinikini reading a poem
Dr. Lea Lani Kinikini, chief diversity officer at Salt Lake Community College, reads “Blood in the Kava Bowl” by Tongan poet Epeli Hau'ofa at the Peace and Justice Vigil on March 19. (Tamra Rachol)
Dr. Coquemont speaking from campus steps
Dr. Kathryn Kay Coquemont, associate vice president for student success at Salt Lake Community College, addresses the crowd in front of South City Campus on March 19 during a vigil for eight people killed in Atlanta two days earlier. (Tamra Rachol)
Ariane Alves de Oliveira Barboza speaking
Salt Lake Community College student Ariane Alves de Oliveira Barboza addresses those in attendance for the Peace and Justice Vigil on March 19 at South City Campus. Barboza is a member of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) program, which organized the vigil. (Tamra Rachol)
Ariane Alves de Oliveira Barboza talking
Salt Lake Community College student Ariane Alves de Oliveira Barboza speaks at a vigil outside South City Campus on March 19. Those in attendance honored eight people killed in a recent shooting spree in Atlanta. (Tamra Rachol)
Bianca Teh holding a sign that reads "Love our people like you love our food"
Bianca Teh, center, a sociology major and a member of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) program, shares her experience of being a member of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community during a vigil for peace and justice on March 19. (Tamra Rachol)
Vigil attendees holding banner that reads "Against terrorism - love and solidarity AAPI"
Members of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) program hold a banner supporting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, while the professors from the Salt Lake Community College math department voice their support during a vigil for peace and justice on March 19 at South City Campus. (Tamra Rachol)
Math teachers standing in solidarity
Salt Lake Community College math faculty attend a vigil for the Atlanta shooting spree victims at South City Campus on March 19. Eight people died on March 17, including six women of Asian descent. (Tamra Rachol)
Ricky Panh speaking at vigil
Ricky Panh talks about discrimination he faced as a child during a vigil for peace and justice on March 19 at South City Campus. (Tamra Rachol)
Nadia Yahyapour speaking at vigil
Salt Lake Community College alumna Nadia Yahyapour, who is also a member of the Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (JEDI) program, describes how people can best be allies and show support to the Asian American and Pacific Islander community during a vigil for peace and justice on March 19 at South City Campus. (Tamra Rachol)
Mojdeh Sakaki speaking at vigil
Mojdeh Sakaki, program manager of the SLCC Fashion Institute, speaks about the importance of attending the peace and justice vigil as part of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community on March 19. (Tamra Rachol)
People standing on steps while holding a large banner
Vigil attendees sing “We Shall Overcome” outside South City Campus on March 19. The vigil honored eight lives lost during the recent shooting spree in Atlanta. Six of the victims were women of Asian descent. (Tamra Rachol)
Young man speaking at vigil
A community member, no name provided, steps forward to condemn racism and voice his support for the Asian American and Pacific Islander community during a vigil for peace and justice on March 19 at South City Campus. (Tamra Rachol)
Timothy Davis writing with chalk on the sidewalk
Salt Lake resident Timothy Davis, front center, helps write the names of victims of the Atlanta shooting spree on the concrete in front of South City Campus on March 19. (Tamra Rachol)
Timothy Davis writing with chalk on the sidewalk
Salt Lake resident Timothy Davis, front center, helps write the names of victims of the Atlanta spa shootings on the concrete in front of South City Campus on March 19. Eight people died, including six women of Asian descent. (Tamra Rachol)
People writing names in chalk on a sidewalk
Students, faculty and community members use chalk to write the names of shooting spree victims during a vigil on March 19 at South City Campus. Eight people, including six women of Asian descent, died in three spa shootings in metro Atlanta on March 17. (Tamra Rachol)
People writing names in chalk on a sidewalk
Students, faculty and community members write sidewalk chalk messages during a vigil March 19 at South City Campus. Salt Lake Community College hosted the vigil to mourn eight individuals killed in the Atlanta spa shootings. (Tamra Rachol)
  • TAGS
  • Asian Americans
  • Bianca Teh
  • JEDI4ST
  • Kathryn Coquemont
  • Ken-tay Lee
  • Lea Lani Kinikini
  • Pacific Islanders
  • Peace and Justice Vigil
  • photo gallery
  • Racism
  • Salt Lake Community College
  • South City Campus
Amie Schaeffer

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