First Highlander Print Issue in Over Four Years

By Morgan Jacobus, Editor in Chief

Cover of the End of Year Showcase Issue 2020-21

Great news: we created and published a PRINT ISSUE!

When I stepped into my role as EIC, this was one of my main goals. As I talked with our adviser and various faculty, they all communicated in some way that they missed having a print issue of the Highlander. After all, there hasn’t been one since December of 2016, over four years ago. Looking into the Highlander archives, I read their final print issue. From what I gathered, it appeared that their decision stemmed from a feeling that people weren’t reading print anymore. Ironically to me, our goals are actually the same. In the article announcing the transition to digital, it mentioned, “Our biggest goal this academic year for The Highlander was visibility; we want to be seen and heard by all of campus,” wrote their Lead Associate Editor at the time, Natalia Zreliak.

After all, what more does a publication want than to be seen? However, there is one main way in which we deviate: I see print as a way to increase visibility rather than a hindrance to it. Though I appreciate the prominence and necessity of an online presence, I think there is something about print that just can’t be replicated online. You can see people carrying it, you can find it across campus, and for those of us that created it, we get to hold our work in our hands.

We will still be a primarily online publication, but our goal is to have special print issues that come out about once a semester, to have the best of both worlds. The way I see it, there isn’t a need to have to choose between print and online, we can do both, and in doing so we will hopefully increase our presence and recognizability on campus.

We conducted the first distribution of our first ever print End of Year Issue, celebrating the work we have done thus far in the 2020-21 academic year. Did you miss it? No worries! We will have plenty of copies that can be found in the major buildings across campus, such as the library, the fitness and wellness Center, Clarke Hall, Main Hall, Claver, and even in the science building. Or, in other exciting news, we also made an Issuu account, so you can read our print issue in all its glory online, just go to this link: Highlander End of Year Issue 2020-21 by ruhighlander - issuu

Stay tuned to see what print issue we are going to do next!

A Letter from ASA: Stop AAPI Hate

Provided by ASA

In light of the tragedy within the AAPI community in Atlanta, we wish to share our thoughts with Regis University. 

We, Asian Student Alliance, condemn this tragedy as a racially-charged hate crime fueled by white supremacy. This recent incident is one of many in a history of hate against the AAPI community, and unfortunately, the rhetoric in response to the COVID-19 pandemic has only increased this discrimination and harassment. It has been reported that there were over 3,800 instances of discrimination in the past year (Stop AAPI Hate https://stopaapihate.org/reportsreleases). Types of discrimination include verbal harrassment, physical asaault, civil rights violations, and online harassment.

At the heart of this issue is the model minority myth. This myth perpetuates the idea that Asian people have more privilege than other people of color. This creates tension between communities of color and blindsides us from the real issue, which is white supremacy. The model minority myth was originally a political tool used by white supremcists who claimed that racism doesn’t exist—since Asians were a “successful” people of color, hardships among other communities of color were attributed to laziness. This is a false and harmful claim because it leads to other issues, including the segregation of education amongst East Asians and South East Asians. It also covers up the racist past of the US Government and ignores how white supremacy has used Asian people as a scapegoat for previous immigration and job issues, as was evident in the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.  

The rhetoric that blamed COVID-19 on Asian countries has created a bigger target on our backs, especially for those in the elderly community because they are considered an easier target. Again, this feeds into the harmful myth that Asian people will not fight back because they are considered non-confrontational. Scapegoating the AAPI community in this way has clear and deadly consequences.

For this reason, we are disheartened by the portrayal of this attack as motivated by a “sex addiction” rather than race. In reality, these issues are interconnected. The AAPI community has endured decades of stereotyping, all of which have caused the AAPI community to be perceived as foreign. This has caused a dangerous fetishization of Asian people that, as we saw already, can prove to be life-threatening. Asian women are especially at risk; Stop AAPI Hate reports that women in the AAPI community experienced 2.3 times more hate incidents when compared to AAPI men. Reducing the problem to a “sex addiction” prevents us from addressing the real issues at hand. We must instead address the harassment these women have faced and the reasoning behind it.

Furthermore, we are disheartened by the claim that this was simply a “bad day” for the domestic terrorist who attacked the parlor in Georgia. This excuse minimizes the devastation of this attack. As a society, we have witnessed how women are forced to internalize their “bad days.” Meanwhile, men are excused for committing hate crimes on their “bad days.” Neither outlet should be accepted.

We understand that this is not an easy subject to talk about. Our best recommendation is listening. We want our voices to be both heard and echoed. The best help you can provide is through extending our message to others. The Asian community has already spent decades suffering from stereotypes that encouraged us to stay quiet.

This is true of other communities of color, too; however, we wish to address that this issue should not be compared to the Black Lives Matter Movement. Our problems and communities each suffer from our own struggles and histories. Forcing a comparison between the two can downplay the realities that both communities face. 

We don’t expect you to relate to the issues we have shared with regards to the AAPI community, but we plead for recognition in a society that has tried to silence us. We are optimistic that the rest of the university will follow suit in our call to action.  Our hearts go out to the families and friends of those who lost their lives in this tragedy. May their memories live on through the actions we take to become a better country. #STOPAAPIHATE

Resources:

https://stopaapihate.org

https://anti-asianviolenceresources.carrd.co