A Resolution in Support of the Introduction of an Asian-American Studies Program
Recognizing the role of the United Student Government at Rose Hill to articulate and advocate for the needs of all undergraduate Fordham students,
Emphasizing the dual importance and necessity of creating a culture of inclusion on campus through academic affairs and student life,
Drawing attention to the fact that 21 out of the 28 Jesuit universities in the United States currently offer Asian-American Studies programs,
Aware that 15% of undergraduate students at Fordham self-identify as Asian and over 1,300 Fordham community members have signed a petition in overwhelming support of an Asian-American Studies program,
Acknowledging that the Fordham mission calls upon the University to “develop in its students an understanding of and reverence for cultures and ways of life other than their own,”1
Recalling that, in the University Action Plan Addressing Racism and Educating for Justice, the University reaffirms its commitment to “develop[ing] curricular and cocurricular initiatives” that discern issues of “racism, inequality, and diversity as often and as richly as possible,”2
Noting with deep concern that Fordham only currently staffs three tenure-line faculty who self-identify as scholars in the field of Asian-American Studies,
Affirming that the establishment of an Asian-American Studies program both “condemns… the xenophobic and racist thinking which underlies” the rise of anti-Asian rhetoric in the “strongest possible terms,” as outlined in the President’s Message on Anti-Asian Violence, and highlights the cultural history, contributions, and hegemonic discourse related to the field of study,3
Fully believing that the Jesuit values upon which our institution is founded call us to actively pursue justice and stand as students for and with others,
The United Student Government at Rose Hill hereby calls upon the University to introduce a generously funded, fully-staffed, and holistically integrated Asian-American Studies Program into Fordham curricula.
1 Mission Statement, Fordham University, (2005), <https://www.fordham.edu/info/20057/about/2997/mission_statement>.
2 Fordham University Action Plan | Addressing Racism, Educating for Justice, Fordham News, (2020),
<https://news.fordham.edu/university-news/fordham-university-action-plan-addressing-racism-educating-for-justice/>.
3 President’s Message on Anti-Asian Violence, Fordham News, (2021), <https://news.fordham.edu/university-news/presidents-message-on-anti-asian-violence/>.