Advocacy Stances

Affirmative Action

ECAASU fully supports affirmative action policies that promote inclusive and equitable education opportunities for all underrepresented and historically oppressed communities. We believe that race-conscious decisions are crucial in ensuring fair college admissions, especially for those who are marginalized due to their race. East Asian Americans are routinely used as a wedge in conversations surrounding affirmative action in order to pit communities of color against each other, while white and/or legacy student populations are largely unaffected. We fight to raise understanding of this narrative and actively challenge it. We also acknowledge that affirmative action policies are only one aspect of this fight, not a permanent solution. We will continue to support policies that make education accessible and equitable for all marginalized communities.

Data Disaggregation

ECAASU fully supports data disaggregation when it comes to the responsible collection, distribution, and reporting of protected data pertaining to the API/A communities. We believe that the aggregation of API/A data is harmful as it (1) perpetuates the stereotype that API/A communities are monolithic and (2) makes it very difficult to provide support for those who do not fit into mainstream aesthetics of an “Asian.” In an era of increased surveillance by both the government and corporations, personal data must be collected and protected responsibly and communities should have knowledge and control over how their data is used. Disaggregated data is essential to understanding the unique issues that face each of our communities and it must be responsibly collected with our communities’ best interests in mind.

Immigration and Xenophobia

ECAASU fully supports comprehensive, inclusive, and equitable immigration policies that welcome individuals and families from all walks of life, regardless of country of origin, religion, immigration status, criminal history, and/or other identities. API/A communities have an important stake in formulating such policies that can be beneficial for all, and we are in solidarity with other immigrant communities. We acknowledge that many historic gains for API/A rights have come at a cost to immigration reform and refuse to continue that narrative. We also know that US and Western foreign policy, imperialism, and war activity has had a direct impact on migration patterns. Anti-immigrant rhetoric has historically been used to create fear-based policies and attitudes within our families, communities, and governments that continue to propel xenophobia today in its many forms, which particularly harms undocumented community members.

Imperialism and Colonialism

ECAASU fully opposes western imperialism and colonialism. Nations, lands, and communities across Asia and the Pacific have a long war-torn history of conflict, subjugation, and colonization by Western imperialist empires, mainly by European nations and the United States. We also acknowledge that some Asian countries have adopted imperialist policies and sieged imperialist wars, mostly on other Asian and Pacific nations. These histories still affect API/A communities to this day, and have had a direct impact on migration patterns. These histories also shape the lack of mobility that our communities encounter in the face of settler colonialism and oppressive regimes. We acknowledge that Hawai’i is an illegally-occupied nation and many Pacific Islands are unjustly controlled and exploited by foreign powers. We believe in justice for Palestine and are in solidarity with their struggle as they have fought in solidarity with racial justice activists in the United States. Imperialism continues to evolve and take on new forms, in the form of foreign policy and wars against terrorism.

Asian American Studies and Pacific Islander Studies

ECAASU fully supports endeavors to establish and advance Asian American Studies and Pacific Islander Studies as well as efforts to establish all Ethnic Studies programs, in recognizing the erasure of BIPOC history across time and the importance of the scholarly examination of BIPOC issues in addressing those problems and more. We believe that the first step towards challenging the status quo is to question it and to be critical of it. Ethnic Studies has provided marginalized communities with vocabulary to be critical of systems of power and the space to share and grow. We advocate for the establishment of Asian American Studies and Pacific Islander Studies curricula taught by API/A faculty and teachers in K-12 education, colleges, and universities across the country.