On Tuesday March 23, around 150 students gathered on Geneseo's College Green in a rally against Asian American violence. Participants listened to the words of organizers and students who felt inspired to speak about their experiences surrounding racism and diversity before they marched around campus and Main Street.
The primary organizers of this event were sociomedical sciences major sophomore Josephine Wu, music education and music performance major junior Elijah Reed, and communication major sophomore Brandy Manasilp.
Preparation for the event started the Sunday before the rally. Reed had sent the idea out to a GroupMe chat and interested students began to plan. The recent shootings in Atlanta, in which Asian women were targeted, was one major catalyst for the organization of this rally.
"We want to open up a conversation, open up a space for people to talk about what had happened," Wu said.
The Atlanta shootings were only a single consequence of the anti-Asian sentiment that the organizers hoped to address.
"There's a lot of xenophobic and inflammatory rhetoric and harassment on Asian culture and in Asian people," Manasilp said. "Looking back and reflecting through my experiences, I've been one of those victims too, and there's so many people who've been affected."
In calling attention to this discrimination, the organizers hoped to acknowledge the presence and significance of the Asian-American community on campus.
"We just wanted to take up some space," Wu said. "We're not protesting anything against the greater Genesee community, although we do see there are some divides there. We wanted to address these things, [and] we wanted to make people feel heard all."
Many of these goals were accomplished in the eyes of the organizers. With between 150 and 200 participants at the rally, the Geneseo community showed up in numbers.
"It was really nice to see everybody in a line going through and being so energetic," Reed said.
The organizers clarified that despite the enthusiasm shown in numbers and participation at the rally, the commitment to the Asian American community cannot stop here. In order to show up as consistent allies, this demonstration of dedication cannot be a one-time event.
"I hope people realize that showing up was a really, really good thing to do, but that is not the only thing that we need from people," Wu said. "But … it's not just about showing up to events—it's about making those little changes in your life, calling out racism and being an active supporter of anti-racism when you see it, and not propelling those ideals yourself."
While the Geneseo community responded rather positively to the rally, it was not as well-received by Livingston County as a whole. A recent article from the Livingston County News received significant resistance and was criticized severely over Facebook.
Much of the school community was shaken by this response, but the student body is continuing to commit to speaking out against AAPI violence. The organizers of last week's protest are currently planning a vigil to honor those lost in the Atlanta shootings.
"It's going to ruin your day [to read the comments]," Reed said. "But it's like, somebody has to see that it's not being received well with the rest of Livingston County.”