On March 19, ETHS released a statement in support of its Asian community following the murder of eight people, six of whom were Asian women, in Atlanta earlier last week, which read, in part:

Hate crimes against Asian and Asian American people have been on the rise, particularly in the past year during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was crushing to learn of the tragic incidents in Georgia this week that have taken the lives of eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent. ETHS denounces the discrimination and hateful acts of violence against the Asian community. We acknowledge that students and staff who identify as Asian are too often invisible in the fight against racism. Yet again, we must stand together in our antiracist work. It is together where we are united in combating a familiar enemy—racism. And it is our collective stance that sends the message that racist and xenophobic acts have no place at ETHS and should have no place in our society. 

In line with the values of our February issue, the Evanstonian views the act of terrorism in Atlanta as yet another example of the pervasiveness of white supremacy in our country. As a publication, it is not lost on us that the Atlanta shooting was another tragic event where a white man was the perpetrator and people of color and women were the victims. We also want to acknowledge the reality of what the last year has meant for the AAPI community when the number of violent attacks against them have skyrocketed in the midst of a global pandemic. As the Evanstonian continues to take steps to decenter whiteness in our publication, we must also seek to center voices from the AAPI community.

The Evanstonian stands with our Asian and Asian American peers and invites anyone with thoughts on this topic to email us at [email protected].