Video report by Sophie Hoover
Ken Gonzales, a member of the Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) student group, speaks to crowd of protesters Monday afternoon outside of the Coffman Memorial Union on the University of Minnesota campus. MURPHY NEWS SERVICE PHOTO BY SOPHIE HOOVER.
By SOPHIE HOOVER/ Murphy News Service
The Asian and Pacific Islanders (API) student group at the University of Minnesota protested at Coffman Memorial Union Monday to voice its concerns about the group’s representation on campus.
Almost 30 API members bearing signs formed outside the student union in what they called a stand against the U’s Multicultural Center for Academic Excellence (MCAE). The protesters, part of the API’s for Equity and Diversity cultural group, said they wanted to share their feelings of under-representation and lack of transparency at the U.
The group demanded to know the reason for a string of recent firings, including that of Juavah Lee, a former U employee who was known as a strong connection between the Hmong community and the school’s administration. Lee’s job was to help students with financial aid, post-collegiate planning, cultural concerns, etc. His dismissal, API members said, gave the group reason to ask for greater transparency and more “tangible goals” toward the issues facing the Southeast Asian, Hmong, and Asian-American communities.
API member Kaochi Pha spoke to the group as well. MURPHY NEWS SERVICE PHOTO BY SOPHIE HOOVER.
Leading the pack of protesters and student speakers was Ken Gonzales, a member of API’s for Equity and Diversity. “We will no longer stand being left out of the conversation,” Gonzales said. “We will no longer stand to be the model minorities.”
After the demonstration outside, the group shuffled in to attend a presentation about the future of MCAE given by Shakeer Abdullah, assistant vice president of the Office for Equity and Diversity. The group sat quietly until Abdullah entertained questions from the large audience. He was met with a torrent of comments and questions about Lee and what the administration expected to do next with the shortage of staff.
“We are still working with the staff that is in place because they’re committed to you all and they are engaged in this work,” Abdullah said. “It’s not ideal, but our goal is to bring folks in who can help rebuild that sense of community.”
Reporter Sophie Hoover is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.