Lauren Markle’s childhood memories on Oʻahu are free from discrimination or prejudice. When she moved to Oregon for college, that all changed. The Pearl City native of Taiwanese, Japanese and Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) descent experienced several episodes of anti-Asian racism in Portland—an unwelcome awakening.
Markle was emotionally rattled after a stranger howled a rash of vulgar racial slurs at her on the city train.
“He called me a ‘Jap whore…’ and a ‘chink’ while telling me to ‘go back to my country’ and threatening to physically harm me,” Markle exclaimed. “I cried in the gift shop at the Chinese garden that morning.”
Markle witnessed another incident in her art class when classmates openly mocked their teacher’s Korean accent. Those instances sparked her interest to teach Asian studies and pursue a master’s degree at the this fall.
“There are many people who have committed microaggressions out of ignorance rather than malice,” Markle said. “I believe a part of the solution to that is to have more exposure to diverse peoples and their cultures.”
Building interest for Asian studies
Enrollment has nearly doubled in the (MAIA) program in 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补’s within the last year. MAIA is one of two graduate programs in the department and caters toward students whose prospects for professional advancement would be enhanced by an understanding of Asia.
“MAIA students will have ample opportunities to collaborate, under the supervision of a 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补 faculty member, with government, research or non-profit organizations as they work to address a carefully defined real-world problem or issue,” said Young-A Park, an associate professor and graduate program chair in the Asian studies department.
Asian Studies at 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补 currently collaborates with the , the , the and the .
This June, Markle will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in business management before transferring to the 惭ā苍辞补 campus. Currently, Markle is helping to raise money for Asian focused organizations from an online publication forum she helped create.
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This program is an example of 东精影业 惭ā苍辞补’s goal of (PDF), one of four goals identified in the (PDF), updated in December 2020.