Mallika Insaard
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Melissa Borja
Research Mentor School/College/Department: American Culture / LSA
Program: UROP
Session: Session 5 (2:40pm – 3:30pm)
Authors: Melissa Borja, Jasmine Insaard
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic inflicted more harm than what catches the public eye—the pandemic devastated the livelihoods of millions across the globe, but it is of particular interest to address the drastic rise in hate crimes and racially motivated attacks obstructing the livelihoods of Asian Americans, to which this group publicly responded through several mediums. This study analyzes 27 “Letters to the Editor†published in American newspapers to analyze the different ways people responded to anti-Asian racism during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. This study found that significantly more non-Asian authors had Letters to the Editors published than Asian authors. Furthermore, women were more likely to speak out against incidents of verbal harassment, while men were more likely to speak out against incidents of physical harassment. Lastly, male and female authors proposed different solutions to the problem of anti-Asian racism. This study reveals the different ways specific groups responded to the problem of anti-Asian attacks and prescribed solutions to the problem.
