Student Union
Bias Against Skin Color Seen Globally
Alfiana A. Rosyadi, an Indonesian who recently completed graduate school in South Korea, said the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S. has made her think about the well-documented and pervasive racism outside the U.S.
"People may say this is just America's issue, but white privilege exists around the world," Rosyadi said. "This movement has given me insight that this can happen in my country, too."
Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests — condemning racial injustice and excessive use of police force — erupted across the U.S. after George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American, died in Minneapolis last month after being restrained by a white police officer.
The protests have spread across the world, as well.
"People are acknowledging that racism and discrimination happen everywhere," said Rosyadi. "So, I think they are showing solidarity to the Black Lives Matter movement to stop all kinds of racism in the world."
Hate crimes
In the U.S., recent hate crime statistics show that nearly 60 percent of the documented 7,036 incidents in 2018 were motivated by a bias against someone's race, ethnicity or ancestry bias, according to the FBI.
Of the nearly documented 5,000 hate crimes against race, ethnicity or ancestry, 46.9 percent were anti-Black or African American bias; 20.2 percent were anti-white bias; and 13 percent were anti-Hispanic or Latino bias.
Around the world, hate crime data from 42 participating states show that of 5,735 incidents in 2018, 1,825 (31.8 percent) had a racist or xenophobic bias, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
And the Global Slavery Index in 2018 shows slavery continues in many countries in Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. That includes forced labor, commercial sexual exploitation of children, and forced marriage.
"We see it present across the world in different configurations, towards different groups and on the basis of a variety of ideologies," said Mohammad-Mahmoud Ould Mohamedou, professor of international history and chair of the international history department at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) in Geneva, in an interview with IHEID earlier this month.
"The problem is just as gnawing and complex in these other places — see, for instance, how in recent months, in the context of the coronavirus crisis, Chinese nationals (and Asians more generally) were at the receiving end of racist incidents in many places while simultaneously in China some African students and migrants were discriminated against," he said.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, BLM protests have reignited the discussion about racism toward Papuans after news of protests in the U.S. spread among Indonesia's online community.
Papua and West Papua are Indonesia's two easternmost provinces, where the population is mostly dark-skinned Melanesians.
"I haven't personally experienced discrimination based on my skin color, but sometimes people from the east of Indonesia, who have darker skin, may get treated differently because people are not used to seeing them," said Rosyadi.
"My concern is that more people like fairer skin, especially for girls, and so some use a lot of [skin-lightening] products. Many Indonesians lose confidence for having darker or tanner skin because on the TV, actresses or other celebrities have fair skin," she added.
Skin-lightening products
Skin-lightening products are popular in many countries. A basic Google search for "skin-lightening" lists hundreds of products using images of Black, white, Asian and Latina, mostly female, skin.
In 2018, American pop star Blac Chyna was criticized for promoting a skin-lightening product called "Whitenicious" in Nigeria, where 77 percent of women use skin lighteners, according to the World Health Organization.
"Many use it in the hopes that they'll have an easier time ascending in their careers, finding husbands, or simply for a self-esteem boost in a society that looks at lighter-skinned women more positively," wrote online news outlet Vice.
This week, multinational manufacturer Johnson & Johnson said it would no longer sell skin-lightening products.
"I think more recently people are beginning to embrace darker or tanner skin, and seeing them as beautiful," said Rosyadi.
China
Lucy Ma, a freshman from China studying at Emerson College, said racial stereotypes have been perpetuated after high-profile crime cases involved minorities in her home country.
"People in small cities have less chance to really know the minorities in China, which creates a higher rate of racism," Ma said. "Big cities have more minorities than the small cities, and people in the big cities know the stereotypes cannot be the factor of how we define people. That's why there are much fewer racists in big cities."
While she said she's heard of no street protests in China, "people are supporting BLM groups through social media such as Weibo," said Ma. "There is a racism problem in China, but it is generally based on where you are, especially in small cities where there's much less diversity than the big cities."
India
Racism in India, with its tradition of a caste system, includes alleged birth rights, regional origin, religion, poverty or wealth.
"If you watch Bollywood movies you'd imagine India was a country of white folks," author and human-rights activist Arundhati Roy told Dalit Camera in a June 8 interview.
"Indian racism towards Black people is almost worse than white people's racism," she said.
South Korea
Dawoom Jung, a senior majoring in international studies and justice and civil leadership at Yonsei University in South Korea, said she noticed many Korean artists and social media influencers use their platform to bring awareness to BLM.
"I've seen a lot of Korean influencers and artists participate in the #blackouttuesday social media movement and donate to organizations. I've also seen illustrators take the initiative to translate the news into Korean and make cue cards so people in Korea can also follow what is going on," said Jung.
Taking action
While social media has been an effective tool to discuss racism globally, some say more action needs to be taken offline.
"It's easy for people to post a black picture with the #blacklivesmatter hashtag, but it isn't more than granting attention to the subject. It simply doesn't truly help anyone," said Kenny Teucher, a student studying English and biology at Leipzig University in Saxony, Germany.
"In Germany, many people were involved in the subject, but only on Instagram and Facebook. I think that it is a problem that only few people want to take it a step further, whether it is through demonstrations or other political engagement," he added.
In France, society has grappled with the unsolved case of Adama Traoré, a Malian French man who died in 2016 after being restrained by police. Elise Crespin, a recent graduate from the Saint-Luc Tournai Institut, said #JusticepourAdama (Justice for Adama) has been revived since BLM protests.
"His family and especially his sister have been leading protests since his death. He is an example of what is going on in France, because he is not the only one," said Crespin.
"I think we are tired of hearing the same things and the same injustices. Everyone woke up. Our systems are wrong and they must change," she said.
Kathleen Struck contributed to this report.
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US police clash with students who demand colleges cut financial ties to Israel
Police tangled with student demonstrators in the U.S. states of Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
At the University of Texas at Austin, hundreds of local and state police — including some on horseback and holding batons — clashed with protesters, pushing them off the campus lawn and at one point sending some tumbling into the street. At least 20 demonstrators were taken into custody at the request of university officials and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, according to the state Department of Public Safety.
A photographer covering the demonstration for Fox 7 Austin was arrested after being caught in a push-and-pull between law enforcement and students, the station confirmed. A longtime Texas journalist was knocked down in the mayhem and could be seen bleeding before police helped him to emergency medical staff who bandaged his head.
At the University of Southern California, police got into a back-and-forth tugging match with protesters over tents, removing several before falling back. At the northern end of California, students were barricaded inside a building for a third day at California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt. The school shut down campus through the weekend and made classes virtual.
Harvard University in Massachusetts had sought to stay ahead of protests this week by limiting access to Harvard Yard and requiring permission for tents and tables. That didn't stop protesters from setting up a camp with 14 tents Wednesday following a rally against the university's suspension of the Harvard Undergraduate Palestine Solidarity Committee.
Students protesting the Israel-Hamas war are demanding schools cut financial ties to Israel and divest from companies enabling its monthslong conflict. Dozens have been arrested on charges of trespassing or disorderly conduct. Some Jewish students say the protests have veered into antisemitism and made them afraid to set foot on campus.
Columbia University averted another confrontation between students and police earlier in the day. The situation there remained tense, with campus officials saying it would continue talks with protesters for another 48 hours.
On a visit to campus, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, called on Columbia University President Minouche Shafik to resign "if she cannot bring order to this chaos."
"If this is not contained quickly and if these threats and intimidation are not stopped, there is an appropriate time for the National Guard," he said.
Shafik had set a midnight Tuesday deadline to reach an agreement on clearing an encampment, but the school extended negotiations, saying it was making "important progress."
On Wednesday evening, a Columbia spokesperson said rumors that the university had threatened to bring in the National Guard were unfounded. "Our focus is to restore order, and if we can get there through dialogue, we will," said Ben Chang, Columbia's vice president for communications.
Columbia graduate student Omer Lubaton Granot, who put up pictures of Israeli hostages near the encampment, said he wanted to remind people that there were more than 100 hostages still being held by Hamas.
"I see all the people behind me advocating for human rights," he said. "I don't think they have one word to say about the fact that people their age, that were kidnapped from their homes or from a music festival in Israel, are held by a terror organization."
Harvard law student Tala Alfoqaha, who is Palestinian, said she and other protesters want more transparency from the university.
"My hope is that the Harvard administration listens to what its students have been asking for all year, which is divestment, disclosure and dropping any sort of charges against students," she said.
Columbia encampment inspires others
Police first tried to clear the encampment at Columbia last week, when they arrested more than 100 protesters. The move backfired, acting as an inspiration for other students across the country to set up similar encampments and motivating protesters at Columbia to regroup.
On Wednesday about 60 tents remained at the Columbia encampment, which appeared calm. Security remained tight around campus, with identification required and police setting up metal barricades.
Columbia said it had agreed with protest representatives that only students would remain at the encampment and they would make it welcoming, banning discriminatory or harassing language.
On the University of Minnesota campus, a few dozen students rallied a day after nine protesters were arrested when police took down an encampment in front of the library. U.S. Representative Ilhan Omar, whose daughter was among the demonstrators arrested at Columbia last week, attended a protest later in the day.
A group of more than 80 professors and assistant professors signed a letter Wednesday calling on the university's president and other administrators to drop any charges and to allow future encampments without what they described as police retaliation.
They wrote that they were "horrified that the administration would permit such a clear violation of our students' rights to freely speak out against genocide and ongoing occupation of Palestine."
Netanyahu encourages police response
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lashed out at the pro-Palestinian demonstrations on U.S. college campuses in a video statement released Wednesday, saying the response of several university presidents has been "shameful" and calling on state, local and federal officials to intervene.
Students at some protests were hiding their identities and declined to identify themselves to reporters, saying they feared retribution. At an encampment of about 40 tents at the heart of the University of Michigan's campus in Ann Arbor, almost every student wore a mask, which was handed to them when they entered.
The upwelling of demonstrations has left universities struggling to balance campus safety with free speech rights. Many long tolerated the protests, but are now doling out more heavy-handed discipline, citing safety concerns.
At New York University this week, police said 133 protesters were taken into custody and all had been released with summonses to appear in court on disorderly conduct charges. More than 40 protesters were arrested Monday at an encampment at Yale University.
Columbia University demonstrators in talks with administration officials
Officials at Columbia University were continuing talks Wednesday with student demonstrators from the Gaza Solidarity Encampment as the protest reaches a full week.
At 9:41 p.m. Tuesday, university President Nemat “Minouche” Shafik sent an email to the Columbia community setting a midnight deadline for an agreement to be reached about dismantling the encampment and dispersing the protesters.
“I very much hope these discussions are successful,” she wrote. “If they are not, we will have to consider alternative options for clearing the West Lawn and restoring calm to campus so that students can complete the term and graduate.”
As midnight passed, Columbia University Apartheid Divest posted a statement on X saying, “We refuse to concede to cowardly threats and blatant intimidation by university administration. We will continue to peacefully protest.”
The statement also said the university had threatened to call the National Guard. But after visiting the university earlier in the week, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Tuesday she had no plans to deploy the National Guard.
As midnight approached on Tuesday, a student organizer announced that the deadline had been extended to 8 a.m. Wednesday.
At 4:09 a.m., the Office of the President sent an email saying the discussion deadline would be extended for 48 hours, given the constructive dialogue, and the university would report back on progress.
The email announced that leaders of the student encampment had agreed to remove a significant number of tents, get non-Columbia affiliates to leave the encampment and comply with New York Fire Department requirements. They also agreed to ensure that the encampment is “welcome to all” and to prohibit “discriminatory or harassing language.”
This development comes nearly a week after more than 100 students were arrested at the school on April 18, after Shafik authorized police to clear away protesters. Some of the students received suspension notices from the school.
Columbia’s action prompted an onslaught of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at other universities and responses from faculty and politicians.
Students at other campuses, such as Yale, Stanford and New York University, have also rallied around the Palestinian cause, calling for their universities to divest from companies with ties to Israel and for a cease-fire in Gaza. Many also have put up tent encampments on their campuses. About 150 students and faculty were arrested at New York University Monday night.
Columbia also announced Tuesday morning that classes on the Morningside main campus, where the protests are taking place, will be offered in a hybrid format for the remainder of the spring semester. The last day of classes is April 29.
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Paper: International students faced extra pandemic challenges
Astrobites, which describes itself as "a daily astrophysical literature journal written by graduate students in astronomy since 2010," focuses on the challenges international students faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Read the Astrobites article here. (April 2024)
