Where We’re Really From: NYC Asian American Students Navigating Identity, Racial Solidarity, and Wellness during a Pandemic
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced significant stressors for Asian American college students: distance learning, financial hardship, prolonged isolation, and a spike in anti-Asian hate crimes. Simultaneously, a national reckoning has urged confrontations with anti-Blackness across institutions. The Hunter College AANAPISI Project (HCAP) provides programming attending to Hunter College’s Asian American student community. This article describes COVID- 19 stressors and reflections on anti-Blackness and anti-Asian racism from Hunter’s Asian American college students, as evaluated by HCAP’s mental health specialist. It will then describe strategies HCAP implemented throughout the pandemic to engage students, as well as challenges and reflections for future programming.