AA CARES led a workshop with discussion and poetry writing regarding the impact of anti-Asian hate towards our communities. Subsequently, a poetry contest was held. Poems can be found here.

Asians and Asian Americans in institutions of higher education have experienced significant trauma after an era of anti-Asian hate and anti-Asian violence , which spiked sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic). Our workshop leveraged scholarly understandings of the healing power of poetry in order to take a moment and share experiences, self-reflect, and process emotions. We argue that poetry is underutilized, yet it is both innovative and a long-established practice with positive benefits for addressing individual and community-level pain.

Workshop topics included experiences with anti-Asian bullying on college campuses, discussion regarding school-level resources and training devoted to anti-Asian animus, and exercises in poetry writing and reading as ways by which to achieve learning outcomes of knowing ways to use poetry for expression, self-reflection, and processing the effects of anti-Asian discrimination as individuals and as a community.

The participants  used poetry as a way to self-reflect, communicate, and heal in response to anti-Asian bias and discrimination. We also aimed to broaden attendees' repertoire of support programs and strategies for students’ mental health and success. Exercises from our workshop may be utilized by any institution as an alternative approach to student support.