Senate Resolution

20/21-043

Senate Resolution No. 2020/2021-043

In Support of the Incorporation of Xenophobia Prevention Trainings
in the New Student Services Programs
Primary Sponsor
Samuel Peng (ASUC Senator)

Cosponsors
Dingcheng Yang (Director of International and Legislative Affairs, Office of Senator Peng),
Alexis Xue, Christina Zhong, Iris Wu, and Jierui Xu (Associates of International and
Legislative Affairs, Office of Senator Peng), Rex Zhang (ASUC Senator)

WHEREAS, ​the Asian community has been victims of white supremacy and
xenophobia throughout the United States history, exampled by the imprisonment
and detention of Japanese Americans during World War II1, the Chinese Exclusion
Act2, and the Immigration Act of 19243 among many others; and,

WHEREAS​, 17% of the UC Berkeley campus community came from international

backgrounds during the Fall 2019 semester, over 60% of whom came from Asian
countries4; and,

WHEREAS​, in face of the global pandemic, there has been a drastic increase of
disrespectful remarks and violent actions against the Asian population in the US5;
and,

WHEREAS​, unfortunately, members of the UC Berkeley community, too, have

experienced various xenophobic incidents; and,

1
https://www.nps.gov/articles/historyinternment.htm
2
https://www.history.com/topics/immigration/chinese-exclusion-act-1882
3
https://web.archive.org/web/20110527055848/http://history-world.org/asian_americans.htm
4
https://internationaloffice.berkeley.edu/sites/default/files/student-stats2019.pdf
5
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7538066/

ASUC Senate
Page 1 of 3
 Senate Resolution
20/21-043

WHEREAS​, one of such incidents took place during a zoom session of Data 8 in the
Spring 2020 semester, where one of the participants used “Wuhan Virus”6 as his
Zoom nickname, an expression that is extremely xenophobic and offensive to the
Chinese and East Asian community; and,

WHEREAS​, xenophobic incidents subject their victims to extreme distress and

anxiety, which can result in compromised academic performances and
unforeseeable damage to mental health; and,

WHEREAS​, though not all xenophobic incidents are intentional and discriminatory
in nature, it is crucial to recognize that all such incidents can nevertheless yield
profoundly harmful consequences, especially when such comments or behaviors
come from school officials or public institutions; and,

WHEREAS​, in January 2020, the UC Berkeley health services center published a

handout on Instagram which listed xenophobia as a ‘common reaction’ towards the
COVID-19 pandemic7; and,

WHEREAS​, although the health services quickly withdrew its post and apologized,
the fact that campus health officials failed to realize said mistake highlights a
prevalent lack of training needed for people to fully recognize the harmfulness of
xenophobia; and,

WHEREAS​, UC Berkeley values diversity, inclusiveness, and integrity of all

individuals, and has no place for any xenophobic incidents; and,

WHEREAS, ​to effectively eliminate xenophobic acts on campus, it is imperative to

have the necessary training in place for students to recognize said issue; and,

WHEREAS​, many leading universities, including but not limited to Northwestern

University8, the University of Washington9, and New York University10, have either
successfully implemented xenophobia prevention training or are working towards
such programs through curriculum development, online workshops, and speaker

6
​https://www.dailycal.org/2020/03/19/uc-berkeley-student-uses-xenophobic-screen-name-in-data-8-zoom-lecture/
7
https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/01/31/berkeley-coronavirus-xenophobia/
8
https://www.northwestern.edu/counseling/self-help-resources/fighting-xenophobia-and-anti-asian-racism.html
9
https://sph.washington.edu/news-events/news/fighting-xenophobia-age-coronavirus
10
​https://www.nyu.edu/life/global-inclusion-and-diversity/anti-racism.html
ASUC Senate
Page 2 of 3
 Senate Resolution
20/21-043

series; and,

WHEREAS, ​new student orientations at UC Berkeley have already included training

programs on a variety of topics, such as sexual harassment11, mental health
awareness, and alcohol abuse12, but none is in regards to xenophobia prevention;
and,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED​, the Associated Students of the University of

California recognizes the harmful nature of any xenophobic incidents instigated by
COVID-19 and denounces any attempts to normalize xenophobia; and,

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED​, the Associated Students of the University of

California stands in solidarity with the entire student body and condemns any
xenophobic sentiments that could potentially divide our community; and,

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED​, the Associated Students of the

University of California, including but not limited to the Office of ASUC Senator
Samuel Peng, works with the University of California, Berkeley’s New Student
Services (NSS) to incorporate xenophobia prevention training in new student
programs such as the Golden Bear Orientation and the Bear Pact.

11
https://svsh.berkeley.edu/requirements-policies/required-svsh-trainings
12
​https://news.berkeley.edu/2014/08/28/bear-pact-2014/
ASUC Senate
Page 3 of 3