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Events to reflect on Vincent Chin’s legacy » WDET 101.9 FM

Events to reflect on Vincent Chin’s legacy » WDET 101.9 FM


 

Metro Detroit is hosting a series of events to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the murder of Vincent Chin.

In 1982, Chin, a Chinese American, was beaten to death in Highland Park by two white men who worked in the auto industry. His assailants served no jail time.

His death catalyzed the Asian-American community to mobilize against hate crimes and injustice. Those that advocated on behalf of Vincent Chin say they were able to improve the criminal justice system.

Organizers are hosting a re-dedication ceremony to honor Vincent Chin’s legacy and showcasing local Asian American art. Photo credit: Eli Newman/WDET

“Out of that whole period came a movement of what is now called victim impact statements, the right that somebody who is harmed to speak in court on behalf of themselves,” says Helen Zia, a co-founder of American Citizens for Justice, which formed after Chin’s murder. She drew parallels to the more than 200 statements delivered by sexual assault victims during the sentencing of Larry Nassar. “This is a movement that’s happened for people who were subject to crimes to say this is how I was affected. This is something the Vincent Chin case was part of.”

Mayor Mike Duggan says the group’s advocacy resonates today but the work continues.

“We still have a long way to go, as we saw in the case of George Floyd, in having a criminal justice system that treats everybody the same.”

The four-day commemoration of Chin will take place June 16-19 throughout Metro Detroit.

Jim Shimoura is another co-founder of American Citizens for Justice. He says the forthcoming events will be an opportunity to reflect on Chin’s legacy.

“The program includes an Asian American film festival, a national dialogue in community conversations on race and equity in 2022, as well as performances by Asian American artists and public art.”

Anthony Lee is working on a mural of Chin in Detroit’s Chinatown on Cass Avenue. He says his death is not the end of his story.

“That can’t be the end of the narrative. I need it to be more. I need to know that we have a pulse. This can’t be just where it ends,” Lee says. “There’s lots of things in the work and a lot of people with a sense of urgency, now more than ever.”

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  • Eli Newman is a Reporter/Producer for 101.9 WDET, covering breaking news, politics and community affairs. His favorite Motown track is “It’s The Same Old Song” by the Four Tops.

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Some students upset by another potential ‘superspreader’ event

James Hight building at the University of Canterbury

By Tessa Guest

During the day, the University of Canterbury’s campus is almost deserted.

James Hight building at the University of Canterbury

The University of Canterbury’s Ilam campus.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons

Staff and students are isolating with Covid-19, or participating in courses online. Only a few classes remain in-person.

But on Saturday night, a field near the campus was filled with noise and people.

University-owned Ilam Fields has become home to uncontrolled parties taking place instead of traditional Orientation Week events, which were canned due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Hundreds of students gathered for a makeshift toga party two weeks ago, and more returned for another large gathering last weekend.

Mattresses were thrown around, people urinated in bushes, and the field was left strewn with rubbish and broken glass.

First-year hall resident Molly said the organisers and attendees were largely other student residents, and that the hall’s strict alcohol bans pushed people to drink in public spaces.

With community cases surging, she said the gatherings made some residents feel more anxious about getting Covid-19.

“I was definitely keeping my distance because I didn’t want to catch it, and it was definitely a superspreader,” she said.

Third-year geography student Natalie O’Connell was one of the few students choosing to work from the campus this week, and said it was clear the party-goers didn’t care about the effect their actions were having.

“People are going out of their way to get mass gatherings of definitely more than 100, no one’s checking vaccine passes, no one’s on security, so it’s all round pretty irresponsible, and they know it,” she said.

‘Tough time for students’

University of Canterbury Student Association president Pierce Crowley was sympathetic to those who attended, citing the lack of Orientation Week events as the driver of alternative gatherings.

Pierce Crowley, UCSA president

Pierce Crowley
Photo: Supplied

“It’s a really tough time for students. For many of them, this is their second or third year of disrupted learning,” he said.

“This [the partying] hasn’t happened in the past, and that’s because we’ve been able to host events that have got it out of people’s systems in a big burst at the beginning of the semester.”

He said the association was focused on educating students on the legal requirements of gatherings in the red traffic light setting.

Co-editor of the university’s student magazine, Ella Gibson, thought more could be done now to give students safe partying options.

“There’s definitely a gap in the fun infamous night-time drinking events,” she said.

She thought the party-goers were on the right track in using Ilam Fields, and that the area could be used for controlled night-time events within the current Covid-19 guidelines.

Crowley said the restrictions made it too difficult to host any large events safely now, but a priority for the association was hosting replacements to Orientation Week events as soon as it was possible.

“We’re really keen, once we have the ability to do so again, to host these events and get it in a supervised environment where students can party safely and stay out of the community’s hair.”