Editorial: Weigh your words

It was the first day of classes for the fall 2021 semester at Lehigh.

The sun was shining on campus, which was bustling with students hurrying to and from their classes which were being held in person for the first time in almost a year and a half. 

But what was supposed to be a monumental day was instantly dampened. 

A student as well as an Asian Lehigh staff member were verbally attacked on campus by a man “indicating he wanted to stab the student and Asian students on campus.” He also yelled at the staff member that “she did not belong here.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have grown drastically. In 2020 alone, crimes targeting these groups increased by 70 percent compared to 2019, according to FBI data.

Stop AAPI Hate recorded a total of 9,081 discriminatory incidents from March 2020 to June 2021. The majority of these hate crimes reportedly took place in public spaces. 

On Feb. 3, a 61-year-old Filipino man was slashed across the face with a box cutter on a New York City subway train. On May 4, two Asian American women were stabbed while waiting for a bus in downtown San Francisco. 

These discriminatory threats and brutal attacks happening across the country are terrifying. A discriminatory threat and the potential of a brutal attack happening on our own campus is unacceptable. 

This incident is our wake-up call. 

A college campus should provide a sense of security to all students, faculty and staff.  Lehigh’s campus, like any other, should be associated with community, safety and inclusivity.

No matter your race, gender, sexual orientation, religious status or any other component that makes you, you – you are accepted on our campus. 

Over the past year, particularly with the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, there’s been a lot of conversation calling on the administration to help make Lehigh a safer and more inclusive place for students in marginalized groups. While some progress has been made, there is still more Lehigh can and should be doing to establish our campus as an accepting, open community.

Yet, there comes a point where our administration alone can only do so much. They condemn any incident. They express their respect and support to victims and victimized groups. 

Working towards a safer and more inclusive campus isn’t a one-person job. This is a call to action for all students, faculty and staff as well as our administration. Everyone on this campus holds responsibility. 

While the weight of threatening words are heavy, the words you choose to use in the aftermath are heavier. 

Our responsibility as students is to act. If you see something, say something. Recognizing and promptly reacting to hate speech and incidents holds weight. 

Don’t be afraid to step in, even in an alarming situation like what happened on the first day of class. The victims of these incidents need our support. 

Even if a friend says something hurtful that they play off as a “joke,” say something. Hold a conversation, explain to them why what they said is harmful. Report the situation if need be. Don’t let the seemingly little things get swept under the rug. 

The safety of every single member of our campus is worth building. 

It takes constantly being aware of all that happens around us. It takes engaging in the hard conversations. It takes bringing yourself outside of the bubble you live in at Lehigh and experiencing campus through someone else’s shoes. 

It takes all of us being careful with our words and utilizing our actions for good. 

Nobody should be made to feel as though they don’t belong here. We all belong here.