CUNY DIGITAL HISTORY ARCHIVE

On April 5, 2017, members and allies of the Coalition for the Revitalization of Asian American Studies at Hunter (CRAASH), including students from other universities in New York City, gathered outside of Hunter College to protest the Hunter administration's assaults on the Asian American Studies Program (AASP) and to demand the creation of an Asian American Studies Department and major. Not depicted in the video is the fact that the protest was heavily policed by campus security, who tried to prevent the students from gathering and protesting.

In 2016, CRAASH launched a campaign demanding an Asian American Studies Department and major. Directly following a presentation from CRAASH on its demands at the Hunter Senate meeting in September of 2017, AASP director Jennifer Hayashida received news of non-reappointment, putting the future of the program into further precarity. This protest was the first in a series of escalations directed at Hunter administration for its active dismantling of and history of neglect of the AASP.

The Hunter College Asian American Studies Program (AASP) was established in 1993. As the only academic program in Asian American studies in the CUNY system, the AASP offers a minor in Asian American Studies and other resources and programming. The AASP supports scholars, artists, and activists advancing scholarship in the fields of Asian American studies and critical ethnic studies and serves as a resource for New York City's Asian American communities. In 2006, the program was at risk of being cut due to a lack of funding. Students formed the Coalition for the Revitalization of Asian American Studies at Hunter (CRAASH) and saved the program within a year. CRAASH is now a student-run club that continues to advocate for the AASP.