Statement From Chancellor Lester W. Young, Jr., the Board of Regents and Commissioner Betty A. Rosa on the Rise in Violence Against Members of the Asian American Community

On behalf of the Board of Regents and the State Education Department, we wish to express our deep concern regarding the precipitous rise in anti-Asian animus that is sweeping through New York and the country. This current wave of hatred has resulted in a frightening surge of violence against members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander community – including vicious attacks on the elderly and vulnerable. We condemn these acts of violence and the hatred that drives them.

False rhetoric about the origins and spread of the Coronavirus has surely added fuel to the fire. We will not be delayed or deterred in our work to lift up every one of New York’s 2.6 million students, confident in the knowledge that the way to a better world is through education, respect, and compassion.