Columbia University students create video responses to xenophobia

World Today

Columbia University students create video responses to xenophobia

At Columbia University a case of vandalism targeting East Asians is prompting a unique video response from several Chinese students.

In it, they explain the meanings behind their Chinese names, and it’s caught the world’s attention.

CGTN’s Liling Tan reports.

Nineteen year-old Columbia University student Yan Huhe, from Hohhot, China, created the video titled “Say My Name,” in response to fears of growing xenophobia after several cases of vandalism in which Chinese name tags were removed from dormitory doors.

Columbia University issued a statement saying they “deeply value the diversity of their students, their cultures and the perspectives they bring to the school” and “take incidents like this very seriously and are continuing to investigate and support affected students.But these Chinese students wanted to make their their voices were heard as well.

“We feel like people need to learn why these names are important to us, why we’re angry. It’s because of ignorance. It’s because they don’t know how much cultural significance these names have to us,” Yan said.

The video has generated positive responses not just from Asian students here at Columbia University, but also from the school itself, which has shared the video on its Facebook page.