Asian Americans are the fastest growing population in Michigan and the United States. Asian American heritage is celebrated during the month of May in honor of the immigration of the first Japanese people to the United States on May 7, 1843, and the completion of the transcontinental railroad, which was built by many Chinese immigrants, on May 10, 1869. There are a lot of people of AAPI heritage everywhere, especially in WMU’s diverse student community. We don’t just look different on the outside, but our values and ideals are also different because of our unique cultural backgrounds, says
Joseph Wen-Hsin Yang, a statistics doctoral student who is president of Western s Taiwanese Student Association. By raising awareness and allowing everyone to learn about our different backgrounds, we can make a step towards being more understanding and peaceful with each other especially after repeated incidents of hate and violence towards people of AAPI heritage this year.