As violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders has spiked since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, two Harvard affiliates said they experienced verbal and physical attacks in Cambridge earlier this spring.
A March report by the nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate identified nearly 3,800 hate incidents against Asian Americans in the past year, 96 of which took place in Massachusetts.
Mary Heather C. âKiwiâ Florido, a Ph.D. candidate in the Biological Sciences in Public Health program who identifies as Filipino-American, said she was walking toward Harvardâs Sherman Fairchild Biochemistry Building, located at 7 Divinity Ave., on March 25 when she witnessed a man yell racial slurs.
This change better reflects the content of our program, which is already aligned with many other institutions public health programs, said Professor of Biology Justin Golub, who chairs the department. Students in this program acquire the tools to be effective educators and advocates through the study of social theories, biological basis of disease and the analysis and implementation of policies and communications strategies that influence the health status of individuals, communities, states and the nation. Public health majors go on to attend medical school, earn graduate degrees in epidemiology, and shape health policy at the state and local level. Taking the Community Health Education Certification Exam allows students to go on to careers in community health programming, including work at hospitals, nonprofits, school settings, and in the field of disease prevention.