Jenilyn Vinluan

“I believe the current rise of the Asian hate crimes is terrible and devastating to witness as an Asian-American myself. When I would see the kind of violence these Asian women and men had to endure during these crimes, it was absolutely upsetting, but I was frustrated. No amount of violence is justified simply for somebody’s race, Asian or not. I have definitely experienced discrimination for being Asian, as well as my family members and other friends who are Asian. It’s not a fun thing to experience, and I would never want anybody to ever encounter anything similar in their life. Even though Asian hate crimes still persist in the world, I am happy people have started to bring light to this situation and spread awareness to others, whether it’s on social media or simply starting a conversation with others around you.”