AAJA and the Student Wellness Center’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) came together in light of violence and hate.
by Annisa Charles
On Mar. 20, Cal State Fullerton’s Asian American Journalism Association (AAJA) and the Student Wellness Center’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) came together in light of the violence and hate towards the Asian American community.
Students gathered in the CAPS conference room from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. to discuss the hatred and racism that has surged through COVID and how to it affects their daily lives. With the uptick of hate crimes against the Asian American community because of the pandemic, which has led to shootings in Monterey Park and Half Moon Bay, students needed a safe space to debrief about the events with the guidance of a professional counselor.
CAPS counselor and CSUF alumni William Conception lead the session by asking questions and validating the students’ experiences. Conception ended the meeting by providing CAPS resources to the students for whenever they need them.
Mahealani Wu, president of AAJA, wrote in an email to the Communications Department outreach team, “Being able to discuss these topics without the pressure of having to ‘solve’ them actually gave us a better understanding of how to approach these issues as journalists.’
While this session was different from AAJA’s typical meetings that include journalism panels sometimes, AAJA said they would like to collaborate with CAPS in the future for a similar event to help their members know there are resources available.
