Samiksha Manjani is a Student Staff member at UMBC’s Women’s Center. She is a Political Science and Sociology double-major and is currently a co-facilitator of the Women’s Center’s discussion group, Women of Color Coalition.  

As a survivor of sexual violence, I have found myself re-traumatized by the recent events that have happened at UMBC. In the aftermath, I struggled to focus in my classes and could barely complete my work. Despite this, I somehow managed to get by with everyday going by in a blur. I went through the motions day-in and day-out. I was slowly sinking back into depression.

One of the most common emotional and psychological responses to sexual violence is depression (RAINN). Depression is a mood disorder which occurs when feelings of sadness and hopelessness persist for long periods of time and interrupt regular thought patterns. It affects a person’s behavior and can disrupt their relationships. Just like many other survivors, I also struggle with depression.

Graphic made by Christina Animashaun

During this difficult time, I was shocked that no one in my life had asked me how I was doing. None of my friends had asked me how I was handling the news, despite knowing that I’m a survivor and that I also struggle with depression. They knew about the lawsuit against UMBC too. In fact, they knew so much about it that they talked to me about their opinions on the matter. Yet, they never asked me how I was processing the news or if I was doing okay.

At first, I thought, “wow, I have really shitty friends in my life.” But I realized that this was a drastic conclusion to make considering my friends were normally compassionate. Instead, I tried to put myself in their shoes. Why would my normally compassionate friends be so inconsiderate? Had my external behavior reflected my internal suffering?

I realized that, from an outsider’s perspective, I seemed completely okay because I went to my classes and work as usual. My behavior, communication, and demeanor had basically stayed the same so nothing seemed amiss. However, this was completely contrary to how I felt internally. Inside, I felt awful. Every step I took was harder, every assignment I completed took longer, and every smile was faker. I was falling apart on the inside, yet no one around me could see it.

At first, I thought that this was just how I expressed trauma. But after some reflection, I realized that I knew so many other Asian women dealing with depression that were also still high-functioning. I was not the only person who exhibited depressive symptomology this way, and more importantly, it had seemed that this was especially common for other Asians.

MGH Center for Cross-Cultural Student Emotional Wellness

My assumption was not wrong. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (2011) found that Asian-American teenage girls have the highest rate of depression compared to any other racial, ethnic or gender group. Furthermore, the suicide rates for 15-24 year old Asian American females are 30% higher than the rates for white females of the same age (Mental Health America). Yeung and Kam (2006) found that none of the Asian patients in their study considered depressed mood as their main problem. However, more than 90% of them indicated having a depressed mood when asked to rate their symptoms on a depression rating scale.

Despite these alarming statistics, 51% of Asian Americans have at least a Bachelor’s Degree, compared to 29% of all Americans (Mental Health America). Furthermore, 21% of Asians, ages 25 or older, have attained an advanced degree (e.g., Master’s, Ph.D., M.D. or J.D.), which is significantly higher than the national average of 12% (Baum and Steele, 2017; United States Census Bureau, 2016). Lastly, the median annual household income of Asian American households is $73,060, compared to $53,600 among all U.S. households (Pew Research Center, 2017). It is important to note, however, that there is variation in educational attainment and median annual income among the different ethnic groups which makeup “Asian Americans.”

These findings made me wonder, why do Asian women express depressive symptomology so differently than other ethnic groups?

One reason could be because of the immense pressure Asians deal with to live up to the model minority stereotype. The model minority stereotype characterizes Asians by hard work, laudable family values, economic self-sufficiency, non-contentious politics, academic achievement, and entrepreneurial success (Kang, 2010). There is a lot of American cultural pressure on Asians to fit into this “intelligent and self-reliant” stereotype. Such a stereotype has dire consequences; for-example, Asian students are pressured to rise to an academic bar that keeps rising. The mental health cost of reaching an unrealistic standard is demonstrated by the statistics mentioned above.

Graphic by Lily Beeson-Norwitz 

This pressure is worsened by the fact that many Asian immigrants experience downward economic mobility upon arrival to the U.S. Most Asian immigrants are highly educated and held middle-class status in their country of origin (Lopez, Bialik, & Radford,  2018). Because of this downward shift in class status, Asian immigrants have to work their way up from the bottom of the social and economic ladder in the U.S. This is a very daunting task given that many Asian immigrants not only have to support themselves and their families in the U.S., but also relatives back home (United Nations, 2017). This leads to an immense pressure to climb up the socioeconomic ladder and become financially stable.

Both the pressure of the model minority stereotype and pressure to support family members removes any possibility for Asians Americans to display characteristic forms of depression without severe consequences. There are high costs for Asian American immigrants if they do not complete their education, capitalize on job opportunities, and/or perform at their jobs. If they do not perform, they are risking not only their survival, but the survival of relatives back home. This does not mean that people who display traditional depressive symptomatology are somehow less “able” or “motivated” if they can’t complete these tasks. It is simply that the pressure to economically succeed robs Asian Americans the ability to address mental health concerns.

Anxiety and Depression Association of America 

Another reason could be the large stigma within the Asian community surrounding mental health illnesses and treatment. Asian Americans are 3x less likely to seek mental health services than White Americans (Nishi). Furthermore, it is taboo within the Asian community to speak about having mental health illnesses (Chu & Sue, 2011). One large reason this stigma exists is because of the concept of familial shame within Asian communities.

There is immense pressure in the Asian community to preserve the family’s reputation and status at all costs. This is reflected in popular terms used within various Asian cultures which represent the process of shame or losing face: “Haji” among Japanese, “Hiya” among Filipinos, “Mianzi” among Chinese,”Chaemyun” among Koreans, and “Sharam” among Indians (Sue, 1994). If an Asian person has a mental health illness, it could be interpreted by the community as a result of their family’s failure to raise the person correctly. Therefore, Asian Americans are unlikely to acknowledge and seek mental health treatment in fear of “bringing shame” to their families.

I think in a lot of ways all of these factors have influenced the way that I have processed the trauma of my assault and the resulting depression. Like many other Asian American women, I don’t outwardly exhibit depression through conventional symptoms. However, this doesn’t mean that I experience depression less severely than other people. On the contrary, I struggle with depression so much sometimes that it’s hard to even do basic tasks (even if I end up somehow getting it done). Because of the fact that depression is one of the most common psycho-emotional responses to sexual violence and also that the Asian community presents unique depressive symptomology, it is logical to conclude that survivorship is likely to look different in the Asian community.  

Therefore, it is extremely important for friends, family members, and mental health professionals to recognize that survivorship manifests differently in various ethnic communities. As such, the type of support given must be individualized to meet the needs of survivors of different backgrounds. To best support survivors, the people within the survivor’s inner circle should adopt a lens of cultural humility.  

Asian/Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Resource Project

The Women’s Center uses this lens of cultural humility to best support survivors of different backgrounds. Cultural humility is a humble and respectful attitude towards individuals of other cultures that pushes one to challenge their own cultural biases. This departs from “cultural competency” in that it recognizes that a person cannot possibly know everything about other cultures. Instead, people should approach learning about other cultures as a lifelong goal and process.

I truly believe that if my friends had adopted a lens of cultural humility, they would have easily picked up on my struggles. If they had understood more about Asian culture and what it means to be an Asian immigrant, they probably would have been able to recognize my signals of distress. This is especially important for mental health professionals; they would be able to pick up more details from their clients if they held the mindset that “there’s always more to learn.” Using this lens, we can better support the survivors in our lives.

**Please note that not every Asian person experiences depression this way. The goal of this blog is to highlight a common phenomenon in the Asian community. If an Asian person does not process depression or trauma this way, it is not a reflection of their Asianness, intelligence, reliability, or any other characteristics.**

Couldn’t attend CSJ: Ignite 101? No problem! We have all the information you need. This Round-Up was written by Women’s Center staff member Shrijana Khanal.

Critical Social Justice officially kicked off today with CSJ 101: Ignite! The presenters and leaders for this event were the Women’s Center’s very own Amelia Meman and Jess Myers. When the attendees walked in, they were welcomed with different tables which were each marked with a particular social justice issue–an affinity. The various issues included Immigration and Transnationality, Racial Justice, Economic Issues, LGBTQ Justice, Health Access and Equity, Government and Politics, Supporting Survivors of Sexual Violence, and Ecological Justice. Individuals were invited to sit at the table with the issue which most resonated with them, whether it was due to passion, curiosity, or personal ties. After everyone chose their affinity groups, Amelia began with a presentation. She began with the essential question of, “Why Critical Social Justice?” The main idea that Critical Social Justice embodies is the importance of increased inclusivity.

“Critical Social Justice grows inclusivity on UMBC’s campus by helping more people feel welcome and comfortable engaging in challenging conversations about equity and justice, across all racial and ethnic identities, genders, sexualities, political ideologies, academic fields, and life experiences.”

Every year, Critical Social Justice has a different theme, so why choose “ignite?” CSJ: Ignite is focused on building partnerships across UMBC and catering to everyone’s personal strengths in relation to social change and social justice movements. As Amelia shared, we are stronger together, and we are stronger when we work from a place of authenticity. CSJ: Ignite exemplifies how a single light cannot illuminate a whole city, but it can begin the movement that changes through the world. Amelia expanded this description by drawing a parallel to a scene in Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, where Pippin the Hobbit lights the beacon, symbolizing how UMBC is lighting the campaign of social justice activism through CSJ and invites each of us to reach out to others in the spirit of advancing social justice movements and change.

CSJ 101: Ignite was structured by first sharing examples of famous changemakers throughout history and then shifting the conversation to how we as individuals at UMBC can also become changemakers using their own strengths and interests. The examples of famous changemakers were:

• Sylvia River and Marsha P. Johnson, trans and gay liberation activists
• Kavita Krishnaswamy, a UMBC PhD candidate in computer science who increases accessibility of people with disability and seniors
• Ida B. Wells, an African-American leader, lecturer, and orator
• Audre Lorde, a black lesbian feminist writer
• FORCE’s The Monument Quilt, an activist collective that uses art to bring attention to and change rape culture
• Drs. Kenneth and Mamie Clark, a married team who conducted psychological research on children and internalized racism and self-concept
• Maysoon Zayid, an American Muslim actress and comedian of Palestinian descent

These various examples convey how social justice can be approached through different mediums like comedy, research, art, or writing. No lens, no skill, no perspective is better than another. They are all various and necessary tools to produce social movement and change.

Afterward, individuals in each group discussed what brought them all together at that affinity table. People shared their personal identities, experiences, and motivations for being an ally. Next, everyone was asked about their visions for that cause twenty years from now. The responses for this question included a mixture of optimism and hope combined with realism and anger.

Then, we all came together as a whole and reported out what we discussed in our small groups. The next of set of questions included sharing your major and career goals along with how our individual knowledge, expertise, skills, and talents can be applied to being a social activist and changemaker. It was fascinating to hear the different majors people had and how each major could serve a purpose in social movements, whether their field of study was computer science, public health, or financial economics. In addition, people’s diverse set of skills and talents including cooking, art, and animation also applied to the concept that anyone can use their hobbies for social justice. Our roles in our communities are not limited by specific boundaries or duties: we had a great turnout of RA’s, each of whom wanted to explore resources to better serve their residential communities.

CSJ: Ignite is just the beginning! Each and every individual has the capacity and ability to become a trailblazer and light the beacon of hope, activism, and justice. For a list of other CSJ events happening this week, check out our calendar!

Get ready for Critical Social Justice: Ignite with our What You Need to Know series. Written By Becca Mann, Mosaic Intern for Gender Equity, Social Justice, and Inclusion and Carlos Turcios, Coordinator for Student Diversity and Inclusion in Campus Life.

The term undocumented immigrant relates to a foreign-born person who is currently living in another country without legal authorization, whereas unauthorized migration relates to the action of moving to another country through means outside of what is permissible by that government. To most living in the United States, these definitions are not new. Although immigration to the new world began since the inception of the United States, the concept of “illegality” was something created in the late 19th century.  For each era of immigration, representation in the media clearly depicted imagery suggesting how immigrants looked like, the languages they spoke, why they were here, and how it affected the livelihood of Americans of that time.

In 2014, the majority of undocumented immigrants residing in the United States came from Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and China. Forty percent have less than a high school degree and about half have very limited to no English language skills. (Migration Policy Institute, 2014). Foreign policy, poverty, violence and civic unrest in their countries of origin are just some of the reasons why immigrants leave to the United States.

The truth is immigration policies have always been convoluted to understand. Immigration policies have continuously expanded throughout the different waves of immigration that have created “gaps” to those who fall within “gray areas”.  These complications on determining the statuses of immigrants have led to recent executive decisions such as the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for various countries. More recent legislative decisions (i.e. attempts at terminating DACA and TPS), have affected general societal attitudes toward immigrants, especially the undocumented immigrant population.

Despite immigration being a common topic during election seasons, rarely do English-only speakers get a preview of what underlies in the experiences of the people living with this identity. Different nationalities, time of entry, age groups and socioeconomic statuses are only some factors that drastically affect the lived experiences of immigrants in the United States.

So you’re probably asking yourself “what can I do to help?” Below are some suggestions on what you could do to be a better ally:

Use the term “undocumented immigrant” instead of “illegal immigrant.” Undocumented immigrants are simply that, they don’t have official papers to be in the country where they are currently residing. Labeling them “illegal” is viewing their action of immigrating as an attack, suggesting their human existence is unlawful. In reality, being an undocumented immigrant is a violation of a civic law and not considered a federal crime.

Educate yourself on the U.S. immigration processes. Most people accuse undocumented immigrants of “skipping the line”and they just need to wait to live here legally. However, the official ways to legally enter this country have not changed since the Immigration Act of 1965 and sometimes this “line”does not exist for certain people. For those who have a line, the wait may be too long that it endangers their livelihood.

Remove needing a Social Security number from applications. Undocumented immigrants don’t have Social Security numbers and a lot of job applications, health forms, or other documents require that you include one. This excludes the entire undocumented population from opportunities like jobs, healthcare, welfare, and education among many others simply because they don’t have a Social Security number.

Stop assuming that immigrants “look a certain way.” Although statistics do show that the majority of immigrants come from Mexico and Central America, that does not mean that people from other regions can not hold this identity. Likewise, the nationality does not assume race and people can look very different regardless of where they are from. Be conscious of the diversity within the immigrant community.

There are ways to support immigrants and get involved!

Retriever Immigrants United, or RIU for short, is a brand new student organization on campus this semester. This org focuses on community building, education, and empowerment. The mission of this group is to provide a space for all statuses of immigrants (e.g. undocumented, DACA, Temporary Protective Status, first generation, second generation) and allies to provide support and share resources.

General Body Meetings are from 6 p.m. -7 p.m. every Wednesday in Math/Psych 105.

You can find Retriever Immigrants United on myumbc and Facebook. Also you can contact retrieverimmigrantsunited@umbc.edu with any questions or more information.

The Mosaic myumbc page also has a folder under the “Files” tab with a lot of helpful information.

To learn more, come to our event “CSJ Igniting Consciousness Into the Immigrant Experience” on Wednesday, October 24 from 5:30-7 pm in Commons Skylight.

October 24 is also “I Stand With Immigrants Day of Action.” Please join RIU for their event in recognition of this day from 12 p.m. – 1 p.m. in the Commons Breezeway.  

Hello Women’s Center friends!

With Critical Social Justice Week approaching, it’s important to remember what needs to be completed before the events! Below are two of the events that require preparation, so please make sure that’s handled in a timely manner:

Wikipedia Edit-A-Thon for CSJ: Ignite on Wednesday, October 24th. Please create a username ahead of time for Wikipedia to recognize your legitimacy. For more details.

Baltimore Walking Tour on Friday, October 26th. RSVP by Wednesday, October 24th so we know how many people to expect for the shuttle. For more details.

This year, CSJ’s theme is Ignite. This topic is especially relevant, as it focuses on the ability to embrace and participate in activism. Everyone with different levels of interest and involvement are welcome to attend all events, as there is something to gain from each of them. Additionally, this year brings an emphasis on STEM fields and activism within them. Often, those academic and career fields are encased in a strict culture that does not allow for much expression or empowerment. Each CSJ event offers the opportunity to learn how activism can be infused into STEM fields. Even if that realm of academia does not house your interests, the events and workshops are a wonderful learning opportunity to expand the horizons of activism within and outside the UMBC community.

See a list of all our events here and read our What You Need to Know blogs here!