And This is How Racist Kids Grow Up to Be Racist Grown Ups

And Other Things to Know From Angry Asian America.



Gwinnett School Apologizes for Racially Insensitive Yearbook Photo
In Gwinnett County, Georgia, a photo featuring multiple students making a racially insensitive gesture -- you know exactly what racially insensitive gesture I'm talking about -- was published in an elementary school yearbook, which was delivered to families last week. Officials at Dyer Elementary School sent a letter of apology to students and families for the photo's publication. The photo showed a group of students, some of whom were pulling their eyes back. The students had apparently been told to "make a silly face" for the photo. And the adults in charge were apparently okay with said silly face. And okay with the photo. And okay with the photo's publication. And okay with distributing it to the school community. Racism! It makes a fun yearbook photo!

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Newsweek Apologizes for Op-Ed Questioning Harris Eligibility
Newsweek has apologized for an op-ed that questioned Sen. Kamala Harris' U.S. citizenship and her eligibility to be Joe Biden's running mate, a false and racist conspiracy theory which President Donald Trump has not dismissed. "This op-ed is being used by some as a tool to perpetuate racism and xenophobia. We apologize," read Newsweek's editor's note on Friday, which replaced the magazine's earlier detailed defense of the op-ed. "We entirely failed to anticipate the ways in which the essay would be interpreted, distorted and weaponized," read the apology, signed by Josh Hammer, opinion editor, and Nancy Cooper, global editor in chief. But they ended the note by saying that the op-ed would remain on the site, with their note attached.

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USC Pacific Asia Museum Decolonizes Its Collections
"One institution leading the way in decolonizing its collections is the University of Southern California Pacific Asia Museum (USC PAM) in Pasadena. It has not only declared solidarity with Black Lives Matter but has announced plans to reevaluate its collection in this transformative moment. "We have a moment right now to deconstruct everything, take us down to the studs," said USC PAM director Dr. Bethany Montagano, who sees the museum as a human-centered space for social healing, "If we don't confront the fact that our collections are really loaded with the freight of racism and colonial and imperial structures, destructive forces, then we can't do that healing work."

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Awesome Asian Americans: 20 Stars Who Made America Amazing
Awesome Asian Americans: 20 Stars Who Made America Amazing, from San Francisco-based publisher Immedium, is an upcoming book for all ages that tells the spectacular stories of 10 women and 10 men who inspire us to change the world, brought to life with fantastic comic book artwork. Written by Phil Amara and Oliver Chin, and illustrated by Juan Calle, the book features the stories of real-life heroes such as Yuri Kochiyama, Bruce Lee, Lea Salonga, Helen Zia, Jeremy Lin and more. You can pre-order and back the book right now on Kickstarter.

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'Evil Eye': Revenge, Reincarnation, and Indian Mythology Come to Blumhouse
What if you suspected that your daughter's new fiancé was the reincarnation of a man who tried to kill you 30 years ago? That's the clever and creepy premise behind Evil Eye, a new Blumhouse horror movie that puts South Asian characters and mythology front-and-center. Directed by twin brother filmmakers Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani, Evil Eye tells the story of Pallavi, who has found the perfect man in New Orleans. But when she relays the news to her mother Usha back in Delhi, India, a terrifying family secret creeps to the surface. Is Sandeep the reincarnation of a man from Usha's dark past? Evil Eye premieres October 13 on Amazon Prime.

USC knew campus gynecologist was preying on Asian patients

Dr. George Tyndall is accused of sexually abusing hundreds of students over several decades.



A former campus gynecologist at the University of Southern California is accused of sexually abusing hundreds of students. Records show that after decades of complaints about Dr. George Tyndall, university administrators hired a team of medical experts to evaluate him. They came back with a disturbing report: Tyndall showed signs of "psychopathy" and preyed on vulnerable Asian students.

Despite these findings, the school did nothing.

Well, that's not entirely true. USC did not fire Dr. George Tyndall and failed to notify the Medical Board of California. But the university's lawyers did arrange a secret deal with the doctor that allowed him to resign with a substantial financial payout and a clean professional record.

Anarchy in Asian America: Sex, Punk, and Transgressive Cinema

Panel Discussion and Concert with the original "bad boys of Asian American cinema, March 24 at USC



If you're in Los Angeles, Kaya Press and USC Visions and Voices invite you to Anarchy in Asian America: Sex, Punk, and Transgressive Cinema, a unique panel discussion with the original "bad boys" of Asian American cinema, Gregg Araki, Roddy Bogawa, Marcus Hu, and Jon Moritsugu.

They'll be discussing a wide range of topics related to filmmaking including the influence of punk on their work and how their transgression of racial, sexual, and cultural norms transformed our notions of both cinema and Asian American film. Afterward, they're throwing a punk afterparty/concert featuring performances by twisted glam rock/garage/punk band Low on High and the indie dark wave sounds of SISU.

It's happening Friday, March 24 at 7pm at the University of Southern California. Here are some more details:

USC professor fatally stabbed by PhD student

David Brown stabbed psychology professor Bosco Tjan after a "personal dispute."



Damn. In Los Angeles, a doctoral student at the University of Southern California was taken into custody after stabbing and killing a psychology professor in a campus building on Friday afternoon.

USC PhD student accused of fatally stabbing professor on campus

28-year-old David Jonathan Brown, PhD student in brain and cognitive science, is accused of fatally stabbing Bosco Tjan, a co-director of USC's Dornsife Cognitive Neuroimaging Center.

Police received a 911 call from USC's University Park campus about a victim with multiple stab wounds. Emergency responders found Tjan's body in a science building. He had been stabbed in the chest.

Police investigating possible hate crime at USC

Student says assailants threw eggs and called him "Ching Chang Chong motherfucker."



Can't a guy just mind his own business and enjoy his Saturday night without some racist asshole neighbors calling him racial and homophobic slurs and throwing eggs at him? Apparently not.

LAPD investigating racist incident in USC Housing

University of Southern California student Ivan Tsang says he was chilling in an outdoor common area of his campus apartment early Sunday morning when some guys from a nearby apartment hurled several eggs at him from their balcony and called him, among other things, "Ching Chang Chong motherfucker gay."

"You Indian piece of shit!" yelled the frat boy.

USC's Student Body President speaks out after racist fraternity house altercation.



Well, school's back in session. This week's edition of racist collegiate idiocy comes from the University of Southern California. Unsurprising bonus: It involves a fraternity. Over the weekend, USC's student body president says she was accosted by someone who shouted at her "You Indian piece of shit!"

The shocking racial epithet hurled at USC's student body president

Rini Sampath, who is Indian American, was walking back from a friend's apartment on Saturday night when someone leaned out of a fraternity house window and shouted, "You Indian piece of shit!" In case there was any doubt that his remarks were directed at Sampath, the unnamed fraternity brother then threw a drink at her.

Sampath, a senior international relations major who serves as president of USC's Undergraduate Student Government, shared the account of what happened to her in a Facebook post. She says that one of the assailant's fraternity brothers began to apologize -- after realizing who she was.

"I couldn't quite figure out why their after-the-fact apologies deepened the wound. But one of my friends explained it to me the best this morning: 'Because now you know, the first thing they see you as is subhuman.'"

Her post goes on to make a public plea for compassion and dialogue on campus.

Hey Korean American smokers! Science needs you.

University of Southern California seeks smokers for a public health research study.



Are you Korean American? Are you in the Los Angeles area? Do you smoke?

I recently heard from a researcher at the University of Southern California's Health, Emotion & Addiction Laboratory who is currently recruiting Korean American cigarette smokers and vapers, ages 18 years or older, for a public health research study. I don't have much more in the way of details, but you will be compensated for your time and participation (and I hear the pay is pretty decent).

Three teens to stand trial in beating death of USC student

Suspects admitted to targeting student "because he was Chinese."



In Los Angeles, three teenagers have been ordered to stand trial for the beating death of a University of Southern California graduate student from China. Investigators say the assailants admitted to targeting the victim to rob him, deciding that "because he was Chinese he must have money."

Detective says suspects admitted singling out Chinese student near USC

19-year-old Jonathan del Carmen, 17-year-old Alberto Ochoa, 16-year-old Alejandra Guerrero are charged with the murder of 24-year old Xinran Ji, a second-year grad student in electrical engineering. Proceedings for a fourth defendant, 19-year-old Andrew Garcia, have been suspended pending mental competency evaluations.

Ji was walking home alone near campus last July when he was chased down and attacked with a baseball bat. Beaten and bloody, Ji managed to make his way back to his apartment, where he died.

Man sentenced to life in prison for USC killings

Javier Bolden was found guilty of first-degree murder in the shootings of Ming Qu and Ying Wu.



A follow up on this tragic case... On Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court, the 22-year-old man convicted of killing two USC students from China was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

USC double murder: 22-year-old gets life in prison

Last month, a jury found Javier Bolden guilty on two counts of first-degree murder for his role in the April 11, 2012 shooting of Ming Qu and Ying Wu, graduate engineering students who were shot during botched robbery while sitting in a double-parked car near the University of Southern California campus.

Bolden reportedly showed no remorse during the sentencing hearing:

Man found guilty in shooting deaths of two USC students

This week in Los Angeles, a man was convicted of first-degree murder in the 2012 shooting deaths of two Chinese graduate students during a robbery near the University of Southern California.

Man Convicted in Shooting Deaths of 2 USC Students

22-year-old Javier Bolden was found guilty in the April 2012 shooting of Ming Qu and Ying Wu, engineering students from China, who were "ambushed" and killed while sitting in a parked car near campus.

Bolden was charged with two counts of murder and special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder during the commission of a robbery in the deaths. An accomplice, Bryan Barnes, pleaded guilty in February to first-degree murder charges, and was sentenced to life in prison without possibility of parole.

During the six-day trial, some of the most damning evidence was recorded phone conversation between Bolden and Barnes, who discussed the time they "ran up on them little Asian people."

Four suspects arrested in deadly assault of USC student

24-year-old Xinran Ji was struck in the head with a baseball bat



In Los Angeles, four teen suspects have been arrested in connection with the deadly assault and robbery of a USC graduate student whose body was found in his apartment near campus last week.

USC student fatally beaten with baseball bat; 4 teens arrested in case

Four were arrested on suspicion of murder and assault with a deadly weapon, while one was also faces a charge of robbery. The suspects included two adults and two juveniles, including a 16-year-old female.

24-year-old Xinran Ji, a second-year electrical engineering graduate student from China, was walking home from a study group a few blocks from campus when he was attacked and struck with a baseball bat. He managed to walk back to his apartment where he died of a head injury.

USC graduate student found dead after attack

24-year-old Xinran Ji was assaulted and struck by a "blunt force object"



Tragic news out of Los Angeles, where a Chinese graduate student at the University of Southern California was found dead in his apartment after being assaulted while walking home a few blocks from campus.

USC says grad student found dead was attacked near campus

24-year-old engineering student Xinran Ji was walking home from an off-campus study group when he was attacked by three suspects. According to police, he was struck by a "blunt force object."

Ji apparently managed to make it back to his fourth floor apartment, leaving a trail of blood. His roommate found him dead on Thursday morning.

Kaya Press presents Mehfil Massive

Wednesday, April 23 at USC's Bovard Auditorium



Los Angeles! The good folks at Kaya Press are bringing you Mehfil Massive: South Asian Religions Remixed Through Poetry and Music on Wednesday, April 23 at USC's Bovard Auditorium.

South Asian artists from around the country and from India are coming to share one stage and celebrate National Poetry Month. The event is free! Check out this rad trailer:

Suspects arrested in murder of USC graduate students

On Friday, the Los Angeles Police Department announced the arrest of two suspects in the fatal shooting of two University of Southern California graduate students that made international news last month.

2 are held in slayings of USC grad students.

20-year-old Bryan Barnes and 19-year-old Javier Bolden were arrested in connection to the murders of Ying Wu and Ming Qu, 23-year-old graduate students from China. The two were murdered April 11 while sitting in a car about a mile from campus.

Reward offered in killing of USC students

In Los Angeles, police have announced a $125,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person who murdered USC graduate students Ming Qu and Ying Wu.

Reward offered for leads in USC killings.

According to investigators, their murders may have been a robbery gone wrong, noting that some of their property is missing. According to witnesses, the assailant was a person in dark clothing who got away in an dark-colored car:

Two USC graduate students murdered near campus

Some shocking news out of the Los Angelesl, where two students were shot and killed during a possible attempted robbery near the University of Southern California campus early Wednesday morning.

One slain USC student was shot in head, police say

Ying Wu and Ming Qu, both 23-year-old electrical engineering graduate students from China, are believed to have been talking inside a car after a late-night study session when they were approached by the killer. Both were found fatally shot: