Recently, our school district recognized the Muslim Eid al-Fitr and Jewish Yom Kippur as school district holidays. We applaud such a great decision, as we see ICCSD is making another important move embracing diversity. It is also an opportunity for us to learn about other cultures. Now we know that on Jewish Yom Kippur one has to fast. At the same time, we are very much alarmed by the fact that the Asian community is the largest minority group in ICCSD, but there is no school district holiday representing us, let alone no decision-making participation. Therefore, we feel the urge to request that the Board consider recognizing Lunar New Year as a school district holiday so that our large Asian-American student population can celebrate this holiday with their family, and their classmates can know more about the biggest Asian holiday.

Moreover, during the past year, as the anti-Asian hatred diffused rapidly across the country, we especially see the urgency for our school community to take action to honor Asian heritage. This April, Iowa City has proclaimed May 18th the day of AAPI Day Against Bullying. We are grateful for that. In the long history of anti-Asian racism, Asian Americans have been portrayed as perpetual foreigners. In the COVID-19 pandemic, the divisive language from various elected officials instigated the rampant scapegoating of people of Asian descent. We have witnessed growing fear among community members and identity crises among young Asian generations. Some children of Asian descent were confused about their identities, feeling lost and excluded. These adverse effects significantly undermine the shared values of diversity, inclusion, and equity, which make America great. Stopping anti-Asian racism requires efforts from both legislative and community levels. It is at this pivotal time that we ask ICCSD to respect the cultural values of Asian Americans and to give recognition to the Lunar New Year. This will be a critical move to deconstruct stereotypes and foster mutual understanding among families in the school district.

 Lunar New Year to Asians is comparable to Christmas to Americans. It is the day that all family members gather and celebrate a year of hard work and express good wishes for the coming year. This tradition has been passed on from generation to generation for thousands of years in China, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, as well as many Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Laos, Singapore, and Malaysia. The Asian population has been growing rapidly in Eastern Iowa. According to the US Census data, Asians accounted for 7.3% of the population in Iowa City and 11.1% of the population in Coralville, which is the highest among minority groups. Making Lunar New Year a school district holiday is. Making Lunar New Year a school district holiday is a representation of recognizing the cultural heritage of this largest minority community and to further shape ICCSD into an inclusive, diversified, and respectful community.

In closing, we believe this recognition will benefit not only the Asian families but also help stopping hatred or misunderstanding in the community. We hope to make America a better place and to build ICCSD into a safe and inclusive community for everyone to live and thrive. This is a time to hope, a time to heal, and a time to embrace the LNY, an Asian holiday.