Sharkbites Newsletter

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AUGUST 30, 2022


Hello, everyone!

In California, tech giants are reckoning with casteism – the same Indian hierarchy system that often leads to discrimination against lower classes.


The first caste-based discrimination lawsuit
was filed in June 2020 against Cisco Systems, who ultimately denied the allegations, claiming that caste was not a protected class. In response, activists and employee groups advocated for companies and U.S. discrimination legislation to update their policies to include casteism.

This month, Apple revised their anti-discrimination policy to include “caste” in addition to other categories like race and gender, and an appeals panel rejected Cisco’s bid to push this case to private arbitration, signaling that a public court case could come next year. 

Spotlight 💡

Sonja Kostich, an Asian American veteran in arts and dance, has recently been appointed as the new executive director of Baryshnikov Arts Center in Manhattan.

Kostich, the current Chief Executive Officer and Artistic Officer of Kaatsbaan, will succeed Cora Cahan, who has held the position at Baryshnikov Arts Center since 2019.

The Center was founded by Mikhail Baryshnikov, a ballet star that defected from the Soviet Union in 1974,
who praised Kostich’s appointment: “I am honored that she will bring her talents to B.A.C. and am confident that her creative vision, financial savvy and love of the arts is precisely what B.A.C. needs to head into the future,” he said in a statement.

The Center, known for dance, music and other programming, had to cancel its shows and pivot to digital commissions to sustain the organization and support their artists. This year’s fall season will resume in October.

Sonja Kostich, the incoming executive director of Baryshnikov Arts Center in Manhattan.

Race in America 🌎

Young artists and social media users from the Montagnard Asian minority group are keeping their culture alive by sharing recipes, clothing and other traditions online.

The Montagnard (a French word meaning “Mountain People”) is an umbrella group that
consists of 30 indigenous ethnicities in Vietnam and their genetic makeup is distinct from the majority group in the nation today. A majority of Montagnard immigrants now live in North Carolina with about 12,000 people, mostly dwelling in the Piedmont Triad area. Communities feel an even stronger obligation to protect their culture as their traditions are also not safeguarded in Vietnam.

 

...


UC San Diego finally agreed to not fire a Chinese postdoctoral scholar after university groups and staff rallied behind her cause.

Despite
working at UC San Diego for four years and having her visa renewed multiple times, when Li Jiang raised concerns in January regarding the integrity of data and research methodology in the pathology department, her supervisor’s behavior toward her changed significantly.

With pressure from her pregnancy, visa expiration and work stress, she struggled to get support from the University administration, leaving her worried about being repatriated while pregnant and unable to finish her work – presenting another example of how academics often leave women behind. However, after months of advocacy from her peers and other university organizations, she was able to negotiate an agreement last Friday that will allow her to stay in the country, work in the lab under a new supervisor and keep her health benefits.

In Other Asian News 🗞

In June, a five-minute video of a woman and her friends being brutally attacked by a group of men after rejecting one of their advances went viral on Chinese social media. On August 29, seven men were charged for the attack, but the nation is left to reckon with the continued legacy of violence against women.

Online,
feminists and advocates like Lu Pin expressed how this egregious display of violence toward women was just another example of how empowering movements like #MeToo cannot stand on its own against the consistent cycle of brutality. Others began to speak up with tones of resignation about their experiences on social media platforms. However, two days after the incident, Weibo announced a zero-tolerance policy toward users who spread hateful speech including comments that “attacked state policy and the political system” or “incited gender conflict.” Within 48 hours, around 14,000 posts were removed, 8,000 users were suspended and 1,000 users were banned. 

Eric Liu, a former Weibo censor who now monitors state censorship for China Digital Times, explained that this policy works to inhibit discussion without appearing to censor it outright. As state media downplays the incident and pushes some official narrative, “the voice of the real feminists are removed,” ensuring that all that is left is the state’s account and general sympathies from the public – the real story is swept under the rug and quickly forgotten. 

Food 🥘

Stacy Seuamsothabandith, brother Keo Seuamsothabandith, and her husband, Byron Gully, operate Laos to Your House, a project offering to-go and delivery for Laotian food to the Chicago community.

Their website isn’t just a menu of dishes like sai oua (pork sausage) and seen savanh (dried beef), but also
contains a history of the cuisine and a guide on how to eat certain dishes. Stacy Seuamsothabandith says Laos is kind of a forgotten Asian country, so we started with: How do we teach people about our cuisine and culture?”

 

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James Beard Award-winning restaurateur Ann Kim will be a spotlighted chef on Netflix’s upcoming series “Chef’s Table: Pizza.”

Kim runs Young Joni, Hello Pizza, Pizzeria Lola and Sooki & Mimi in Minnesota. In an Instagram post, Kim wrote, “Thank you for sharing my story. Honored to be a part of this season with individuals that I admire and respect and continue to be a source of inspiration for me."

Ann Kim talks about her pizza shops in Minnesota.

Image: CBS Mornings

What else is on our minds? 🧠
 

  • The Pakistani government is asking for international assistance after an emergency flood killed more than a thousand people this past weekend. 

  • Jessica Gao, head writer for the Marvel Disney+ series “She-Hulk: Attorney At Law,” revealed Marvel rejected three of her pitches prior to landing the “She-Hulk” gig.   

  • The British Museum has received a significant bequest of Chinese porcelain and jades from the deceased Sir Joseph Hotung, who died last year. 

  • Japanese baseball legend Ichiro Suzuki has been inducted in the Seattle Mariners Hall of Fame. 

  • After experiencing the effects of an affirmative action ban, the University of Michigan and the University of California school system both say the policy is needed to ensure diversity efforts.

What is your favorite style of pizza?

Daniel’s favorite is New York Style. I like the pizzas my mom makes at home with sliced bread in the oven. 


Sincerely, Mya Sato and Daniel Anderson

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