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Police department under fire for using ‘Y’ to categorize Asian officers
The Aug. 7 primary election is just days away. We asked how local Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders can get involved in the political process, and why it’s so important.
Photo from Nassau County Police Department
VOL 37 NO 32 AUGUST 4 – AUGUST 10, 2018
By Staff NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY MINEOLA, N.Y. — The Nassau County Police Department has been using a “Y” for yellow to categorize its officers of Asian descent, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union. When a person, male or female, became an officer in the Nassau County Police Department, a letter was put near their name on their personnel paperwork. The
letter was a B, H, W, Y, or I. The Y stood for “yellow” and referred to someone who is Asian, while the I stood for “Indian” and referred to someone who is Native American, a representative admitted. The practice was uncovered by the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU). Michael Sisitzky, the lead policy counsel for the NYCLU, told The New York Post, “These see NASSAU COUNTY on 13
36 YEARS YOUR VOICE
Dexter Tang
Nadine Shiroma
Rosa Melendez
Jean Kang
Jerry Lee
Sachi Madan
Anvie Gowrishankar
Alex Thai
Jonah Egger
Youngjin Ma
Compiled by Ruth Bayang and Edison Wong NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
organizations that make our community better.
Nadine Shiroma
Dexter Tang
Civic engagement at its heart is about caring for our community. Whether it is volunteering on campaigns, donating to candidates, or spending time helping your favorite nonprofit organizations, every action — large or small — makes our community better. I encourage everyone to support candidates they believe in and volunteer at CISC, ACRS, or the many other great
ACRS has a vital civic engagement program funded by local donors and matching funds from the Coulter Foundation, which has made a substantial contribution to AAPI civic engagement across the country. Work with George Cheung of Seattle, and learn how to create a more equitable democracy. George see VOTE on 15
Radio hosts suspended for slur against Sikh attorney general By MICHAEL RUBINKAM The hosts of a popular New Jersey radio show were suspended for 10 days for calling the nation’s first Sikh attorney general “turban man’’ — the latest slur against a career prosecutor who says he faces countless “small indignities and humiliations’’ no matter how far he rises or how important his position. WKXW-FM hosts Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco issued a written apology to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and
Judi Franco (left) and Dennis Malloy
the Sikh and East Asian communities, writing they were “deeply sorry’’ for the pain they caused. The station also
apologized and suspended the pair without pay until Aug. 6. The longtime hosts of the “Dennis & Judi’’ show uttered the slur on their July 25 show while talking about Grewal’s directive to prosecutors to temporarily suspend marijuana prosecutions statewide. Malloy said he couldn’t remember Grewal’s name, telling Franco: “I’m just going to say the guy with the turban.’’ Malloy and Franco acknowledged see RACIAL SLUR on 15
Fog Rose » 7
Blog » 10
Bai Ling » 8
On the Shelf »9
Torchlight Parade » 16
Harvard slams group alleging bias against Asian Americans
BOSTON (AP) — Harvard University is defending its admissions practices in new court records that also offer a scathing rebuke of the group that’s suing over alleged discrimination. Records filed by the school in Boston’s federal court
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on July 27 say the legal case made by Students for Fair Admissions amounts to a “45-page press release’’ with a “misleading narrative.’’ Both sides have been sparring over the group’s 2014 lawsuit accusing Harvard of discrimination against Asian-
American students. An analysis presented by the group says Harvard’s Asian-American applicants have the strongest academic see HARVARD on 14
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