In 1997, a hate crime targeting Asian American students shook the Syracuse community. Today, the incident is memorialized in an exhibit in Bird Library as part of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month.  

“The Denny’s Incident,” as the hate crime is widely referred to, was an incident in which a group of six Asian American students and one white student were denied service and beaten in the parking lot of the Denny’s on 2863 E. Erie Blvd., The Daily Orange reported in 2007. After a five-month investigation by the district attorney’s office, the case was dismissed.  

 The exhibit features archived news coverage of the incident, as well as a documentary titled, “April 11, 1997” by senior Jasmine Kim. Her team gathered news and interviewed a friend of the students involved. Kim said that she was inspired to create the film in part by the lack of awareness of the event. 

 “If you’re not within the committee, no one on campus really knows about the incident,” said Kim. “History rhymes. There are certain events that happens again. It might not replicate exactly, but I think it’s important that the community know, and we understand that this has happened.” 

 When the case was dismissed by District Attorney William Fitzpatrick, students protested in Schine Student Center and later marched downtown with a petition demanding Fitzpatrick to offer an apology. When he spoke to a policy class at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, students laid signs in the Maxwell School lobby denouncing his handling of the case.  

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 “It really ignited a firestorm here,” said Tarida Anantachai, the outreach librarian at Syracuse University Libraries and co-chair of the AAPI Heritage Month Planning Committee, “Asian hate crimes have happened in the United States just about everywhere for decades, centuries even. This was an incident that happened right on our doorstep, and really was pretty much a call to action.”   

 Anantachai added that this event, in part, helped kickstart the development of SU’s Asian American minor studies. 

 This year’s exhibit features new additions that prompt students to write down ways in which they can help empower the AAPI community.  

  “I love how the exhibit prompts the community to be intentional about the ways they reflect and work upon their own identities,” said Bryan Dosono, co-chair of the AAPI Heritage Month. 

Throughout the month, there will be alumni speakers, a comedy show, educational workshops, a book club and even a men’s pageant. At the kickoff event, a screening of Kim’s documentary culminated in a discussion among students leadership on how the film relates to individual experiences on the SU campus.   

 “I was very touched that we were able to share this discussion,” Kim said, “because I think this kind of topic, when it comes to racism or sharing our identity, isn’t the easiest or common conversation we have with people.”   

 While AAPI Heritage Month is celebrated nationally in May, the campus community commemorates it in April before students leave campus for the summer.  

 All of the heritage months celebrated on campus including Native American Heritage Month and Black History Month convey a similar inclusive theme. It’s this shared idea that Dosono believes brings connection to other marginalized groups.  

 “By sharing a common theme with these other cultural heritage celebrations, we not only recognize and honor the rich array of programming that has been developed throughout this school year, but also acknowledge solidarity among the AAPI community in supporting each other and all communities of color,” Dosono said. 

 Kim wanted students to know that these events are inclusive, and added she hopes as many students as possible will come out, celebrate one other and learn as much as they can.  

 “AAPI [heritage month] means awareness and trying to understand our culture, our presence and respect,” Kim said. “And I’m not saying this just for Asian Americans. We are one of multicultural minority groups on campus, and I think it’s a great way to represent our identity as well as share our identity with other groups.” 

Published on April 15, 2019 at 11:22 pm