 This program is brought to you by Cable Franchise Vs and generous donations from viewers like you Hello and welcome to the Amherst Weekly Report from Amherst Media, April 2nd, 2021. I'm Claire Healy and these are the stories this week. Hadley has begun the reopening process of several public buildings including the Town Hall, Library and Senior Center. The Town Hall is now open to walk-ins on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon. All visitors can make appointments with individual offices during regular hours and will be asked to confirm that they are not experiencing symptoms of COVID-19. The Hadley Public Library reopened for browsing by appointment on Thursday, April 1st. Appointments can be made by calling or emailing the library. Finally, the Hadley Senior Center will be hosting small, in-person gatherings for visitors who can provide verification of their COVID-19 vaccine. Visitors must register in advance to attend a program. The center will also be offering delivered meals on weekdays, van rides on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, as well as a number of other services outside of the building. On Thursday, March 25th, Congressman Jim McGovern toured UMass Amherst's vaccine clinic and gave a press conference with UMass Chancellor Subhaswami. UMass Amherst has so far administered around 15,000 vaccines since opening its clinic on January 11th. McGovern praised UMass Amherst and the Chancellor's efforts in not only vaccinating the public, but also using relief funding to ensure stable tuition rates for the next year for in-state students. Both the Massachusetts Congressional Delegation and UMass leadership have supported the passing of the American Rescue Plan Act. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the American Rescue Plan allocates $350 billion in emergency funding to state, local, territorial and tribal governments. This funding is meant to provide relief, allow them to continue to support public health measures, and ensure a strong and equitable economic recovery. Additionally, the American Rescue Plan includes funding designated for certain areas, including infrastructure, homeowner assistance, and emergency rental assistance. Also included in the plan is funding towards employee, retention, credit, and paid leave credit programs. Unemployment compensation and a small business credit initiative at the state level have also been factored into the plan. The Amherst Cultural Council will be awarding 40 grants to different cultural programs in Amherst. Some of these programs include Amherst Cinema, Amherst Ballet, and the University of Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. The grants total $45,755. In response to the announcement, State Representative Mindy Dom said, quote, the arts enrich our community and sustain us through these challenging times. She went on to say that, quote, through their efforts and commitment, the volunteer members of the Amherst Cultural Council play an important role in our community's resilience. Following the fatal shooting of eight individuals in Atlanta, six of which were Asian women, a number of rallies appeared around Hampshire County in protest to both the shooting and rising anti-Asian hate across the country. Local Mary Wang Boucher organized a rally in Northampton on Saturday, March 20th. Over 100 demonstrators met at the corner of Maine and Pleasant, according to Wang Boucher and a Zoom interview. People of Asian American and Pacific Island descent were invited to bring a variety of signs, and many attendees used their sign to denounce racial stereotypes and microaggressions. The event description invited allies to bring signs saying quote, stop Asian hate. Wang Boucher originally thought the rally would be just her and her family. However, the Facebook group page was spread around the county and caught the attention of other Asian American Pacific Islander support groups, students, and allies. This led to the large turnout. Wang Boucher said quote, it was very overwhelming. Our time has finally come. On Saturday, March 27th, the graduate employee's organization at UMass Amherst organized a parallel rally in Amherst Common. The rally was titled Hear Us All, a rally specifically dedicated to all AAPI women, which focus specifically on the daily encounters of sexism and racism faced by Asian American or Pacific Islander women. We spoke with one of the organizers, the co-chair of the graduate employee's organization, Dora Zen, about the rally, the experiences that motivated it, and how she felt it went. So the motivation that pushed me into doing the rally, which is, it happened to be in the same week. I was yelled at by a white male at work. And this is in the same week where many of the, my sisters were being shot at the excellent, you know, six out of the eight victims are Asian women. And this, so when that happened, when I was being yelled, my husband was actually in the other room. So he hear the whole thing, like the yelling, but then he, we, he asked me, oh, what's going on here? And I tried to explain to him and how upsetting it is because, you know, I represent my union with just like a thousand something students. But then this person thinks he can just, you know, dump his rage like this, disregard, like we're, we may see civil in the sense. And also it wasn't like confrontational meeting at all. It was just trying to schedule for our next meeting. So my husband went on and then he's like, well, you know, he may just have a bad day, you know, that rather ricks very similar to what the sheriff say for the mother, right? Just a bad day. So then you can justify for the violence and done with the marginalized population. So when we talk about racism or sexism, these kinds of violence, we only see like the killing is the most apparent violence someone can see. But for me, as an Asian woman, live in this society, this is everyday life, right? And I think I, I shared this very personal story because I want not only my partner, but also the rest of the society know there's a connection. And I want people be able to see that connection. And what can you do in your daily life to stop that kind of violence? And this rally, you seldom heard from the Asian Asian woman community, because we're being told by the society that we're quiet, we don't have opinion, we're submissive, we're docile. And I think this is very important to this rally specifically dedicated to Asian women out there. I wanted to be a space where we can come up and share our stories. Because like one thing that really sticks with me was a younger generation come forward and share about her experience being adopted in the United States, right? We are perceived as an Asian woman in this country. But my experience and her experience are very different because how we, you know, enter the society. And my experience cannot speak for hers and her experience cannot speak with me. The rally, just the beginning, right? To make the physical space for us. But then there are more works to do. And I think one way of doing it is to everyone's taking the role, like in your daily role in your individual lives, that how do we make sure the justice is not just done by the banner? Like, we all like those sexy slogans. But one way I'm thinking about it is how do we make sure we materialize what we say on those banner, right? If, for instance, something happened at UMass, graduate students were pushed out of the family complex. And a lot of them are students of color and international students. For us, the way that how we perceive this, this, we're not welcome in this university, disregard what is says on the banner, dignity and respect, right? So I think there's a long way to go. But also we have to do it materialistically. It's like people get it, you know, like finally people get it. This is a space for Asian women to raise our voice, you know, you physically see people making space, you know, standing in lines, make sure those people, the impacted community, people from the impacted community speak first, and then you can come up and say something. I think that's very powering. Yeah. It's a, yeah, and I feel I left a rally and I feel really connected. And I want to do more. This is just the beginning. There was a second rally on March 27th at 11am. It was held in Springfield at the Springfield City Hall. The event featured the stories of women in the AAPI community. Leaders such as the mayor of Springfield, Dominic Sarno, also spoke. The event was live streamed on Facebook for those who were unable to attend in person. Starting March 25th, a limited number of spectators are allowed at UMass home sport games, according to WWLP news and a UMass news release. Guests must be invited by players. Typical COVID-19 protocol will take place, including mask wearing, maintaining six feet of social distance, and a self-symptom check. UMass Amherst has announced its plans for an outdoor graduates commencement ceremony in May. The event will take place in McGurk Alumni Stadium on Thursday, May 13th at 4pm and no guests are allowed. That's all for this week. Thank you for tuning in to the Amherst Weekly report from Amherst Media. I'm Claire Healy and we'll see you at the same time next week.