By Khalailah Bynoe
On Aug. 28, the Brooklyn College AANAPISI Project (BCAP) held its soft opening to introduce the BC community to its newest space. The Center, located at Boylan Hall 2149/2153, consists of spaces for students from the Asian diaspora to study and relax, a library space with resources, and a kitchen space to prepare meals. Adorned with cultural pieces, the Center welcomes all to discover more about the diaspora in this new space.
The Center joins the list of spaces on campus made for certain demographics of the school population, such as the Women’s Center, the Immigrant Student Success Office (ISSO), and the Black and Latino Male Initiative (BLMI). The goal of BCAP is to provide a safe space for the community, creating solidarity among the diaspora.
“Brooklyn College is a proud Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander Serving Institute (AANAPISI). The Brooklyn College AANAPISI Project (BCAP) supports our 25% Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students, including Central Asian & Nomadic, East Asian, South Asian & ‘MENA [Middle Eastern and North African,’ and mixed heritage and intersecting communities,” as stated by BCAP’s mission statement.
To leaders at the newly-opened Center, having this space on campus is critical for students to feel welcome and have a safe space to go on campus.
“It’s super important for people to find a place of belonging. We’re hoping to be a safe space for people,” Chahat Longia, program assistant at BCAP, told The Vanguard.
“We aim for our office to have a homey vibe; that’s why we have spaces like a kitchen spot, a little library living room situation, and an area for homework. It’s really important for students to have that feeling of comfort here at Brooklyn College,” Megan Go, program coordinator at BCAP, told The Vanguard.
Leaders at the Center expressed how grateful they are to have this space, and wish that it could have been available to students earlier.
“It was really rewarding on that first day when people came in. We would see from freshmen to seniors; they would all say we are so happy for this space. Those who have been at Brooklyn College already were like, when we first got to Brooklyn College, there were a lot of Asians here, but there were no physical spaces for us,” Go told The Vanguard. “We were hoping to find some center, some resource of some sort specifically geared towards our racial and ethnic identity.”
In order to fund the Center, the project receives funding from the Department of Education as part of a five-year grant eligible for universities with 10% or more AAPI-identifying students.
“[The project] is a grant-funded initiative from the Department of Education. We support all Asian American, Pacific Islander, and Native Hawaiian students, and we really want to emphasize that because they are politicized and racialized terms, that even if you don’t identify as such we are going to be as inclusive as possible. We really want to make sure that folks are seeing themselves as part of Brooklyn College through BCAP,” Chris Won, director at BCAP, told The Vanguard.
Among the resources that can be found at BCAP are academic and professional development tools as well as mental health resources.
“Three major initiatives that we do are academic affairs and curriculum development. We also do a lot of culturally responsive practices as well as mental health referrals and events, and the last one we do is leadership and mentorship,” Won told The Vanguard.
Regardless of your identity, everyone is welcome at BCAP. “Anyone of any identity can stop by; our doors are always open Monday through Friday 10-5,” Go told The Vanguard.
An upcoming event that BCAP will be hosting is for Filipinx American Month (FAHM) and Native American and Indigenous Heritage Month (NAIHM) on Thursday, Oct. 24, from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Tow Center. BCAP plans on hosting many more events, like last semester’s tea ceremony, which they hope to turn into an annual event.
BCAP is currently looking for volunteers as well as offering a work-study job opportunity. For more information about BCAP and future events, follow BCAP on Instagram at @bcap.brooklyn.