This year, WW-P will be offering its first humanities summer elective: Asian American Studies. The four-week course will count for 2.5 credits and will be an interdisciplinary course, meaning that it will have both Language Arts and History curricula. The course will be taught by teachers from both South and North.

  Social Studies Supervisor Dr. Cindy Assini is excited about the new summer option. She said, “A lot of students in New Jersey are looking for academic opportunities in the summer. We want to offer a high-quality experience—something dynamic and engaging.”

  Members of the community share this enthusiasm. Local resident and psychiatrist Dr. Kani Ilangovan said, “I’m really thrilled about it. I wish I had learned this history when I was in school. Asian American stories are often invisible.” She believes that greater awareness of historical contributions will “help reduce the idea of Asian Americans as perpetual foreigners.” This persistent perception of Asian Americans as outsiders fueled xenophobic feelings that led to a surge in discrimination and violence against Asian Americans during the pandemic..

  According to the Pew Research Center, the number of reported incidents in 2019 was 158, but in 2021 that number increased drastically to 746.      

  Dr. Ilangovan hopes that this course will empower students to see themselves as active contributors to society. “One student, a West Windsor alumni, told me that she really wished she had learned that history,” said Dr. Ilangovan. “She had no idea that Asian Americans could be activists, and she only found out in college that they could, and she said it would have really helped her sense of identity to know that in her schooling.”

  After the pilot elective in the summer, Asian American Studies could eventually become a full-year course. “I hope we will develop a full-year course by 2026–2027,” said Dr. Assini. “We want this course to be fun and meaningful, and we look forward to having students help shape it.”