April 20, 2007
Uprising Radio (KPFK, Los Angeles)
Audio Link to Segment HERE
GUEST: Tamara K. Nopper, an Asian American graduate student
in sociology at Temple University, where she teaches classes on
ethnicity, race, and Asian American studies. She is also a writer and
anti-war activist volunteering with the Central Committee for
Conscientious Objectors (CCCO)
Today on the 8th anniversary of the shootings at Columbine High
School in Colorado, we examine another campus massacre that
took place less than a week ago. Twenty three year old English student
Cho Seung-Hui opened fire on a campus dormitory at Virginia Tech
University, killing 32 faculty and students before taking his own life.
It was the worst campus shooting in U.S. history. Because of
the shooter’s ethnic heritage, South Korea’s Foreign Ministry fears
racial backlash against Koreans and the ministry has expressed its
concern and condolences in the aftermath of the tragedy. Some cultural
critics are particularly concerned about how media analysis of the
event might affect this potential prejudice. Will the media highlight
or downplay Cho’s ethnicity? How will current “model minority”
stereotypes play into the analysis? How does the incident’s proximity
to the 8th anniversary of the Columbine incident frame this
shooting?
