Just when we thought that 2021 was over and ending on a high, The Universal Asian team faced some internal disruption that unfortunately resulted in the stepping down of two core members. While saddened by their departure, we wish both Kim (Associate Editor) and Hanna (Social Media Specialist) well in their future endeavors. We truly thank them for giving so much of their time, effort, and selves to building up the platform to what it is today.
Although change can be unsettling, it also creates an opportunity to reflect, adjust, and solidify future actions.
First, to emphasize our New Year’s post on our social media, we want to remain true to our mission and values to provide a balanced and open space to any and everyone who wants to share their story or point of view on any and every topic. The Universal Asian, as a platform, does not stand in judgement, discriminate, nor censor what or how our stories and voices are shared. We provide a space for this as long as it falls within our mission and values. Unfortunately, this means that some may dislike some of the content put out on the platform. It also means that some may be triggered emotionally or mentally by some of the content. We do not intentionally wish to harm anyone with our content. Full stop.
However, it is important to keep in mind that we cannot please everyone in our Asian diaspora. Our aim is to mainstream discussions on all topics so that a deeper understanding of who we are as a community—both good and bad—can be gained. This is only achieved through communication, even on the heaviest, darkest, and most difficult of topics. We hope that the respect we hold for everyone in our diaspora can also be held for us, as a platform, as we strive to provide an unbiased, open, and safe space.
Still, this does not mean that the individual team members of The Universal Asian are in agreement with everything shared through this platform. Therefore, we ask that you be kind, compassionate, and understanding of the fact that while we work on this platform with a shared mission and common values, we are still human beings with our own feelings and emotional and mental triggers. We would also like to point out that no one person is the spokesperson or face of The Universal Asian. Although it might feel acceptable to reach out to us individually, we request that any concerns, comments, questions, or feedback you may have regarding the platform be directed to info@theuniversalasian.com or DM’d on the platform’s social media accounts and not to individual team members directly.
With that said, we are very much looking forward to what 2022 holds for TUA. After a long break with some behind the scenes changes, we are excited to bring you two events toward the end of the month: “Dating is Hard. Asian Dating is Harder!” with Dr. Vivi Hua on January 22; “Learn About the Artists Behind the Up Close Zine” with An Laurence Higgins & Annie Tong Zhou Lafrance on January 29.
Furthermore, you may notice that we have changed up our post releases on our site with new content coming out every week. Keep checking our FB / Instagram / Twitter / LinkedIn / YouTube for updates throughout the month.
Finally, we want to continue highlighting members of our Asian diaspora and expanding our engagement. So, if you—or someone you know—would like to: be interviewed, submit your own pieces, or share other content ideas for events or something new with the TUA platform, please reach out to us at info@theuniversalasian.com. We want to hear from you!
Here’s to an amazing 2022!
— OSH, Editor