Lori HuangBIOSC senior & premed student Last summer, a cell culture internship with Teva Pharmaceuticals was snatched away from me as COVID-19 cases mounted and masks became commonplace. To say I was disappointed was an understatement. I frantically applied everywhere I could, even as far as California across the country but alas, it was already the end of April and all the internship positions had been either already filled or canceled. Now what? As I ruminated over what I should do over the next four months, hate crimes against Asian Americans rose as we were blamed for the pandemic. Being Chinese, I have always been aware of the racism that persists in America and have unfortunately been subjected to it myself. However, I had never seen such blatant racism against Asian people at alarmingly rising levels. In fact, there is a whole very extensive Wikipedia article titled “Xenophobia and racism related to the COVID-19 pandemic”. With each new article I read about yet another hate crime, my heart grew heavier. When I received an email from Pitt asking for submissions for “The Art of Diversity Showcase and Competition,” I knew then what I was going to do that summer: create a piece to bring attention to the racism against Asians in America. I wanted to express the isolation and pain felt in the Asian American community at the time, but it was difficult translating the raw feelings into an art piece. I went through many drafts and sketches, each of which I was unhappy with and tossed into a growing mound of crumpled paper. Funnily enough, what became my finished submission popped into my head in the classic place where you get your best ideas: the shower. As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom, I got to work and completed what went on to eventually win the competition in “Sociocultural Topics,” Viral Blame: This artwork depicts the discrimination that Asians have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. There are those who believe that China is at fault for the pandemic and have resorted to violence and hate against Asians. Some have also used their words to spread racism, such as referring to COVID-19 as the "Chinese Virus" or "Kung Flu". Such racism has also spread like a virus; hence the name Viral Blame. This artwork was made in Adobe Illustrator and depicts an Asian woman encircled by a COVID-19 virion. The spike proteins have been replaced with pointing fingers to depict the blame that people have placed on Asian people for the pandemic.
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January 2022
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