A controversial new line of Abercrombie & Fitch T-shirts, which bear stereotypical depictions of Asians, has sparked protest from Asian-American groups nationwide, including organizations on the University campus.
The T-shirts which carry slogans such as "Wong Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make It White," were pulled from store shelves and the company's website Thursday after Abercrombie received a flood of complaints.
"Many people look at the T-shirts and think they're funny," said Jamie Chan '03, former president of the Asian-American Students Assoc-iation. "A lot of people don't realize there's something behind it."
The shirts make fun of Asians working in dry-cleaning services and take-out restaurants — people who are "working hard to live in this country" and are struggling to integrate into society, Chan said.
"It hits really close to home for a lot of Asian people," she said.
Abercrombie spokesman Hamp-ton Carney said in a statement it was not the company's intention to offend anyone.
"These graphic T-shirts were designed with the sole purpose of adding humor and levity to our fashion line," he said.
Though the company has already recalled the shirts and apologized to the public, Asian-American groups plan to continue protests.
"Even though they apologized, they haven't fixed the problem they created," said Farng-Yi Foo '04, a co-chair of the Asian and Pacific-American Heritage Month board.
"There wasn't a clarification of why they pulled the T-shirts to begin with," she said. "They haven't indicated why they think the T-shirts are wrong."
Coordinated efforts among Asian student groups from several colleges resulted in protests Saturday in front of company stores in Cambridge, Mass., San Francisco, Providence, R.I., and Ohio, where the company is based.
An Asian student group at Columbia Law School is spearheading a national boycott of Abercrombie this weekend by holding a drive to collect company products to return.
"The best way to protest anything like this is to exercise your right as a consumer to buy or not to buy and boycott to show you reject this," Paulo Campos '05 said.
Campos said he "found it ridiculous" that Abercrombie would promote archaic stereotypes of Asians. People are entitled to wear whatever they please, he said, but the shirts show bad taste.
Foo said the stereotypic images printed on the shirts perpetuate a legacy of racism.
"The images as we know in society are drawn to make the public think a certain way," she said. "While it may be in jest now, it fails to address the fact that these are the same images used to enact the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which tried to keep Asians out of the country."
Foo and Chen said the Asian-American groups on campus have joined the intercollegiate effort to protest Abercrombie, with the intention of educating students about the the offensive nature of Asian-American stereotypes.
"I don't think a rally or protest would be appropriate at Princeton, but I think it's important to educate the members of the Princeton community who are huge consumers of Abercrombie to not support the racism and ignorance that Abercrombie perpetuates," Foo said.
The controversy has created a demand for the T-shirts among some consumers. One was on sale last night for $100 on an eBay online auction.
APAHM will have an information table up in the Frist Campus Center all week to hand out fliers, speak to students and collect signatures for their protest list.
Read More
Cloister Inn to pause operations for the next 2–3 years, citing “hefty renovations”
Justus WilhoitCloister Inn, one of Princeton’s eating clubs, will pause operations for the next two to three years, due to “hefty renovations” to the club’s house.
Cloister Inn, one of Princeton’s eating clubs, will pause operations for the next two to three years, due to “hefty renovations” to the club’s house.
Duo text and call authentication methods disabled amid rise in phishing
Ben GoldstonDuo, the University’s authentication provider, has disabled phone and text authentication methods beginning from June 11 in response to rising phishing attacks.
Duo, the University’s authentication provider, has disabled phone and text authentication methods beginning from June 11 in response to rising phishing attacks.
Two professors awarded AI Seed Grant to advance algebraic proof systems
Adam MoussaProfessors Amir Ali Ahmadi and Pravesh Kothari are pioneering the use of artificial intelligence to enhance complex mathematical proof systems, with applications in robotics, optimization, and automated reasoning. Their research aims to overcome current computational barriers using machine learning, potentially enabling AI to verify system safety and even prove sophisticated mathematical theorems.
Professors Amir Ali Ahmadi and Pravesh Kothari are pioneering the use of artificial intelligence to enhance complex mathematical proof systems, with applications in robotics, optimization, and automated reasoning. Their research aims to overcome current computational barriers using machine learning, potentially enabling AI to verify system safety and even prove sophisticated mathematical theorems.