WPSA Celebrates 75 Years Young!

The WPSA is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2022. As part of the celebration, we are launching a major fundraising campaign and planning a variety of special events at our annual conference. We are also devoting several pages on of our website to mark the anniversary. These pages contain histories of WPSA groups, a timeline of the association’s own history, and an overview of the significant innovations that WPSA members and groups have contributed to the discipline. In addition, we have created a Graffiti Wall where members are asked to post short messages on what the WPSA has meant to them and their careers. Please add your comments to the Wall, join in the conference festivities, and consider donating to the 75th Anniversary Fundraising campaign. The money is going to a good cause. To find out more, follow the link here to Anniversary’s main web page.

CELEBRATING OUR 75TH ANNIVERSARY IN PORTLAND, OREGON

Lighting Up the New Dawn— Recover, Reconcile, and Rebuild @ 75

The Western Political Science Association will host its 2022 annual meeting at the Hilton Hotel on March 10 - 12, 2022, in Portland Oregon. Please make plans to attend and encourage others to join us! The DEADLINE for submission of paper proposals/program participation forms has been extended to September 27, 2021. Additionally, the deadline for submissions for the undergraduate poster session is October 30, 2021.

We are currently updating our information and will post meeting information soon.

STATEMENT ON AAPI SHOOTING

On March 16, 2021, eight people in the Atlanta area were murdered across three Asian-run businesses. Six of the eight victims were Asian women, according to authorities (see details: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/17/leaders-call-for-support-of-asian-americans-after-atlanta-shootings.html). The Western Political Science Association shares our condolences with the victims of the hate crimes committed against Asian Americans and Asian immigrants in Atlanta, Georgia, and with all of the victims in this growing epidemic of anti-Asian violence. These attacks against members of our community are a reminder that the fight for equal rights and protections for people of color is far from over and requires constant vigilance and activism.

While often overlooked, Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and Asian immigrants have long faced severe and persistent discrimination in the United States. Now, racist rhetoric tying Asian Americans to the COVID pandemic has once again fueled anti-Asian hate crimes across the country. Asian American and Pacific Islanders were targeted in nearly 3,800 hate incidents in the past year, representing a surge of 150% between last March and February 2021.

This rhetoric has led to significant pain for members of our WPSA community and the unnecessary loss of life across the country. This message is intended to raise awareness and acknowledgement about anti-Asian bias in the United States. As a community we have to be more aware of our implicit biases so we do not continue to replicate the marginalization of Asian American and Pacific Islanders.

The continued violence against people of color and the fact that it is growing at an alarming rate, has created a new generation of dedicated activists and supportive politicians who want to combat anti-Asian bias. Online movements like #StopAAPIHate and #stopasianhate have generated a significant amount of attention and have increased awareness of the plight that AAPI face in this country. Members of the U.S. Congress such as New York Representative Grace Meng have introduced legislation which will create a database for anti-Asian hate crimes and make it easier for Asian American and Pacific Islanders to report these incidents.

Finally, it is important for us as educators to make our students aware of the disparities in opportunities that Asian Americans, Blacks, Latinxs, and Native Americans face and provide the next generation with tools to dismantle racial/ethnic hierarchies in the United States. Given the long history of racial violence against people of color in this country, it may be close to impossible to completely erase racism in the United States. That said, we must do whatever we can to bend the arc of history toward justice because the violence committed in Atlanta cannot stand.

AN ATTACK ON FREE SPEECH

The Western Political Science Association is distressed to learn that Pratap Bhanu Mehta was pressured into resigning his position as professor of political science at Ashoka University because of writings critical of the Indian government. Professor Mehta is a world-renowned political theorist and eloquent champion of constitutional democracy. We strongly protest this attack on freedom of speech and freedom of debate.

WPSA STATEMENT ON RACIAL VIOLENCE, SYSTEMIC RACISM, AND POLICE BRUTALITY

The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd underscore the intolerable cost of racial violence, systemic racism, and police brutality in the United States. Protestors filling our streets are proclaiming their refusal to tolerate the profound racial injustices that have defined our country since its inception. Many of our colleagues and students have joined the struggle for political, institutional, and cultural change.

The Western Political Science Association condemns the systemic racism and institutionalized violence that have inflicted so much destruction on Black lives and communities of color. We recognize the burdens that systemic racism has imposed on Black and Brown colleagues and students in our own institutions. We celebrate the activists and scholars whose hard work over many generations has enabled a greater understanding of and more powerful response to these evils. Read the full statement here.

The Climate Crisis, Academic Conferences, and the
Western Political Science Association

A statement reflecting on the choices confronting the WPSA in light of the carbon impact of academic conferences. Written by WPSA president Jamie Mayerfeld, joined by the members of the WPSA Climate Action Committee.

WPSA Anti-Harassment Policy

1. Purpose

The Western Political Science Association was created for the purposes of promoting the study and teaching of government and politics, to foster research, and to facilitate the discussion of public affairs. The Association promotes these purposes in the spirit of free inquiry and free expression. The primary event in which WPSA members gather is at the Association’s annual conference. Harassment of colleagues, students, or other participants at the conference, or at any other WPSA-sponsored event or forum, undermines the principle of equity at the heart of the Association’s principles and is inconsistent with the principles of free inquiry and free expression. Consequently, harassment is considered by the WPSA to be a serious form of professional misconduct.

The WPSA is committed to providing a safe and welcoming conference environment for all participants, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, or religion.

“Participant” in this policy refers to anyone present at or directly involved in WPSA meetings, including staff, contractors, vendors, exhibitors, venue staff, WPSA members, and all other attendees.

2. Expected Behavior

All participants at WPSA meetings are expected to abide by this Anti-Harassment Policy in all meeting venues including ancillary events and official and unofficial social gatherings.
• Abide by the norms of professional respect that are necessary to promote the conditions for free academic interchange;
• If you witness potential harm to a conference participant, be proactive in helping to mitigate or avoid that harm;
• Alert conference or security personnel if you see a situation in which someone might be in imminent physical danger.

3. Unacceptable Behavior

Unacceptable behaviors include:
• persistent and unwelcome solicitation of emotional or physical intimacy;
• persistent and unwelcome solicitation of emotional or physical intimacy accompanied by real or implied threat of professional harm;
• intimidating, harassing, abusive, derogatory, or demeaning speech or actions by any participant in an WPSA meeting and/or at any related event;
• prejudicial actions or comments related to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ability, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, age, or religion that coerce others, foment broad hostility, or otherwise undermine professional equity or the principles of free academic exchange;
• deliberate intimidation, stalking or following;
• harassing photography or recording;
• sustained disruption of talks or other events;
• physical assault (including unwelcome touch or groping);
• real or implied threat of physical harm.