Message from President Eddinger: Wishing You a Safe and Happy Lunar New Year

Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Bunker Hill Community College | Office of the President

Dear BHCC Community,

On Sunday, my family and I celebrated the Lunar New Year, an observance we will share over the next two weeks with other families around the world. But this year’s New Year’s celebration was different: not long after we welcomed the Year of the Rabbit, we heard news of several mass shootings, two of those in Asian American communities in California. Those events have introduced a sadness to what ordinarily is a joyful time of year. 

As I said in my message earlier this week and in many others, solidarity can be our most meaningful form of resistance to violence, hate, and the forces that would divide us. Whether you have celebrated the Lunar New Year your entire life or for the first time this year, I hope you will reach out to your colleagues and fellow students and celebrate together.

The Lunar New Year itself is a celebration that unites Asian communities, and across Greater Boston many of them will hold events over the next two weeks to mark the Year of the Rabbit. I encourage you to attend one or more of them to fully experience the rich traditions and diversity of the Asian diaspora in our city. The Pao Arts Center in Chinatown, of which BHCC is a founding partner, is holding a Lunar New Year celebration on January 29, and will include cultural activities for all ages, including Chinese red envelope folding, Korean calligraphy, Korean dasik cookie stamping on clay, and rabbit-related crafts. I hope you will join the celebration in any way you can.

Bunker Hill Community College is one of only two colleges or universities in Boston to be designated an Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI) by the Federal Government. This designation is an acknowledgement not only of the number of students from Asian communities that BHCC serves and the excellent outcomes those students achieve at BHCC—it also represents Bunker Hill’s commitment to serving Asian communities everywhere. 

As we celebrate Lunar New Year together, with solidarity among Asian cultures and across all cultures, I wish you a safe and happy new year. 
Sincerely, 
 
Pam Y. Eddinger, PhD 
President  
Bunker Hill Community College