UC schools received $1.1 million in grants to support social science research
DAVIS -- A team at UC Davis is taking a look at how bullying impacts California's Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander youth.
Research teams across the UC system are working to expand data on this group.
Kevin Gee is an associate professor of education at UC Davis.
"Grants that focus specifically around Asian American populations do not come by. [They] are very rare," he said.
The California Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom passed the Asian and Pacific Islander Equity Budget in 2021, and the UC Davis research grant is a ripple effect of the whopping $166.5 million investment.
"Each year, there's about $50 to $60 million in the budget to help award money to community organizations, as well as research institutions to help combat hate crimes, hate incidences, and also to help facilitate prevention measures," said Dr. David Yee from the California Commission on Asian and Pacific Islander American Affairs.
Gee is using the money to gather data on a group that he said is often overlooked.
"Asian American youth are lumped together in this catch-all model minority group, and it creates the impression that everything is ok," he said.
However, Gee noticed that everything isn't OK. He's taking a deep dive into the bullying experiences of California's Asian American Pacific Islander youth.
"We really can't address problems like bullying if we can't see them," he said.
Right now, Gee only sees surface-level data.
"It's like, well, here are all Asian Americans clumped all together," he said. "So, how do we kind of disaggregate the big monolith of a group and say we actually have different experiences?"
Gee's team is looking to break the information down by subgroup, then he wants to channel resources to the groups that need them.
"What I'm trained to do is kind of use data and insights and communicate that to communities and policymakers who can push the levers of change," he said.
Five UC campuses, including UC Davis, have received more than $1 million in grants to support this social science research.
Research teams across the UC system will address other issues including equity gaps, mental health, and racism in California communities.
