In early 2020, Bachelor of Public Affairs and Policy Management student Dilki Jagoda saw a false narrative making its rounds and felt determined to correct it.
“When anti-Asian discrimination and hate crimes were at their peak, I felt that there was a narrative making it seem as if this came out of nowhere,” says Jagoda. “I wanted to highlight that this narrative, and the processes that make it thrive, have been around for our entire history as a country.”
Specializing in rights and human development, Jagoda’s research focuses on how anti-Asian racism and discrimination in Canada has historically flourished through public policy framed by the government.
Jagoda says that part of the solution is for governments to fortify funds within their budgets for combating anti-Asian racism, as Canada’s current anti-racism policy structure does not include it.
“We might not view it as necessary but putting something like that in writing and releasing it to the public can really change a lot because it’s acknowledging something as an issue and acknowledging how serious it truly is,” says Jagoda.
Jagoda hopes to help bring this goal to realization while providing an intersectional approach to public policy making when she completes her studies. Already taking steps in this direction, Jagoda assisted with integrating anti-racist pedagogy into public policy through Carleton’s Students as Partners Program.
“I would love to be a part of developing policy that will eventually get us to a place where we can remove these subconscious biases in our society and in our institutions, because there are a lot of barriers that aren’t acknowledged.”