Students at Loss as UMass-Boston Asian American Resources Office Closes
For University of Massachusetts-Boston students like Dominic Rufila, the Asian American Resources Office used to be a special space to hang out, meet people, seek academic assistance and attend events.
Finding a community that they fit into is not always easy for Rufila and other transfer students. During his first year at UMass-Boston, the Filipino student ran into AARO’s staff who were able to understand the confusion and frustration that a lot of Asian students went through, he said. He felt like he belonged, became active in events, and joined AARO’s student employees last year. It was a huge step to overcome his anxiety about public speech and build the confidence to talk to the entire room.
In September 2025, when the fall semester began, Rufila, other AARO staff and students were told that the office would close due to a drastic funding cut.
“I felt betrayed,” he said.
With grants for all Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions and other Minority-Serving Institutions terminated by the U.S. Department of Education, AARO continued a year of downsized operation and was eventually shut down last month.
From 2010 to 2025, UMass-Boston had been receiving continuous AANAPISI grants, longer than any other U.S. colleges and universities. Recognized institutions must meet two criteria: having undergraduate student populations with at least 10% of the population identifying as Asian or Pacific Islander, and having at least 50% students receiving financial aid.
Peter Kiang, professor and director of the Asian American Studies Program, had been co-principal investigator and lead proposal writer for UMass-Boston’s AANAPISI grants since 2010. AARO was established with two main goals, said Kiang. One was to increase Asian students’ college access, including high school outreach programs and transfer students support. The other was to assist students in completing their degrees, with a focus on those from low-income or immigrant families with less resources. AARO created a one-on-one peer mentoring program and collaborated with an Asian mental health professional to provide social and emotional support.
The impact of AARO’s shutdown was beyond closing an office and laying off its four full-time employees. The student support and outreach that AARO used to serve was part of a “three-legged stool,” Kiang said, with the second leg being the Asian American Studies Program’s academic curriculum, and the third one being the Institute for Asian American Studies’ research and policy advocacy. The stool loses its balance when one of its legs is weakened.
Angelina Nguyen, a Vietnamese-identifying student, was Rufila’s peer mentor at AARO. Students came to the mentoring program not just for correcting homework and preparing for exams, said Nguyen. They often come to talk about the frustration of explaining to their immigrant parents how to file taxes or other issues that AAPI students found difficult to share with someone outside their community.
“You are placed with other students who are in the same position as you,” said Nguyen.
AARO also held field trips that explored historic neighborhoods and Asian cultural districts. One of these trips brought students to Field’s Corner, a neighborhood in Dorchester and home to a large Vietnamese community, to check out local Vietnamese food spots. “If you Google ‘Boston tour guides or hotspots’, they don't really get those places in,” she added.
Many students whose first languages were not English found AARO a safe space where someone would sit down with them, break down course materials, and translate complicated concepts to their home language. One of the Vietnamese students who came to AARO, Nguyen recalled, was told to be ashamed of speaking his language since high school. Here, “they were basically like, ‘ah, man, we speak Vietnamese too,’” she said.
For Rufila, the shutdown felt like a betrayal to the diversity and equal opportunities that he had faith in.
“I guess my heart just mourns for all the students, or all the AAPI students, who will come to UMass-Boston in the future, and will never get to experience a place like AARO,” he said.
But for generations of students who found community in this space, AARO’s impact is still thriving.
“I want to be the type of person that the employees at AARO can be proud of,” said Rufilia. “For me, it is like getting more involved with the community, taking more Asian American studies courses when I can, getting involved with school clubs when I can.”
A few months ago, Nguyen, Rufilia, and two other students started working on a podcast, “AARing It Out,” where they talked about their experiences and memories with AARO: how they grew leadership skills, how they navigated college life, how they faced challenges being in a minority group.
“We are still here, and we are still gonna use our mouths,” said Nguyen. “We are still gonna talk. We are still gonna do what we did.” She hopes that the advocacy will encourage students to speak up for what they need. “Your voice will still be heard. Your voice could be anywhere.”
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