Working for change

You’re never too young to fight for what you know is right, and 15-year-old American Ashlyn So is proving this. She’s been named one of Seventeen magazine’s Voices of Change for her work in the “Stop Asian Hate” movement.
永远不要因为年纪小，就不敢为你认为正确的事情而奋斗，15岁的美国女孩苏凯盈证明了这一点。苏因积极参与“停止仇恨亚裔”活动，被《17》杂志评为变革的声音之一。

She has led rallies and started a petition in an attempt to solve the problems that she sees around her. How did she become involved at such a young age? Being Asian American in southern California, she witnessed many incidents of hatred and even violence toward those in her community. The event that finally drove her to act was in January 2021, when elderly Thai immigrant Vichar Ratanapakdee was killed in a hate crime in San Francisco. A teenager ran up to Ratanapakdee on the street and pushed him to the ground, and he sustained fatal head injuries.
苏领导集会，并发起了请愿活动，试图解决在自己身边看到的问题。苏是怎么在如此小的年纪就参与“停止仇恨亚裔”活动的？作为身处南加州的亚裔美国人，苏目睹了许多针对亚裔的仇恨、甚至是暴力事件。最终促使苏采取行动的事件发生在2021年1月，当时年迈的泰国移民维查·拉塔那帕迪在旧金山的一场仇恨犯罪中遭到杀害。一个少年跑到街上，把拉塔那帕迪推倒在地，令其头部受到致命伤害。

Like so many others across the country, So was outraged and could not be silent any longer. The following month, she organized her first “Stand for Asians” rally to speak out against the senseless hatred and violence that Asian Americans suffer. That rally took place in San Mateo Central Park, California, and around 300 people came to watch her speak.
就像这个国家的其他很多人一样，苏异常愤怒，她再也难以保持沉默。次月，苏就第一次组织了“支持亚裔”集会，公开发声反对亚裔美国人所遭受的毫无缘由的仇恨和暴力。那次集会在加州圣马特奥中央公园举行，大约有300人前来观看她的演讲。

“I used to be extremely shy and maybe sometimes I still am,” she told Seventeen magazine. “But this situation has given me a surge of energy. I saw what was going on and I knew I had to say something about it. I could no longer be quiet.”
“我过去非常害羞，也许有时我仍然如此。”苏在接受《17》杂志采访时表示，“但这种现状给了我一股力量。我看到发生了什么，我知道我必须说点什么，不能再保持沉默了。”

Since then, she has spoken at two other rallies in San Jose and Berkeley, and also started a petition which calls for the inclusion of Asian American history in state curriculums. She wants to remind everyone that Asian American history is a big part of American history, and that it’s important for young people to learn about the discrimination that her community has faced for over a century.
在那之后，苏在圣何塞和伯克利的其他两场集会上发表了演讲，还发起了一项请愿活动，呼吁将亚裔美国人的历史纳入该州课程。她想提醒每个人，亚裔美国人的历史是美国历史的重要组成部分，让年轻人了解亚裔群体在一个多世纪以来面临的歧视十分重要。

In addition to her activism, So is also a budding fashion designer. She even combined her activist roots with her artistic nature during the pandemic and designed masks for frontline workers, students and people in the hospital.
除了积极倡导改革，苏还是一位初露头角的时装设计师。在疫情期间，苏甚至将自己社会活动的背景与艺术天性结合起来，为一线的工人、学生和医护人员设计了口罩。

Currently, So is designing a new collection and merchandise line. “The new collection is going to represent an abstract idea of all of us coming together as a community to fight against racism and standing up for Asian Americans,” So told Teen Vogue.
目前，苏正在设计一个新的系列和商品线。苏在接受《时尚》杂志青少年版采访时说：“新系列将代表一种抽象的理念，即我们所有人团结为一体，共同反对种族主义，为亚裔美国人挺身而出。”

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高一858期