Diversity of Asian Experiences
When I say “I’m freaked out for my math test” or “I’m worried about my biology test,” my friends usually say, “Oh, I’m sure you did fine” or “Do you mean like fail fail or Asian fail?” And sometimes, maybe my standards are higher than normal people. Sometimes I just push myself harder and motivate myself in order to do better. But sometimes I merely seek comfort from others, just an “it’s okay, you’ll do better next time” or a warm hug saying, “It’s not the end of the world.” And the thought of me having to be perfect all the time or good at math or science even though my interests are more in humanities, sometimes really disturbs me. As I say to my roommate every time, “I want to be known as the kid that’s good in English, not math.” What even is an “Asian fail?”
This is something that I experience, especially at Exeter. It doesn’t happen every day, but it is still something that I go through. Even though math is just as challenging for me as any Exeter subject can be, my friends say “Oh, but you’re good at math.” And I know that’s not entirely out of a racial stereotype that Asians are good at math, but there is somewhat of a contribution. I know that it’s out of my friend’s good heart when she says “You probably got an A-,” but sometimes that may not be true.
Starting from these little comments that we say for fun, there are still stereotypes that surround Asians in our everyday lives. And this is wrong, because Asians are just as diverse as any other ethnic group. Asia is a wide continent which constitutes about half of the world’s population. To generalize everyone in that group- — that Asians are good at math and science, that they have tiger moms or they are economically successful — is a hasty generalization. We have to remember that first, the Asians in Exeter are diverse (as they constitute 20 percent of the student body) and second, Asians in Exeter cannot be a way of generalizing the entire Asian population.
I recently read an article regarding several private schools trying to hinder Asians from entering their high schools. It said that the NAACP (National Association of Child Care Professionals) Legal Defense Fund has filed a civil-rights complaint challenging the admissions process. By only admitting students based on their SHSAT test scores, 73 percent of the student body had become Asian, whereas whites make up only 22 percent and African Americans and Hispanics 3 percent.
One distinguishing characteristic about these private schools is that they are not the rich, affluent schools that are usually associated with the term “private schools.” Rather, these schools provide high-quality education (those similar to the typical private schools) almost for free. One out of four students eventually end up attending Ivy League schools. In a way, these schools live up to the purpose of education — serving as a social ladder in which social mobility can be achieved.
The NAACP is dissatisfied with the way the admission process is being handled; they believe that accepting or rejecting students only based on their test scores is not a proper way of evaluation. They believe that students should be based on more criteria and that the current system is favoring the rich kids whose parents can afford test prep tutors or after-school academies. However, this stems from the idea that all Asians are rich and affluent to the extent that they can hire private tutors for test preparation. However, this stereotype only serves as a tool to shadow the Asians that truly need help. As a matter of fact, half of the Asians enrolled at that school receive financial aid, and 25 percent can’t even afford to pay their lunch bills. As I mentioned earlier, Asians are diverse. All Asians cannot be economically affluent. The media is flooded with articles that Asians are a “model minority” and that they are catching up the whites in the wealth race. But that only serves as a tool to alleviate the burden of white Americans that racial discrimination does not exist in America anymore, when economically, politically and educationally speaking, it is quite the opposite.
If Asians aren’t a minority, then why don’t we see more Asians represented in society? Why aren’t there Asian politicians speaking in Congress or Asian CEO’s who make appearances in Fortune 500’s? The model minority myth is merely a myth, as its name implies, that white Americans made a long time ago. It’s a rigid idea that whites have of Asians, and the idea that these whites have never goes out of the box. They draw their own line around what characteristics an Asian American can and cannot have. And they can’t imagine Asians coming out of the box they drew. They can’t realize that the box is outdated. Asians, despite their numbers, are a minority. They lack representation in their society. Even if we aren’t accused of anything or openly discriminated, we still face microaggression. And how can we rank aggression, even if they are “micro?”
But the harm isn’t only done to the people that seem distant from us. Whether we know it or not, some of our peers might be undergoing the same struggles as well. Because of the expectations that “Asians have to be perfect” or “they’re going to do well on their own,” a lot of Asians are discouraged to seek help, even if that isn’t the case at Exeter. They also go through the psychological pressure that they need to seem perfect in front of everyone else. This is the same case with students who look like they are doing well. Often their achievements can be undermined because they are Asian, when the effort and skill they put in is just as valuable as any other student from a different racial group puts in. Why can’t people view each other as an individual, rather than looking at an individual through the layers of race?
What makes a certain group a “minority?” Every group that isn’t a majority is a minority. Every group that isn’t mainstream can be a minority, regardless of the population that they take up. One doesn’t become mainstream by becoming rich in others’ eyes—it is when equal rights (not only legal, but also social rights as well) are realized and they break from the stereotypes that used to inhibit them, whether they are positive or negative. The more alarming thing is that many Asians don’t realize that the stereotypes that people have of them is not out of a good will. They think that they have a higher position in society or believe that they are superior and successful compared to other races. When I tried to address this problem to many of my friends back in Korea who wanted to come to U.S colleges, they said, “Well, isn’t this a good thing if our abilities are being recognized?” Many still have an American dream of their own, thinking that the United States is the land of opportunity for success and a better education. And it certainly can be, as long as we realize that there is a problem. The first step of fixing a problem is realizing there is one.
This may not be an accurate representation of what is going on at Exeter, and this may be a lot different from what others feel about discrimination in America. Nevertheless, this is something that I’ve learned during the short time I’ve been in America, and Exeter has given me the opportunity to realize some of the realities surrounding me. ♥