No Longer the Same

Unbeknownst to the majority of the school population, Exeter hosted a conference for the Association of Independent Schools in New England (AISNE) this past weekend. AISNE came to Exeter’s campus to address racial and social injustices that are inflicted throughout our everyday lives. As a member of the Asian Advisory Board on campus, I had the responsibility of helping organize the conference as well as putting together activities for the affinity group I would be heading. Now, for what possible group of intellectually gifted students could I have been in charge of taking care of? Bingo: The Asians.

I was glad to be able to take part in such a large conference, and yet I was honestly dismayed by some aspects. When I met the other members of the Asian Advisory Board at registration, the first thing that made us gasp and frown at wasn’t the last minute filling of forms or the loudness within the gym. It was the fact that there was no workshop dedicated to the Asian community, while there were two that were clearly labeled as “Islamophobia and How It Manifests Itself on Campus” as well as “Islam: Understanding the Misunderstood.” This, of course, was not a reaction that represented the shortcomings on the conference coordinators’ parts, but rather an involuntary sense of frustration. The majority of the seventeen workshops did have “umbrella” labelings, such as “Weapons of Mass Creation” or “Sexism and Religion;”  however, the way two of the workshops were labeled, it made it seem as if the Islamic culture was the only one that was misunderstood. If there is an existence of Islamophobia especially on campus, who is to say that there isn’t a prevalence of Asianophobia?

Interestingly enough, in comparison to the African American affinity group, the Asian American group was composed of only a fifth of the African American group’s numbers. Not only this, but from the 30 people who were signed up for the Asian American affinity group, around half were present on the first day of the conference. Every member present on that first day was shockingly female, except for five males. The disparity of the racial groups attending the conference was alarming, not only from the statistics given to facilitators of the conference, but from stepping into Wetherell. The Asian Advisory Board had gone into Wetherell to see where our affinity group was eating, but in the end could not find them. We joked how there was no distinct grouping of Asians eating together and that it was so hard to find an Asian in the sea of students. However, we were dismayed when we saw that Fish-Bowl hosted the classic minority groups while no “familiar” face was to be found. What did this have to say about students in this era of educational and social reform?

As many students know, our campus had a forum centered around the ABC show, “Fresh Off The Boat,” a television series dedicated to exposing both the realistic and dark sides of leading an Asian life in the States, in, of course, the most comical ways possible. While hosting the affinity group this weekend, we mentioned “Fresh Off The Boat” and received a lot of nods in recognition. After searching up “Fresh Off The Boat” the other day, I came across a campaign called #IAm on Youtube. This was a campaign created by the Coalition of Asian Pacifics in Entertainment (CAPE), to celebrate artists and role models of Asian descent during May of last year. Why specifically May? May is Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and so CAPE had interviewed Asians active in the American entertainment industry and asked them to share a small part of their experience of being the model minority and how it has affected their lives. Youtube beauty guru Michelle Phan talked about her incredibly relatable experience of overcoming the stereotypes set by not only her parents, but by society, such as the expectancy to become a doctor. Another fellow Youtuber named Ryan Higa mentioned how he loved how prevalent Asians have become on the Youtube scene, but touched upon the idea that this success should and must spread into mainstream American media. Thankfully, there are Asian pioneers in the American entertainment industry who have made their marks, portraying roles that would normally be suitable for the average Caucasian actor/actress. Actor Steven Yeun from the acclaimed HBO series, Walking Dead, is a key example of someone who found success in the industry despite all odds, along with Korean actress, Kim Soo-hyun, who was cast in the highly anticipated global blockbuster, Avengers: Age of Ultron.

There has thankfully been improvement on making diversity a truly defining characteristic of America as a global leader—but needless to say, this is an issue that must be continuously discussed and acted upon. The incorporation of other races and cultures is crucial in order to create a society that is representative of all the different systems within its geography. America may have been a nation founded from ideals of Caucasian men, but the America of today and of the future is not so anymore. ♥