Despite growing up in a county where around one-fifth of the population identified as Asian — more than three times the national percentage — Fischer Yan ’14 said she felt like she lived in a white suburb. Before an audience of over 100 people in Collis Common Ground yesterday night, Yan and four other panelists — Saaid Arshad ’14, Karima Ma ’14, Francis Slaughter ’16 and Maan Tinna ’13 — spoke about their experiences as Asians and Asian Americans both at Dartmouth and beyond.
The stories touched on various themes related to identity, ranging from the intersectionality of race and queer culture to the subtle but still problematic forms of racism that many Asians and Asian Americans face.
The panel tried to highlight the experiences of being Asian on a predominantly white campus and combat the idea that Asians and Asian Americans do not have a truly racialized experience in America, co-organizer Moulshri Mohan ’15 said.
“Even though Asians and Asian Americans are the largest minority on this campus, there hasn’t been a lot of activism or discussion to talk about what that identity means for people at Dartmouth,” co-organizer Carla Yoon ’15 said, adding that she hoped attendees would leave the event with a better understanding of how diverse Asian and Asian American experiences can be.
Arshad spoke about reconciling the Pakistani and American parts of his identity. Having been raised in America speaking only Urdu, Arshad said he grew up thinking he was just Pakistani. His mindset evolved after traveling back to Pakistan, he said, where others treated him like somewhat of a foreigner because of his American ties. Upon returning to the U.S., Arshad realized that he could be both American and Pakistani, he said, “without any sort of compromise.”
Acknowledging that others face bigotry on campus, Arshad said his experiences at the College were “very filtered,” adding that he felt supported and was surprised to learn of others’ negative experiences.
Unlike Arshad, who strongly embraced his Asian heritage when he was young, Yan said she did not want to identify as Asian during high school because of associated stigmas and stereotypes. Since coming to Dartmouth, however, Yan said she explored the Asian part of her identity through independent study and groups like Dartmouth Asian Organization and the Women of Color Collective.
After other students on her foreign study program criticized Yan for making a comment that revealed her “gap in racial literacy,” Yan said she began to further educate herself on race and identity through resources available at the College. Her classmates inspired her, she said, to challenge racism and learn more about racial issues.
Slaughter spoke about his identity as a queer person of color who has also been influenced by his Filipino heritage.
People seldom talk about the intersections of different cultures and identities, Slaughter said, and thus many stories are erased.At Dartmouth, Slaughter said, he sees few other Filipinos on campus.
“I feel like a minority within a minority,” he said. “The Asian American tale on campus is Korean and Chinese.”
Tinna, who identifies as queer and South Asian, said that though he found community in a South Asian clique during high school, his relatives feared that he would not thrive at Dartmouth due to the College’s largely white population.
“It was almost as if I had to prove to the world that I wasn’t dependent on the South Asian community,” Tinna said.
At the College, Tinna said he initially tried to justify racist remarks he heard by their supposedly good-natured intentions, citing the racist pledge name he received at his fraternity as a memorable example. However, over time, he realized he could no longer justify humor as an excuse for racism.
Ma ended the panel with a discussion of identity, subtle racism and activism at the College.
“From the first few weeks of my time at Dartmouth, my race and my gender have never been more apparent to me,” she said. “I am lucky to not have experienced overt racism or sexism at Dartmouth, but I’m talking about the subtle things.”
Ma listed comments on Bored at Baker, passive-aggressive discourse and the Greek recruitment system as examples of more covertly harmful experiences. She is not surprised, she said, that some Asian students may distance themselves from other Asian students to avoid lingering stigmas.
Eva Xiao ’14 said she and other organizers worked to assemble a geographically diverse panel with a wide array of stories.
“I want the majority of audience members to feel connected to one or multiple panelists,” she said.
Audience members said they appreciated the speakers’ different perspectives.
“I loved it,” Jessica Tong ’17 said. “It’s the first time I’ve heard Asians stand up for what every other Asian has probably thought or felt but never said.”
