GUEST COLUMNIST: Why Asian Americans are silenced

Are Asian Americans a minority group? It all depends who you ask. Perhaps by now you've heard about the Minority Recruitment and Retention Plan, which seeks to address the lack of African American and Latino students at our University and to improve the retention rates of those groups. The plan also attempts to address the need for increased numbers of and increased services to Native American students, of which there is significant need. Have you notice, though, that Asian Americans are excluded from the plan? Maybe you've heard of the United Minorities Council, which represents the concerns of undergraduate students of color at the University and includes a majority of the Asian American groups on campus. Or, more likely, you've discussed race relations in your classes. Frequently, though, race is discussed as a black-white issue, with Latinos thrown in every so often. So, are Asian Pacific Americans a minority group? If you aren't sure, though, don't feel too bad. You certainly aren't the only one. This confusion exists throughout the nation. Even our own University does not seem to know how to categorize APAs. Unfortunately, this confusion has allowed institutions, including our own University, to point with pride to Asian Americans when emphasizing cultural and racial diversity while only making token acknowledgement to APA concerns. The recent release of Penn President Judith Rodin's Asian Pacific American Student Affairs Committee Report serves as a prime example. The report acknowledges that while most groups of APA students are not underrepresented at this University, there is a severe need for increased numbers of Asian American faculty and staff. The report further recognizes that the University needs to improve alumni relations/development efforts amongst Asian American alumni. Increased support by this group would allow for the growth of Asian American Studies at Penn, for which there is no major. It would also serve as a foundation for needed hiring increases and increased programming of interest to APAs and other students. Considering the large numbers of Asian American alumni, and lack of Asian American participation in development, these efforts would also serve to boost Penn's relatively low endowment. While the report clearly identifies these issues, the University's focus is on the fulfillment of previous commitments to the APA student body. While the APASAC report was to identify and create new solutions to resolve concerns of APAs at the University, the University instead emphasizes the filling of positions at Counseling and Psychological Services and at the Greenfield Intercultural Center. Meanswhile, the report fails to mention that these hires should have occurred before the report had been completed. Given the purpose of the report, there appears to be wavering on the commitment to address Asian American concerns at our University. It is this same uncertainty which permits institutions to de-emphasize or otherwise ignore the concerns of Asian Americans with regard to issues such as the APASAC report. It is this sort of uncertainty that allows 34th Street magazine to pay homage to a nonexistent "Asian Student Association" (34th Street, 11/12/98). These problems have continued despite the concerns expressed by numerous Asian Americans and APA student leaders. This uncertainty exists because most of us cannot or will not recognize that Asian Americans are a minority group. Because there are so many Asian Americans at our University, we tend not to notice that Asian Americans make up only about 4 percent of the U.S. population. Since there are so many Asian Americans in schools on the Northeast coast and at the University of California system, we don't realize that Asian Americans represent only 3.8 percent of the total enrollment in higher education. Since there are so many APA professionals, we don't think that a "glass ceiling" also exists for Asian Americans. However, when educational attainment is taken into consideration, Asian Americans earn less than whites. Finally, we almost never remember that Asians were not permitted to immigrate into this country until 1965. Thus, Asian Americans have only recently been allowed to participate in American society. Now ask yourself whether you, the Asian American community at Penn or anyone else should tolerate "token" commitments to reform. This week is Unity Week. I sincerely hope that everyone has a chance to participate by attending the various performances and forums, including this tonight's session on minority recruitment and retention at McClelland Hall at 6:30 p.m. Please keep in mind however, that while we should come together for the events, it does not mean that we should be color blind. The focus of Unity Week is not to emphasize that we are same; rather, this week symbolizes the need to be conscious of the distinct qualities and concerns of the diverse cultures that compose our school. Similarly, as part of the racial dialogue, it is also essential that we include Asian Americans. Students should thus voice these concerns through different mediums, including tonight's forum and through the DP, so that the University can better address the needs of our diverse student body.

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