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​PATEL: White America wants you to conform — even at U.Va.

In pushing Western ethical ideals on minority communities, the Honor Committee’s Diversity Award supports conformism

Two things recently drew my eye while I was surfing the web. I saw an event called the “Not a Model Minority Week,” which is being hosted by the Asian Student Union from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2. The other thing I saw was a new Diversity Initiative Award by the Honor Committee which, according to its website, aims to “celebrate several of our minority communities on Grounds… to increase minority students’ understanding of and engagement with the Honor System.” The juxtaposition of these two events brought to the forefront of my mind the discord between minority groups on Grounds and the dominant white majority.

Americans often point to the dominance of certain ethnic groups economically as proof racism and systematic discrimination are things of the past. Some of their favorite groups to reference include East Asians, South Asians, Jews and Lebanese immigrants. These ethnic categories are used to defend white America’s privilege by attempting to demonstrate either that white privilege doesn’t exist or is easy to overcome. However, my experiences and the experiences of many other groups paint a radically different picture of the attainment of economic success.

The fact that the ASU has stood up to the “model minority” stereotype is refreshing because it shows a newfound unity in the struggle for minority rights in America. The ASU is rejecting the dominant ideas of hard work and cultural dominance to explain the success of model minorities. The model minority is a dangerous idea because it explains the relative failures of certain minorities in terms of their lack of hard work or a cultural phenomenon.

What I and I’m sure many ASU members believe is that success doesn’t come from hard work for these minorities but rather from conformity. Case in point: the Honor Committee’s Diversity Initiative to get minority communities to better understand and believe in the Honor system. What the Committee fails to realize is that it is creating conformity by pushing the Western ideals on which the Honor System is based on to minority groups that have different culturally-based moral systems.

For example, the maxim never to lie can be traced back to Kant, one of the fathers of modern Western philosophy. However, in my case even this conflicts with what my own culture has taught me about relativism and how under certain circumstances it is acceptable to steal, such as when the Lord Krishna steals in Hindu religious literature. The truism never to steal can be traced even further back to a Judeo-Christian origin in the Ten Commandments. The fact that Honor is trying to reach out to minority communities by making them adopt and learn their values is proof of the tendency to achieve success through conformity. Instead of a well-rounded, adaptable approach to minority outreach, the majority is using scholarship money to push Western ethical ideas.

It is not just on an ideological level that the pressure to conform conflicts with minority values and ideas. There is pressure to conform in speech, dress and actions. Because I was raised in the South, I have a propensity to say “sir” and “ma’am” and an affinity for college football and small town life. However, every time I see that palpable look of relief on the face of a white person when I don’t have an accent and use Southern lingo makes me realize I am nothing to them if I am not like them. My father, who has a relatively thick accent, is well-received by most Americans only after they find out how much he likes football, beer and America.

Model minorities aren’t succeeding through hard work or dedication, they are succeeding because they are conforming to the white man’s way of dressing, acting and thinking which is unsustainable and diversity adverse.

Sawan Patel is an Opinion columnist for The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at s.patel@cavalierdaily.com.

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