FOR SOME reason, it's really awkward to pass another Indian-American person on the street. This phenomenon isn't particular to this campus, or even to my ethnicity. It's just the very unspoken, slightly uncomfortable understanding that you're the same race as someone and don't know what to make of that. Generally, the options are to be mature and smile, or avoid eye contact and pretend you don't see each other.
I'll admit I'm as guilty of this seventh-grade dance behavior as anyone else. I don't know why we become so shy and self-conscious around people of our own minority race. Nonetheless, even though we tend to play this game, it's still nice to see other Indian-American students on Grounds, and feel their presence around the University. This year, though, these encounters have become more common, making me wonder if there are more of us around.
This instinctual radar is accurate. This year's freshman class boasted a 15 percent Asian population, a rarity at a school that has never been more than 10 percent Asian (http://www.virginia.edu/~iaas/data_digest/1999-2000/contents_enrl.htm). So besides fleeting glances in the halls, what does this very noticeable change mean to both the Asian student body and to the University as a whole?
Primarily, the rise in Asian student enrollment suggests that the University is breaking away from its Southern, white stereotype and is becoming recognized as a prestigious and almost northeastern school.
Name recognition is an important factor for most people when it comes to selecting schools, but for Asian families this tendency is more common. A rise in the number of Asian students is testament to the fact that U.Va is becoming a more viable and proudly sported Ivy League-class school in their eyes.
In addition, the increase also is a reflection of the state the University services. "The growth is definitely influenced by the fact that both Northern Virginia and Virginia Beach are becoming more diverse and abundant in their Asian populations," said Asst. Dean of Students Glenna Chang. "Here at the University, it's our job to get in front of that trend and decide how we can prepare both the school and the students for the diversification we're seeing."
Chang went on to explain that from ethnic considerations in the Women's Center to affirmative action in University Career Services, provisions need to be made to ease the transition the University has been undergoing from a predominantly white school to a more racially diverse one.
But although increased Asian enrollment offers the opportunity to diversify the school and the Asian community itself, it also poses the threat of further fragmenting an already divided group.
"In the past, APA [Asian and Pacific American] groups have tended to form into their respective ethnic groups," said Janis Millette, president of the Asian Student Union. "We hope to set a community atmosphere right at the start of the year. The APA community will be so much stronger once we all come together and use our resources and talents collectively as opposed to working within our various groups."
On the other hand, an increased Asian population also increases awareness of the differences between these ethnic groups. Upon considering the word "Asian" one has to be careful to question what it means.
Until the 1990s, the term "Oriental" was used to describe people of East Asian background. This phrase was dropped however when it was criticized as more descriptive of objects, such as "Oriental rugs."
As a result, today the word Asian is forced to be an all-encompassing word that homogenizes everyone from Koreans to Pakistanis. Although they might check the same box on an application, Asian students can be anything from Hindu to Christian, Arabic to Japanese, Chinese to Sri Lankan. Yet because of its origin, "Asian" still has a distinctly East Asian flavor to it. In this sense, even when I hear the word Asian, I forget that Indian-Americans are included because that's the word I use to describe the former "Oriental" culture.
"In a way, it's almost like how much do South Asian students really have in common with East Asian ones?" contemplated Dean Chang. "Asian has become such a broad term that it lumps people of too many different religions and traditions together. It doesn't do justice to the variety of people that hail from 'Asia.'"
In addition to strengthening the Asian community as a whole, a larger APA population also could help clarify these delicate matters by distinguishing the various ethnicities that comprise the Asian population. If cultural organizations claim that one of their main goals is to educate the community about their backgrounds, then it's only fair to expect a higher standard of involvement from Asian groups in the future since they will have more members.
Indeed this trend is already beginning. With the birth of the Asian sorority Kappa Delta Phi last year, Asian students are bringing their culture into even the traditionally white Greek system. Although it's ironic that they must succumb to the Western nature of Greek alphabets to preserve their Eastern background, this presence is critical and representative of what the University can expect from Asian students in the future.
In addition, students are already petitioning to form an Asian American Studies Program here, emulating schools like Michigan, Maryland, and the University of California -- Berkeley.
"The University was certainly not trying to actively recruit Asian students this year," said Dean Chang. "But now that they're coming, it's definitely exciting to consider how we can balance their minority issues while at the same time make sure they remain integrated in the campus community."
(Diya Gullapalli is a Cavalier Daily associate editor.)
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