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Asian Students Not Standing on Protest Sidelines

Asian American students have been active participants and outspoken leaders in recent campus protests, including actions supporting the concerns of other racial groups.

Last month, about 80 students at ­The Ohio State University held a brief occupation of a campus administration building presenting a myriad list of demands including financial transparency. The event ended after about eight hours when administrators threatened expulsion and arrest. Several leaders of that aborted effort were Asian American students who have vowed to continue to press their demands. ­The university’s response was that it was “committed to all parties interested in meaningful discourse.”

Also in April, nine Duke University students staged a weeklong sit-in in support of an African-American parking employee, who has filed a lawsuit against a Duke administrator and the university, and on behalf of the university’s contract workers who are seeking reforms. Four of the nine protesters were of Asian descent, as were a number of the supporters camped out in front of the building.

Speaking out

“Asian Americans are American citizens and this [is] their country, too — they have been brought up as Americans, and this has taught them that they have a right to speak up and be heard just like all the non-Asian youth in our country,” says Dr. Zauyah Waite, vice president of student affairs and dean of students at Chatham University in Pittsburgh.

“Many people see an Asian American on their college campus speaking out and think that is not in line with how most Asians would react, [but] the reality is that these students were not brought up in the same culture as their parents or grandparents,” explains Waite, who is also a member of the board of NASPA ― Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education.

In past years, and even recently, some Asian American activists and scholars have decried purported complacency toward social issues among their peers. Frank H. Wu, Distinguished Professor of Law and former chancellor and dean of the UC Hastings College of the Law, wrote in his 2001 book, Yellow: Race in America Beyond Black and White, “We’ve gotten too comfortable. Many Asian Americans tend to become involved only when something bad happens. It is crucial to build institutions, be proactive and start reaching out to others, build bridges to other groups. We need to give people a reason to believe in a cause.”

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