Anti-Asian Sentiment Sweeping Across U.S. Colleges

March 10th, 2016Race Matters: Candid Conversations on Race & Culture0 comments

USC foreign exchange student Ivan Tsang was the target of eggs and epithets earlier this week for doing nothing other than being-being Asian. “Ching chang chong motherf—– gay,” a white student allegedly yelled repeatedly while trying to pelt Tsang with three eggs, according to Tsang’s Facebook post.

This comes 6 months after someone at a USC fraternity hurled a drink at an Indian student by calling her an “Indian piece of s—.”

While these may seem like isolated incidents, both overt and covert racism is festering on college campuses across the country. What is causing the angst and anger against Asians?

Part of this is due to the historic rate at which our country allows foreign exchange students to enter U.S. colleges. I say historic but it could be considered alarming as there has been an 85% increase of foreign exchange students attending U.S. colleges in the past decade. According to the Institute of International Education, the number of international students has shot up exponentially from 572,000 in 2003 to nearly 1 million in 2015.

While the Department of Commerce reports that international students brought in more than 30 billion dollars to the U.S. economy in the 2014-15 school year, it’s also raising questions on the need for reform.

Students from China, India, and South Korea – now represent approximately 51 percent of the total enrollment of international students in the United States according to the Institute of International Education.

Part of the rise is due to the economic prosperity and growth of a middle and upper class in countries like China and India who can now afford to send their children overseas for education. But the ugly truth is tuition from foreign students is also part of the capitalistic desire for sustained profitability.

Marketing, attracting, and bringing International students to American colleges and universities is big business. It is a money-making operation rife with admissions fraud and other abuses linked to recruiters who’s sole purpose is to garner more international students. To keep pace, some universities have even set up offices in India and China to ensure a perpetual pipeline of collegiate pupils.

Colleges (both community colleges and 4 year colleges/universities) see China and other countries as a cash cow to allegedly “diversify” their student bodies and meet affirmative action goals when in reality American native minorities and other local students continue to lose spots to foreign exchange students. For example, USC has twice as many international students compared to African-American ones. University officials will defend the practice stating the benefits of a more diverse student body and the need to keep up with the rising cost of education, but is this fair? Is it fair to put the need for profit above the need of those students born or raised in the U.S.?

While no foreign exchange student should have to experience bigotry, prejudice, or racism, the unfortunate reality is anti-Asian sentiment on college campuses across the country will continue to rise until some semblance of balance and parity is reestablished when it comes to international admissions policies.

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Anti-Asian Sentiment Sweeping Across U.S. Colleges

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