POVs Of POC At A PWI

Coming to UVA from a very diverse community was a culture shock to say the least. I was definitely not prepared for how often I would encounter racism, but especially the more subtle forms such as microaggressions. The all too common instances of the small number of POC in every class grouping at one table, questionably selective use of DoorList to somehow only let a certain color of people in, and pure ignorance that comes out the mouth of some of my white peers can be extremely overwhelming and isolating. Most of my friends are also people of color who share such frustrations with me, but each have their own unique experiences. This inspired me to write this article in order to highlight the struggles POC endure daily at PWIs and how they differ from person to person.

POv #1: Second year south asian woman

The first perspective I’ll be sharing is that of my own as a Pakistani woman.

• Upbringing: As I mentioned, I grew up in a very diverse part of NOVA and all of my schools were multicultural and inclusive. While I did experience racism and Islamophobia, especially in middle school, the experiences were not common and for the most part I felt safe and comfortable around all my peers. My parents being immigrants and me living in proximity to much of my extended family, I grew up very connected to my culture and still feel quite connected today. My friend group in high school, who have surpassed the notion of friendship and I now consider my sisters, was comprised of quite literally every race and ethnicity and whom I contribute much of my wide cultural knowledge and sensitivity to.

• UVA experience: My UVA experience in terms of diversity and feeling included differ quite starkly from my upbringing. For one, I did not expect the simple aspect of the absence of diversity compared to my hometown to have such a significant impact. I definitely took for granted the comfort and security of commonly seeing people that looked like me and whom I could relate to. In addition, most of my experiences with white people at home were good and they seemed to be more culturally sensitive. Coming here, I found that people did not naturally hang out with everyone as they did in my hometown, instead they tended to cling to friends of their ethnicity/race, which I understand but also was not a fan of because it’s not how I grew up. I love being able to learn about different cultures through interactions with others and, I see it as a type of invaluable learning no textbooks can replace. I eventually had to make the conscious effort to surround myself with friends of color here so that I did not feel so isolated and in turn have further learned so much about different cultures and customs, especially in the college context of living with such peers. My roommate, who I sought out to be someone different from me so I could learn from, is Korean and I have gained much cultural knowledge and experience through living with her.

• Racism at UVA: I have experienced concrete examples of racism at UVA such as a white man shrieking at me calling me an “ugly Indian b****h” because I made a face at him almost running my roommate and I over in the AFC parking lot (I’m literally not even Indian if you’re going to be racist be right…). However, most of my experiences have been subtle microaggressions like other white students only speaking to each other and completely ignoring my presence even when I make an effort to speak as well as the most wretched and frustrating experience, white people not moving on the sidewalk when they walk in huge groups and are clearly on the wrong side. In addition, hearing small racially insensitive comments my peers and even sometimes my friends make, and their lack of care for racism takes a toll. For me, these small experiences are easy to brush off and joke about but over time can accumulate to be very frustrating, isolating, and hurtful.

• Combatting the issue: It took a while for me to be able to handle these experiences. I am grateful to have a strong support system of friends back home who can sympathize with me and provide guidance as well as my roommate and many friends of color at college who do the same. At first, I addressed such issues with anger and frustration that sometimes channeled in hostility. Now, seeing as that only does more harm than good because others will not care as much as you do, I have turned a leaf and now try to address racists by giving them a reason not to be. In my social psychology class last year, I learned how discrimination could be reduced by interactions with people different from you because it elicits empathy. I understand that for a lot of these people that grew up in areas not as diverse as my hometown, college might be their first experience interacting with people different from them and they will carry their preconceived notions and what was taught to them unless someone shows them otherwise. While some people are genuinely evil and truly believe themselves to be superior to others on the basis of their race, all I can do is try my best to be friendly and human and show them I am not so different from them. I also try my best to educate my white peers and friends, as well as other POC who might not be as informed on certain cultural topics I am more versed in as best as I can and, open my ears to the experiences of others so that I can grow more racially and culturally aware myself.

POV #2: 2nd year black woman

• Upbringing: I definitely feel like I experienced a lot of racial microaggressions, and I decided to play it off because in my environment I was not surrounded by others that look like me so I did not have someone to fall back on when my experiences with white people were not as comforting as I expected, reminding me of our cultural differences. There were instances where I would wear my natural hair to school for instance and I would be asked like why does my hair do that or why does it look like that? Sometimes white students would reference my hair as a volcano and find memes and say I looked like that and this joke caused me to be so insecure about my hair. I don’t think after middle school I ever wore my natural hair. After those comments, I would force my parents to have my hair done because I never wanted to receive those kind of comments or looks about my hair again. I also recall when the lights would go off in class, a typical joke that some white students use on black students is the “oh where did he/she go,” insinuating that you cannot be seen because you are too dark. As I’ve matured, I realize that it is such a demeaning comment to make to younger black children because it can alter the way someone thinks about themselves. I cannot change my skin color and someone that becomes insecure from these comments can take a step further and use harmful products such as brightening or bleaching products to change the appearance of their skin which is damaging to their health, all because of these particular comments that have haunted them and their self perception

• UVA experience: Here at UVA have definitely been the most positive experiences I’ve had at a PWI. As an older version of myself, I can now discern the type of people that I surround myself with and see if it’s beneficial for me or not. I have friends of all ethnicities, religions, and races. I have black friends, Hispanic friends, Ethiopian friends, white friends, Protestant friends, Catholic friends, Muslim friends and they have never been condescending or racist in any way.

• Racism at UVA: I have not experienced racism at the University of Virginia. However, I do understand that as a Black student, there are instances where in various environments I have to act a particular way which is known as code switching to divert people from believing their stereotypical ideas about black students such as us being ghetto.

• Combatting the issue: I have been blessed with my experiences and everyone I’ve come into contact with interacted with or worked with has been super friendly and inclusive however, I cannot talk for other Black students that may have had racist experiences or are surrounded by other types of people and may come into contact with microaggressions or racism more than I do.

POV #3: 2nd year east asian man

This perspective is from a Chinese man.

• Upbringing: Growing up, I lived in a culturally diverse town where I got to interact and connect with individuals from all backgrounds. My high school was relatively welcoming in regards to ethnicity and race as my hometown demographic is 50% Asian. Thus, I never experienced much in racism but there were microaggressions that were prevalent.

• UVA experience: Coming to UVA has made me realize how much of a minority I actually am. Being at a predominately white institution has made me more conscious about my race, as I am afraid of being perceived inaccurately due to my Asian descent. Thus, I feel that I draw towards crowds and friends of the same race as me; it is hard to relate to white peers around me as I am unaware if they are judging me due to my race.

• Racism at UVA: I have never experienced blatant racism at UVA but, I do feel that white people could be more friendly towards minorities. Especially at parties or in classes, I find it hard to talk to white people, as they all seem uninterested or aloof to other people of color.

• Combatting the issue: I deal with racism at school by sticking to a crowd I feel comfortable with.

POv #4: 2nd year arab woman

This perspective is that of an Algerian-Palestinian woman.

• Upbringing: I grew up in very diverse high school that was quite the opposite of the environment here at UVA. This is my first time at a PWI because white people were the minority at my high school. They made up less than 10% of the school and were all pretty indifferent and just hung out with each other. I was one out of probably 10 Arab students in my whole school but I never saw that as an obstacle, just as a means for growth and learning from others within my community. I did however experience prejudice and pushback from my school district itself in terms of the curriculum leaning towards one side of a narrative and how teachers would treat me based on their political views. I felt that my views were constantly being suppressed by my district and administration and it was fearful and unsettling.

• UVA experience: I hang out with a wide range of people here at UVA. Community is huge part of thriving in college and I tend to hang out with people of color that share my open-mindedness. It’s a different experience from my high school where our school was underprivileged and lacked many resources compared to UVA where the opportunities are endless and resources are always available. I do feel as if its a different playing field because many of my peers come from privileged lifestyles in terms of race, economic status, etc. which is something I am adjusting to.

• Racism at UVA: I definitely have experienced prejudice due to my identity as a Palestinian. Last year and continuing into this year there’s been much discourse about Palestine. I feel as if the universities policies in suppressing Palestinian voices as well as views projected in classes is very biased and favoring of one side. It’s very disheartening to experience prejudice simply for being Palestinian because there are layers to my identity. It’s one thing to stand up and be outspoken and a whole other thing to simply just be Palestinian where my identity serves as a threat which they attempt to suppress.

• Combatting the issue: I don’t necessarily know how to deal with the discrimination I face because there’s a lot going on back home and I come to school and people are upset at me for existing as a Palestinian. There’s beauty in community and alliance and I am glad I can always reach out to my friends for support. Even though they might not face the same discrimination, all of our experiences boil down to racism, hate, and oppression. There’s beauty in finding mutual experiences throughout different communities and being able to connect through that and feel heard.

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