(Disclaimer: I know that Virginia is not “the South” and that not all Southerners are racist. I also acknowledge that, as an Asian-American, I don’t face the kind of racism that non-Asian POC face and that being Asian comes with a lot of privilege. This post is not meant to offend or provoke anyone; I simply have a question that I know a lot of others also have.)
UVA is really well known for being full of white, upper-class students. If anyone has any experiences of what it’s like to be a racial minority (more so than usual) at UVA (a school that I am considering), I (and others) want to hear about it. I would especially like to hear from people who came from more diverse places and then transitioned into being in a community where you might feel like the only POC in a room all of the time. Are there cultural differences when the community is so white? Do you ever feel like you are being silenced? I’m Asian and want to hear about Asian experiences in particular (especially because in the convo of racism, Asians are often ignored), but any and all opinions are also strongly invited
One thing to keep in mind is that the vast majority of the wackos at the August 2017 march were not from Virginia. Last count I saw showed they were from at least 29 states.
I think it is important to dispel the myth that UVA is a bunch of white, rich students. This might have been true in the past, but over the past 10-15 years admissions has done a great job opening up the University. While a majority of UVA students are white, that majority is thin: only 58% of UVA students identify as white (last year’s numbers). 14% are Asian, 6.5% are African American, 6.5% are Hispanic, and 4% are multi-racial (11% are in some administrative ‘other’ category, like unknown). We aren’t all rich, either: 38% of last year’s entering class had demonstrated financial need for financial aid, and 12% were the first in their family to go to college.
While I understand that saying “join asian student association” isn’t a good answer, it is also important not to downplay the importance of these organizations. UVA has an extremely vibrant minority community. We don’t have an Asian Student Association, we have roughly 13 of them: Taiwanese Student Association, Japanese Student Association, etc. The minority student groups also issue endorsements in student elections (which are extremely important, since we value self-goverance so highly), and these endorsements are highly influential in our elections.
On Virginia/UVA being in the south–some parts of Virginia, mainly the rural parts outside of Northern Virginia, Richmond, and Norfolk, are effectively the “South.” Charlottesville (where UVA is located) really isn’t in the south, either–it’s extremely liberal/local politics dominated by Democrats. In fact, a majority of Charlottesville’s city council is minority.
As a white (disabled) student, I cannot testify to the minority experience. I can, however, say that we value everyone, including our minority students. Congrats on getting in to UVA, and I hope that wherever you go, you enjoy it there!
As unfortunate as reality is, racism exists to some degree in every region of the US, no matter how small or insignificant it may be when compared to the rest of the populous. Historically, it was concentrated in the southern US, but that really isn’t true today. Virginia is not in the “Deep South,” but rather the upper south and is considered by many to be more a part of the Mid-Atlantic region (along with Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, etc.)
Although the racism may seem more blatant in some parts of the south, some of its proxy measures are strongest in some other places, like residential racial segregation where many of the most highly segregated cities are in non-south places (e.g. Chicago, Baltimore, Milwaukee), or web searches for insulting terms for black people being more common in northern rust belt areas.
As noted above, some of the most racist parts of the US are places that traditionally had few minorities. Cville has always had a significant African-American community.
It’s interesting. As an Asian American, the most in-your-face racism that I’ve ever experienced was in New York City and Los Angeles. UVa (like most universities) is a microcosm of the country, so you will find people of all different points of view - some you will disagree with.
As an alum, I can’t speak to the current experience of Asian American students at UVa, but I can say that overall UVa is an egalitarian place that stresses academic excellence, self-governance, and honor – and there’s nothing less honorable than racism. I had friends of all backgrounds when I was a student, and I had an amazing time there.
If you haven’t visited UVa, you should to see it first-hand.
There are quite a lot of Asian-American/Asian international students at UVA, and I have never met anyone racist, sexist, homophobic, etc in any way here
(Just to clarify, I am Asian-American)
To answer all the questions you listed:
-I’m rarely the only POC in a room, and when I am, there is zero racism/prejudice at all
-No cultural differences as far as I can tell
-No, I never feel like I’m being silenced
-To re-state what I said above, I’ve never felt ostracized, bullied, excluded, etc because of my ethnicity. There are a couple of Asian organizations that you can join as well, and everyone here has been very open and accepting and nice.
