The Time I Realized I’m a
MINORITY By: Emily Pesina and Angela Murillo Martinez
Over the years, we’ve become familiar with the word minority; whether hearing it on the news, reading it in an article, or seeing it tossed around in an interview. Although a minority is usually perceived as going hand-in-hand with race and ethnicity in the United States, definitions differ between the way they are used by people. Denotatively, minority means the smaller part of a number. According to Merriam Webster minority in social terms is defined as “a part of a population differing from others in some characteristics and often subjected to differential treatment,”. According to the Austin Community College Fact Book, minority students make up over half the percentage of total students who were enrolled in the spring 2020 semester. ACCENT
STAY ACTIVE WITHIN THE COMMUNITY. IT’S A HOME AWAY FROM HOME.
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spoke with a few students to get their story of their journey. Nikkoo Vafaee, ACC Transfer student, had a realization after joining a student organization when at ACC “I joined this organization and I [felt] like “dang I do feel like the minority”... I [was] the only white/ Persian here.” During her earlier years in public school, diversity was the norm as cliques and clubs were integrated, however changes came with college. “It was strange because I’ve never been in that situation... where it’s not diverse,” said Vafaee. The same contradictory knowledge between your comfortzone and the real world was noted by Diana Gorostieta, a first generation student and ACC alumni. Gorostieta recognized her minority position upon entering college, describing it as “the whole
