THE HURON EMERY | ISSUE 5: MAY 20 | FEATURE
What i t means to be
Asian American ALLISON MI AND VERENA WU COPY EDITOR AND STAFF WRITER
Daniel Bai “The model minority myth can be really challenging by putting people into boxes where Asian Americans are deemed to be quiet, we’re deemed to be ‘good at math’ and hardworking. We’re placed under this umbrella that all Asians are the same. That’s not true. I didn’t fit into this box; I was raised by a single mother, who was working a job and raising two kids, while my dad was a country away. There’s this social hierarchy that white people have created, and though it has allowed Asian Americans to do certain things, we’re never allowed to go beyond that. There’s always this ceiling -- this bamboo ceiling.” Daniel Bai is a science teacher at Huron. ALLISON MI
Cat herine herine Li Li Cat
“[As an Asian American], you’re not really quite part of one [culture] or the other. When I go overseas, I’m not really referred to as exactly part of my family. I am a part of the family but I’m ‘the American kid.’ But then, in the U.S., it’s like I’m not quite part of the American culture either because I have my Chinese customs. When I’ve gone down south before, people are always surprised that I can speak English really well or that I can converse -- maybe because they haven’t encountered very many Asian people in their lives. I haven’t experienced many of the hate crimes personally in Ann Arbor but it really does hurt me and pain me to see online all of the violence against them. Especially after the increase in violence going on in America right now, it’s scary whenever my parents go out. I just don’t always know what’s going to happen to them.”
Catherine Li is a sophomore at Huron. ALLISON MI
Yi tah tah Wu Wu Yi “People just assume that you are what they think you are. I used to ride a moped when I first got to Berkeley. At one point some frat boys in a Jeep drove by me on my moped and threw something at me. It didn’t hit me but they yelled something to the effect of ‘Just remember who won the war!’ because they assumed that I was Japanese. When I had the opportunity I went and bought a motorcycle because then they wouldn’t be able to get away from me, because a scooter can only go so fast.” Yitah Wu is an engineer for Ford. VERENA WU
Mia Dubin
“Throughout middle school I became more aware of the stereotypes of being adopted and Asian, like how Asians are considered to be all smart. But I don’t consider myself that smart, so I felt left out. I also was called ‘not truly Asian’ because I have white parents and I don’t follow the same traditions. In higher orchestra levels, there are a lot of Asian kids, but I feel left out because I’m Asian yet I’m in a lower orchestra. I’m totally fine with being in the lower orchestra outside of that, but I wonder if I had Asian parents, would I be pushed more to be in a better orchestra? I also feel like I’m being looked down on by other people. It was very heartbreaking to feel like I’m not truly Asian.” Mia Dubin is a junior at Huron. ALLISON MI