mind when I went to the interest meeting and interview and I knew it was a crapshoot. I was told that only 15 or so DJs get accepted every semester, and at the interest meeting over a 100 people showed up and I heard that more than 150 people turned in applications this semester. I’m a nervous person by nature, so hearing that was a little nerve wracking. Nonetheless, I went into my interview, and I just told them how I felt about making playlists to share with everyone. And the interviewers were like “Hell yeah, she’s in.” Being a female does not invalidate my selection of music or opinions of music as some believe. I mean, what’s in selecting and playing music as long as you’ve got a passionate mind and soul? I’m just expected to play the music I like, and I think I’ve successfully lived up to that job description so far. PS: What kind of music do you play during your show? Any cultural influences? SK: I definitely try to play music by female artists as well as focus on world music. Growing up, I listened to a lot of Indian music, from classical to filmy jams. I remember having some of my non-South Asian friends in the car once, and a Bollywood song came on. They all were like, “What the hell is that? Play Miley Cyrus!” I’ve also had other girls tell me that they’d prefer if I was “less Indian, and more American.” I don’t know how I could’ve done that, given that my Indian immigrant status is an integral part of my identity. Listening to Indian music, or indulging in anything “too Indian” basically became a guilty pleasure that I could only experience when I was around my family or by myself. Upon arriving to UNC, I realized that it was more than okay to be different and explore what the world has to offer. I not only was more open about my Indian heritage, but I also began to learn about other cultures through music. I discovered groups like Sigur Ros from Iceland, Die Antwoord from South Africa, Tarkan from Turkey, Kageyama Hironobu from Japan, and so on. I’m still learning about more artists to this day. I’m enjoying this expansion, that’s for sure. I try to make eclectic mixes to play on the radio, and making the playlist itself is where all the fun is. PS: What are struggles you face as a woman of color at a primarily Caucasian institution? Do you ever feel marginalized?
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SK: I think that women of color generally share
the struggle that they are not taken seriously. Every time you speak out against something that has offended you, you seem to get labeled as an angry ethnic woman who rambles on and on about how life just isn’t fair and how things aren’t your way. Somehow, I feel like I’m expected to quell my voice and allow white feminists to speak for my struggle. Though they may mean well, they do not know my struggle as a woman of color. I do not need people to speak for me, but rather support me in endeavors for being heard, as I think there is a fine line between the two. Sometimes I think trying to relate my experiences to other people can be hard, because my experiences, at least, have always been very different from other people’s. I’ve always had trouble relating to others, and I often feel a disconnect with many people, especially upon topics involving my ethnicity...cultural appropriation being one of the biggest ones! People are always like, “It’s not that big of a deal and you can’t tell people what to do.” In reality, history has been one group of people telling other people what to do, so I’m not sure how to respond to that remark. In summary, as a woman of color, I often struggle in getting my voice heard or just being understood in general because I feel that a lot of what I have to say can easily be marked off as trivial and uninteresting, simply because not a lot of people have experienced the same things as me.