Many of my friends -- both in and outside of Colgate University -- asked me about the sit-in protest thats happening here and why I am participating in this. Its been 29 hours since 300+ students and I are holding a peaceful sit-in protest at the admission building. We slept here and missed our classes and other commitments on campus. We want our voices to be heard, which have been silenced for so long. We want the administration and the entire Colgate community to acknowledge and understand that we need an actual, concrete change. 70+ students made their personal testimony about what they had to go through here. We were all deeply saddened and enraged by the stories of suffering, discrimination, alienation, and hatred. And here goes my story. I came to Colgate because I cherish liberal arts education. I wanted to be a part of an intellectual community in which I could explore great ideas and develop the skills to think autonomously so that I could one day be prepared to live with “an awareness of my responsibility to self, community, and the larger world.” I did not come here to be an additional element that makes Colgate look diverse, when it actually isnt. In my freshman year, I felt there was no place for me at Colgate. Not only because Colgate isn’t an inclusive, welcoming place to foreigners, but also because I was deeply confused about my own identity – or more precisely, how my identity is perceived. Before coming to Colgate, I had never thought of myself as Asian. I just didn’t have to. (Come on, there are literally FOUR BILLION people living in Asia and do you think they consider themselves as one group?) Although being an Asian is not at all important to who I am and how I define myself, I had to face with people making hasty conclusions about who I am and confined me into their stereotype of Asian. So I had to constantly make it clear that 1) I’m not a math/science major 2) I did not come here to realize my American dream/end up in the Wall Street and 3) the reason I didn’t go out to party last Friday is NOT because I’m a nerdy Asian who doesn’t know how to have fun, but because that’s just not the way I want to spend my weekend. I was so self-conscious about being seen as an Asian that, in order to prove to others that I’m not ‘that Asian girl,’ I even denied a part of me that does in fact coincide with the stereotype of Asian. It took me a year to realize that I could be a part of Colgate by doing what I care about and just by being who I am. In my sophomore year, I met an amazing group of people at The Max Shacknai COVE , which became a refuge for me. They were deeply concerned about social inequality and injustice and were actually making positive changes and impact on campus and in the real world. I built a life-long friendship here and I could finally be free from this self-imposed pressure. I believe that my experience has helped me understand what it means to be marginalized in a homogenous society. I could better sympathize with the struggle that vulnerable foreigners are facing in Korea, because I’ve been in that position. I want to devote my life into defending those whose voices remain unheard and I wouldn’t deny my Colgate experience played a crucial role in this decision. So it did serve as an educational experience for me and gave me important life lessons. But I’m here as a protestor, because I don’t want anyone else to suffer from the feeling of marginalization and exclusion. There are many different ways to learn to sympathize with other people who are suffering, and the way I learned it is definitely not the best one. It hurt me deeply, and this is totally unnecessary. I’m here because I don’t want to see any first-year international student struggling, crying, suffering from depression, wanting to transfer, and questioning whether they deserve to be here. I’m here because I care about Colgate. Im well aware that this is not only Colgates issue, but that liberal arts colleges of similar student demographic are facing similar problem. I hope this movement start a ripple effect and bring about positive changes throughout the country. Thank you so much for your continuing support and love. Please keep standing up in solidarity with us. #CanYouHearMeNow? #I2amColgate #sitintostandup
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 16:45:45 +0000
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