We, the undersigned faculty of the Asian and Asian American Studies Program and other concerned faculty, staff and students at Miami University, unequivocally disagree with the anonymous faculty member who wrote the opinion piece, "Admitting international students for the wrong reasons brings down the university," published on Nov. 4, 2014, in The Miami Student. We also join our colleagues in the English Department and other Miami faculty, staff, students and alumni, to express our enthusiastic support for all international students, whom we see as an invaluable resource for a university committed to offering a global education based on four principles: thinking critically, understanding contexts, engaging with other learners and reflecting and acting. However, international students face many challenges that need to be addressed in order for their skills, experiences and backgrounds to be fully realized for all members of Miami, and for them to be welcomed as full Miamians.
Before we can discuss how best to address the institutional neglect and specific needs of international students at Miami, we want to first express our deep concern over a growing anti-Asian sentiment on campus that the anonymous letter indicates. For example, two years ago a Miami student used Twitter to send disparaging racial slurs against Asians. And now a Miami faculty member has labeled the "majority" of international students, and overseas Chinese students in particular, as unqualified "dead weight" whose presence "negatively affect[s] other sectors of our student population." While some may suggest that these are isolated incidents, we strongly disagree with such an assessment. The student's account "OxfordAsians" had over 1,000 followers that marked his tweets as their favorite and forwarded them to others. Comments in social networking sites, such as Yik Yak and Facebook, reinforced the faculty letter's message that international students from Asia are not welcome at Miami.
In our view, the increase in anti-Asian sentiment is a reactive and defensive response to the changing student demographics on campus and to Miami's more explicit commitment to diversity, as amplified in the Miami 2020 Plan. The increase in the number of domestic minority and international students has coincided with the decrease of White students at Miami, who constitute about 81 percent of the total student population. Although small in number on campus, Asian and Asian American students become visible markers of difference and serve as easy scapegoats of racism and xenophobia in a predominantly White institution like Miami.
Both Asian international students and Asian American students - many of whom are mistaken as international students - are generally viewed as "model minorities" who are expected to perform well academically without needing academic and personal support. Although their racialized bodies and presence are visibly marked, their intellectual, psychological, linguistic and socio-cultural needs and concerns are largely invisible and ignored. Deemed as academically and financially gifted, Asian and Asian American students become the preferred minorities that fulfill many institutions' diversity mission and goals.
Hence, faculty members become disappointed when Asian and Asian American students do not live up to the "model minority" myth. For example, the anonymous author of the letter in question complains that the English literacy of international students is "abhorrent," the "majority" of whom, apparently, lack the conversational, reading and writing skills to adequately perform in the classroom. The author also points to the "disrespectful" behavior displayed by international students in the use of in-class technology. However, the presence of domestic students who struggle or distract in the Miami classroom goes unquestioned. Only international students, and Chinese students in particular, are targeted as an institutional "burden" to Miami. The academic credentials and abilities of international students are then seen as suspect.
Miami actively seeks and recruits students from Asia as part of its broader strategy for academic excellence, national prominence, global presence, economic advancement and institutional partnerships. For instance, the Office of Admission has an Assistant Director of International Recruitment and a China Regional Recruitment Coordinator in charge of various publicity and outreach initiatives abroad. International students come to Miami to have one of the best undergraduate experiences in the United States and to gain a world-class education. As non-Ohio residents, they pay over $40,000 each year as an investment that should pay dividends for a lifetime. Two major questions have not been raised: Are international students getting their money's worth at Miami? And, are we as an institution living up to our commitment of providing high quality education to all students, both international and domestic?
Miami benefits from the genuine and meaningful inclusion of Asian international and Asian American students into the university community. They bring academic, cultural, linguistic, and personal resources that enrich and enhance the teaching, research, learning, and work experiences of all faculty, students, and staff. A campus climate that is perceived as disparaging and hostile to diversity will drive away not only international and domestic minority students, but also faculty and staff interested in a welcoming and inclusive environment. So, instead of viewing some students as "dead weight," Miami University can - and should - be a place where the weight of all of our skills, experiences, and backgrounds is made alive. That is the challenge and promise of diversity.
We hear and empathize with the frustrations felt by the anonymous faculty member. But instead of viewing an important part - or any part - of our student population as "dead weight" to be maligned and abandoned, we feel it is more productive to recognize the different ways in which students from diverse backgrounds read, write, listen, speak, think, and learn, to adjust our pedagogical strategies to enhance these different pathways, as well as to devise new ways to encourage students to participate.
Of course, we can't do this alone. This is where we need Miami University to step in and provide the institutional resources to assist faculty and staff members to provide a culturally engaged and inclusive environment, and to provide international students the resources they need to maximize their qualified abilities. While ongoing racism and xenophobia are concerns that we all have to engage with as a university community, we expect the university administration to take a stronger and more visible leadership role to address them at the institutional and systemic level. We look forward to hearing from you regarding how the university administration will address this matter.
For love and honor,
Quanyu Huang,
Director of Asian and Asian American Studies Program. Signed by a total of 291 faculty, staff and students