Spartan Daily - Serving San Jose State University since 1934

Issue date: 5/11/04 Section: Opinion>>Columnists

JANET PAK [Click to enlarge]

Something about the picturesque smiling petite Asian girl sitting behind the backdrop of the Cal Berkeley campus in the Argus newspaper Sunday made me want to puke.

The 21-year-old girl was being bestowed with the highest honor at the university for her grade point average and her achievements.

That's just great, another typical Asian American do-gooder at Berkeley who majored in economics and molecular cell biology. The girl deserves credit for her success, but somehow I can't shake the feeling this poster child is unrealistic.

In the interview, she describes how she's experienced a host of activities from surfing in Santa Cruz to water skiing in Lake Tahoe. Since when do surfing and water skiing equal diversity?

What really irked me was the model minority stereotype image she portrayed. She spoke of no struggles or hardships. It was as if her life was perfect, idealistic and wonderful.

That picture doesn't seem to fit with the Asian Americans I know who struggled to find jobs, overcome racism and rise through the glass ceiling.

Some of my Asian American friends lived in houses with large families, shared rooms with several people and drove beat-up cars that would regularly fail.

These stereotypes place additional pressure to fit a mold that's been carved for them.

Andrew Chin and Judy Tseng of modelminority.com argue by over-emphasizing Asian American success, the minority are misrepresented as "proof that America provides equal opportunities for those who conform and work hard, it excuses American society from careful scrutiny on issues of race in general, and on the persistence of racism against Asian Americans in particular."

This girl doesn't paint a realistic picture of other Asian Americans who aren't able to afford the same opportunities she's had.

Coincidentally, we went to the same high school and graduated in the same class but my experience was far different.

As an Asian American growing up in the suburbs, I didn't live the idealistic or romanticized life she describes.

My parents earned barely enough to pay the bills and extra money was hard to come by. I didn't live in two- or three-story houses and we certainly never drove luxury cars.

For most of my childhood, I lived in San Leandro, a suburb of Oakland, where crime and drugs were prevalent. The local elementary school I attended included a mix of people from all cultures.

Grades were never a concern among my friends because we didn't have any particular career aspirations. We just wanted to be kids who explored a variety of activities and experiences.

These were people whose parents never had the opportunity to attend college or higher education.

But the experience allowed me to see outside of the world and step out of the typical stereotype of my culture.

It wasn't until I moved to another suburb, Fremont, that the idealistic minority stereotypes were persistent and prevalent.

The Asian American students I attended school with seemed to have the same goals - they wanted to attend a prestigious university, make loads of money and either be doctors, scientists or engineers.

It made me sick to see so many of my peers so easily fall into this trap.

They drove their Mercedes and BMWs as if life was that easy for them as a minority.

My friend and I joined the orchestra because we wanted to learn to play the violin for fun. Beefing up our resumes at that age was never a concern.

There's this misconception, because I'm an Asian American, that I excel in math and science.

Those subjects were my most challenging courses in high school. I used to study for hours only to relieve my frustration crying because I couldn't calculate basic pre-calculus equations.

I want to see Asian Americans take on different roles and tackle a subject they might've never tried like literature or acting.

There's this perception that Asian Americans can only be mathematicians or engineers. We come in different forms and types, not just the brainy kind.

Asian Americans I know today are more than the cookie-cutter minorities they've been typecast as. They are activists, political leaders, accomplished musicians and novelists.

I hope future Asian Americans will challenge themselves to break out of their mold and experience a variety of activities.

Janet Pak is the Spartan Daily lifestyles editor.

This is the final appearance of "Anything but Ordinary."

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