Centering Asian American Voices in Independent Schools

Abstract

As predominantly White institutions (PWIs), independent schools in the United States can alienate students who are either not White or do not possess the cultural capital necessary to navigate those spaces. Scholars have argued that alliance/affinity spaces help students of color acclimate to PWIs and help create a sense of belonging. My work with the Asian Student Alliance (ASA) over the past 2 years has shown that, while the ASA leadership can and has supported its affinity members, the lack of attention that the school administration gives to events outside of the campus puts the onus on student leaders to become adults and process complex events without feeling that the institution cares for them. The students, however, do not necessarily want to take on the task. In the end, school administrators and teachers should work to challenge the model minority myth and the perpetual foreigner stereotype: school leaders must work with student leaders to address AAPI hate at the institutional level, and history teachers at PWIs must cover Asian American history and activism more in the curriculum to challenge these two stereotypes and invite students to consider, and discuss, how they can engage in their own form of activism with each other.