Beyond the Numbers: How Focusing on Compositional Diversity Downplays Anti-Asian Racism

In Short Asian American students reported increasingly hostile racial climates, with misinformation and anti-Asian sentiments being spread on social media, other students physically shunning Asian students, and Asian internationals experiencing restrictions and fears of surveillance. Asian and Asian Americans remain on the fringe when it comes to higher education diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) discussions and efforts, under the stereotypical assumption that they are “model minorities.” Among the reasons there may be less attention on campus racial climates for Asian Americans is based a narrow and insufficient focus on compositional diversity—numerical representation of groups in higher education. A dynamic, multicontexual approach that incorporates faculty, staff, and students in better supporting Asian and Asian Americans in higher education is needed.