By Kathryne McCann
WASHINGTON – When Mei Tomko came to American University, she found what she had always been looking for: a community.
Growing up in York, Pennsylvania, Tomko knew she was different from the people who surrounded her. Adopted from China, Tomko was one of the only Asian Americans in her area – and while her parents worked hard to keep her connected to Chinese culture, that cultural understanding did not extend beyond her home.
“Growing up I never had any Asian-American friends and everyone was Caucasian in the area I lived. Everyone was – they were not racists – but they were very ignorant of other cultures and were not very open to learning about other cultures,” said Tomko. “It really took a toll on my mental health and how I viewed myself and how I viewed my Asian-American identity.”
Community is something multiracial students struggle to find, and while they attempt to do so at American, it’s not always easy. Professors, faculty at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and students who are multiracial say there is a constant questioning of whether multicultural students are enough of one identity or another; even within a community, there is a struggle to connect.
Most students turn to cultural affinity groups around campus when looking for a community, and often find one. Even so, a disconnect persists. While American provides opportunities and events specific to multiracial students, feeling a sense of belonging goes beyond what the university can provide.
Despite being the vice president of the Latinx and American Student Organization, Campbell Urrutia has dealt with feeling too whitewashed or not Latino enough on American’s campus.
Urrutia, a Mexican American student from Dallas, Texas, has often been asked the question many mixed race or multiethnic people know all too well: “What are you?”
Anja Voges, a first-year student at American, receives this question all the time. Voges is both German and Filipino and identifies strongly with both cultures. Most people assume, said Voges, that she is Latina when they first meet her.
“I don’t mind answering it, but it’s weird that I have to answer it so often,” said Voges.
Hope Marshall, a sophomore at American, co-facilitates an intergroup dialogue at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion that focuses on interracial dating and multiracial identities.
“I do think that multiracial people – we just kind of slip through the cracks on a lot of issues, and it’s so hard when you feel like you don’t fully have a culture that you can claim as your own,” said Marshall.
Marshall has met more multiracial students than ever before at American and hopes to see more spaces on campus for these students to interact and connect.
One way the school has worked to do so is by forming the Center for Diversity and Inclusion.
Shannon Smith, the assistant director for student success and transition for the center, described its history and how it has influenced the campus’ goals.
Until 2012, the center was split into various departments focusing on specific identities. After hearing that this structure made students feel as though they could only represent one of their identities, the university decided to combine the different offices into one.
When thinking of college campuses around the nation that excel at supporting multiracial students, Marina Mantos, the co-chair for the National Association of Personnel Administrators Multiracial Knowledge Community, said it all comes down to acknowledging the need for support.
“The institution will actually take ownership and create a space for them (multiracial students). They see that there is a need to support this identity,” said Mantos.
Creating a space to support students’ identities is something the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at American strives to achieve.
“I don’t think we (American) are extremely different, but I do think that there are maybe two aspects that sort of put us above the curve compared to other universities,” said Smith.
One of these aspects is the center’s inclusive excellence plan, which works to distribute the responsibility of the center across campus and help other departments understand their role in diversity and inclusion. The other aspect is AUx2, a course all first year students must take to learn about discourse and diversity issues.
Beyond classes and school resources, Voges, Urrutia and Tomko were able to find communities in cultural affinity groups.
“For the first time I’m able to connect with people within the Asian side of me more which is something I am really interested in because I never had that before,” said Voges.
The Asian American Student Union has also given Tomko a community that has inspired her to embrace the Chinese side of her identity and connect with others through new foods and experiences.
For Urrutia, the transition to American was difficult; coming from an area with many multiracial Latinos. Joining the Latinx organization helped him find a supportive community.
However, Urrutia has noticed there is a pressure to relate to certain experiences, foods and music every one of the identity is thought to share. This expectation can lead to members feeling that they are not enough of their identity.
Arvenita Washington Cherry, professorial lecturer in the Department of Anthropology, teaches a race and racism class and has heard the experiences of many mixed-race students.
“There are a number of Afro-Latinx students, and I do feel like those students constantly have to teach people that being Latino is an ethnicity and not a race,” said Cherry. “Often times their Latinx background is obscured by their blackness, and people don’t understand how one can be both, so for students that’s frustrating to explain that.”
One thing the school should be doing to address the issue, said Cherry, is to hear from the students about their wants, needs, and experiences and to conduct more intentional research.
Anja Voges, a first year student at American University, sits in the Mary Graydon Center. Voges is a member of both the Asian American Student Union and the German Club on campus.
(Photo by Kathryne McCann)
