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The Daily Tar Heel

Column: Finding your place at a predominantly white institution

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Photos courtesy of Adobe Stock.

I like to think I got very lucky with the town I grew up in. Sure, I experienced my fair share of microaggressions. But, because my high school had 68 percent minority enrollment, I never necessarily felt alone, as I was constantly surrounded by people that looked like me. 

Even if they weren’t the exact same race or ethnicity as me, I didn’t feel alienated in my appearance. So, coming to a PWI, also known as predominantly white institution, gave me a bit of a culture shock.

Throughout my first week at UNC, I was made painfully aware of my minority status. I suddenly felt the full weight of every stereotype perpetuated by the media, which made me incredibly self-conscious of how I was being perceived by others. 

From Ravi to Baljeet, I can confidently say that South Asian characters have not been appropriately represented in pop culture. Coming to a predominantly white institution, I feared that my peers had already decided who I was based on these portrayals: unattractive, socially awkward and obsessed with academics. While I was aware of these potential assumptions in high school, the demographic shift in my environment placed my self-worth at the mercy of an entire campus’ prejudice.

Being thrust into a completely different social environment took a toll on my own self-perception. For the first time in many years, racial insecurities crept into my mind: “Do I really belong? Should I try to act more white? How can I seem less different?”

I felt like I was on the outside of a campuswide inside joke. 

Initially, I hoped my white peers would become blind to my skin color and treat me as if I wasn’t a minority. I desperately wanted to fit in and be “normal” in their eyes. I feared that my skin color would hinder my ability to make friends or that it would make me less approachable. 

This feeling wasn’t entirely new to me; I’ve attempted to erase my heritage before. But this time, being in a majority white space, I was constantly reminded of my differences — which I perceived as shortcomings — on a much larger scale.

I realized the importance of finding a community of people who look like you — not just people with similar interests or hobbies, but people who genuinely look similar to you. While appearance can be a very surface-level aspect in other social contexts, building a community of people who look similar to you is crucial to feeling welcomed and included. No one wants to feel like the odd one out; no one wants to feel “less than.”

I also reminded myself that I am more than the stereotypes that attempt to define me. Across social media, entertainment and cultural standards, I am constantly compared to expectations of who I am supposed to look like, what I’m supposed to do and who I’m supposed to be. 

Throughout my upbringing, I found it essential for me to establish an identity outside of these barriers. Though I cannot control other people’s assumptions about me, I have the power to not let them consume me and erase my true self.

At the end of the day, being "other" at a PWI seems to be the reality of being a minority. It’ll always hold true that I do not look like most people on campus, or in the United States. 

But that doesn’t mean I, or anyone else, deserve to feel ostracized. Everyone deserves to feel like they belong and like they have a community behind them. 

The solution to being a person of color attending a PWI? I’m still not really sure. The issues I’ve been grappling with will likely not fade away entirely; however, I can make them easier to manage. I encourage others to remain persistent in their pursuit of finding a community, because you truly do belong despite differences. 

While it is not our responsibility to remedy others' ignorance — nor are we required to tolerate them — we can look for others in similar situations and form supportive connections with one another. It is a privilege to not have to actively make an effort to feel welcomed into a space. For people of color, finding that home will be difficult, but know you are not alone. 

@dthopinion | opinion@dailytarheel.com

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