The crowning of the new Miss America certainly has people talking — but not all reaction
to her win has been positive.
Students gathered Thursday for an open conversation amidst the strong wave of backlash after Nina Davuluri, the first Indian-American woman to win the Miss America competition, beat out Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail.
Many believed Vail deserved to win because she “looked American” and represented true American values. One Twitter user went as far as tweeting, “Congratulations Al-Qaeda, our Miss America is one of you.”
Senior Ashley Winkfield and junior Aaratthi Thushyanthan kicked off the conversation, hosted by the Omega Iota Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta, Inc. and the UNC Colony of Delta Phi Omega, Inc. sororities, by asking the audience to think about the strong reaction to Davuluri’s victory.
“Sometimes there are things that are felt, but not necessarily heard,” said Winkfield. “I think this is one of those underlying issues.”
Junior Priyanka Mehta touched on the connection to life on campus.
“I think events like this open up people’s eyes,” she said. “As much as we say we are diverse, a lot of groups are still very cliquey.”
Thushyanthan said she was excited to talk openly about issues concerning stereotypes.
“Stereotypes are progressing and Miss America is truly progressing,” she said. “I think it’s very good that UNC is having discussions such as this one.”
Senior SaVona Smith agrees with Thushyanthan.
“UNC represents United States on a much smaller scale,” she said. “We try to reach out and appeal to all, and when things like this happen, it makes you take a step back and look at the issues we are still facing.”
Winkfield and Thushyanthan said they were happy that a discussion was held on UNC’s campus.
“I remember when Miss America and all the backlash happened…and I thought it was something that needed to be discussed,” Winfield said. “I like to think about what this means for America, students and minorities.”
Mehta reflected on how strongly she felt after hearing about the controversy.
“Things like this remind me of how far we have come,” she said, “But also how far we still have to go.”
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