Ethnic studies student Dave Young visits with other students, staff and faculty, including Women’s Center Director Erin O’Brien, at the first Multiracial/Multiethnic Mixer on Wednesday night in the EMU.
Erin O’Brien is Irish, Vietnamese and American, but people have mistaken her for French, Japanese and Italian.
The ASUO Women’s Center director’s experience isn’t uncommon, according to the roughly 15 students, staff and faculty members who came together for the first “Multicultural/Multiethnic Mixer” Wednesday evening at the EMU.
Although the people attending cited family links to more than 14 different countries, they found common ground in the misperceptions and stereotypes they faced and challenged on a daily basis. Many of the attendees said others frequently mistake their races based on physical appearances or last names.
“It opens up the fact that things that are seemingly different can be brought together,” University junior and Multicultural Center staff member Aaron Martin said.
University senior Alex Gonzalez agreed the group shared similar experiences despite their different ages and backgrounds.
“Cultures are different but have the same struggle sifting through identities,” Gonzalez said. “There’s a need for understanding and a need for dialogue. Race issues are dynamic. They aren’t as cut and dry as five labels. They often intercept and overlap.”
The population of University students identifying themselves as multiracial or multiethnic has steadily grown over recent years, creating a need for more resources and support, said Kimi Mojica, director of diversity education and support for the Office of Student Life.
At the University, 328 students out of the 19,597 enrolled for fall 2004, or 1.7 percent of the student body, identified themselves as multiethnic, according to the Registrar’s Office.
ASUO Multicultural Center Program Adviser Steve Morozumi said the growing population of multicultural and multiethnic people at the University has mixed consequences.
“Maybe it’s a positive sign of diminishing antipathy of attitudes
toward integration,” Morozumi said. “On the other hand, there
are still ongoing feelings of not bing
embraced by other communities.”
Morozumi said being both Japanese and Chinese created issues for him growing up because of a “historic animosity between the two countries.”
O’Brien said being from more than one culture challenges racial theories.
“How can you be the oppressor and the oppressed in one body?” she said. “It’s a dual role.”
Mojica hopes to have another multicultural mixer in winter term, and several people who attended suggested inviting individuals in interracial relationships as well.
Martin said he hopes the group will provide a connection between different communities.
“It’s a gift to see both sides,” Martin said.
While experiences vary among individuals who identify as multiethnic, the overall “mixed-race experience” is more universal, O’Brien said.
“It’s a broad common ground with many common threads,” she said.
