by Lora Victorio
Published Spring 2001

He drives a lowered Honda and likes to race it on the street. She writes notes on Hello Kitty stationery and excels in math and science. They both know karate and love action films. 

These are the stereotypical Asian-American  people that everyone knows and even respects;  but there is more to Asian-American culture than Kung Fu movies and sushi bars.

Pepperdine’s Department of Institutional Research reports that 7.9 percent of Pepperdine's student body classified themselves as Asian-American last semester.

Sitting between African-American and Latino students, who make up 6.9 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, the Asian-American voices are barely whispers amidst other minority cries.

Asian-American students are often lumped together with international students who comprise 4.9 percent of the student body.

But not all international students are Asian-American and vice versa. This misconception is part of the problem in recognizing who the Asian-American students really are.

Though typically categorized as the “model minority,” studies show that people of Asian-American ancestry are still being seen as “foreigners,” according to a 507-page study by the UCLA Asian-American Studies Center entitled, “The State of Asian-American Pacific America: Transforming Race Relations.”

Professors from institutions such as Harvard and Brown universities issued the report last year.

“No matter what their citizenship, how long they may have resided in the United States or how assimilated they are, the ‘common understanding’ that Asian-Americans are an alien presence in America is still the prevailing assumption in American culture,” said Robert G. Lee, associate professor of American Civilization at Brown University, who worked on the study.

Pepperdine pledges to help change this assumption by being more inclusive and working to diversify the student body.

Last year’s Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) self-study report notes, “Pepperdine seeks to achieve ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic balance among its students, faculty, staff, administration and board … the university embraces diversity because it ‘enriches the educational process’ by broadening students’ horizons and contributing to an objective search for truth.”

But despite Pepperdine’s goal to diversify the student body, freshman Emily Kurashige believes that a kind of voluntary segregation seems to exist on campus.

“If you face the windows of the (Waves Café), all of the minorities sit on the top left and all the Caucasians sit everywhere else,” Kurashige said.

“I have also noticed that the people on this campus are not very internationally aware of cultures and other places (besides) America.”

Junior Trevor Lai thinks that some of the segregation is reciprocal. That is, he believes some minorities seem to intentionally sit apart from others.

“(Some) students seem to segregate themselves from the rest of the student body, effectively isolating themselves from utter and complete immersion in studying here,” he said.

“I think that others view them as unapproachable because they are so tight-knit.”

People like Dr. Glenn Webb, a professor of Japanese history and the director at the Institute for the Study of Asian-AmericanCulture (ISAC) at Pepperdine, try to breach the gap between east and west. He earned his master's and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Chicago in East Asian-Americanstudies.

Webb believes that part of the reason Asian-Americans and non-Asian Americans are culturally separated is two-fold. “We think they (Asian Americans) are superior and they think we (non-Asian-Americans) are superior. They perceive we are not interested in their culture and the truth is, we’re not interested in their culture,” he said.

But Webb is trying to incite interest in Asian-American culture to raise awareness of non-western heritage.

Since 1987, the ISAC grew from providing one course to eight. He also helped start the Japanese Tea House on the Seaver campus. He says learning “the way of tea” helps prepare students to interact in Japanese culture because it is an integral part of business practices.

He notes that the global economy stresses the importance of allying with economic and political superpowers such as Japan and China, not the former Soviet Union.

Webb believes the importance of studying Asian-American culture is also tied to Pepperdine's Christian mission.

“I think that a Christian cannot afford not to understand Daoism, Confucianism, Hinduism, Sikhism and Islam,” he said.

“We can’t afford to cower in our corner and then take the Good News to people in Asia. We have to know where they are coming from to make a difference. We have to be able to speak to them on their level. We’re not gangbusters."

Dr. Luisita Archer, who works at the Registrar’s office, also believes that part of understanding Asian-American culture is to recognize how diverse the culture is.

“A common misconception is that Asian-American people are a homogenous group,” she said.

“Asian-Americans are heterogeneous - composed of Filipinos, Japanese, Thais, Vietnamese, Guamanians, Hawaiians, Polynesians, Indians and others. Many of the students may be of mixed racial extraction and may not feel comfortable being lumped into any major racial group.”

Freshman Geri Maeshiro agrees. A Hawaiian native, Maeshiro was part of an Asian-Americanmajority in Hawaii, but at Pepperdine, she found her tables were turned.

She believes that the challenge for some lies in recognizing the different groups within Asian-American culture.

“The biggest misconception is probably that just because we look different, we are different,” she said.

“We may have different customs as does everyone else, but that’s what makes us unique. But we all have the same needs, dreams and fears as everyone else.”

Director of Student Accounts Hung Le remembers what it was like to be stereotyped.

“In junior high, someone started the rumor that I knew karate,” he said.

“Since I was Asian, it was an easy rumor to believe. No matter how hard I tried to dissuade a rumor, I was unsuccessful. It was a real advantage because I didn’t get picked on … although I never did anything to confirm that rumor.”

Le, a Pep alum, also remembers what it was like to be the only student from Vietnam for the first three of his college years.

“I really didn’t have a problem with it,” he said.

“Although we were very different from each other, we were glad to have each other around. There are more and more Vietnamese students around now, and I am glad for that.”

So what should the Pepperdine community do to bring these different groups together?

Maeshiro believes the solution lies in how people look at race. “Color is nothing; the people are what make themselves,” she said.

“I am not saying we should disregard the issue in its entirety. The biggest challenge (for me) is to see that I am not a minority, but a person who is entitled to and has every opportunity to succeed as everyone else on this campus.”

Lai agrees.

“Even in spite of having only a handful of Asian-Americans here on campus, I’ve never noticed a race issue with Asian-Americans,” he said.

“I’ve always considered myself a student, carrying no race … Not Trevor Lai, the Asian-American Pepperdine student, just a Pepperdine student.”

But Kurashige believes it takes more than erasing the “color line” to promote understanding on campus. 

“I know that I have to help people become more aware that there are countries other than America,” she said.

“(Asian-Americans) can add diversity to this campus and help others become aware of Asian-Americans and our culture.”

Le thinks that Asian-American students should also encourage each other as well.

“I am glad to see that there is a strong contingent of Asian-American students who are providing support for one another on a different level than that of the general population,” he said.

“I have always felt welcomed, nurtured and supported here. It is my hope and prayer that all students can say the same thing.”

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