Jenny Zhan | A racism epidemic at Penn

By now, students have probably heard of the infamous Jena Six case that triggered national outrage.

While the gross injustice in this display of modern-day Jim Crow certainly should be redressed, I'd like to shift the attention to the less-obvious ethnic tensions that silently permeate our campus.

Such hidden hostility is best manifested in the self-inflicted racism and broken ties within Penn's Asian community.

(Just to clarify: Although Indians are also technically Asian, for the sake of simplicity, I'll use "Asian" to refer solely to East and Southeast Asians.)

To debunk the common myth, we Asians are really not one big, happy, unified family who get together every night for some rice and math homework. For starters, the Asian student body breaks down into a sharp set of ethnic enclaves.

Here's a shocking revelation for those who think all Asians look alike: Some of us take personal offense when we're mistakenly associated with certain ethnic groups. Try asking a Chinese person if he's Japanese and see if he's not at least slightly perturbed - chances are, he's keenly aware of the atrocities the Japanese committed against the Chinese during World War II. Growing up in China, I was repeatedly informed that the Japanese are evil and all things Japanese should be boycotted.

Sounds racist? My point exactly.

The term "Chinese" itself encompasses three general regional groups: the Cantonese-speaking Hongkongese, the mandarin-speaking mainland Chinese and the Taiwanese. In addition to language variations, there's the precarious cross-strait situation that divides Asians on campus - Taiwan demands independence from the mainland, while China refuses to budge from their "One China" policy. Although it's subtle, an unspoken rivalry nevertheless exists between each side's sympathizers.

Demographic and political differences aside, Asians at Penn tend to stereotype themselves according to varying degrees of assimilation, ranging from the "F.O.B's" (fresh off the boat) to the "Twinkies" (yellow on the outside, white on the inside).

The first group, as the name suggests, usually constitutes newcomers to this country. Rather than attempting to integrate into American society, they take pride in strongly embracing their Asian heritage.

Several members of the Asian Student Union, for instance, acknowledged that they joined the organization for a sense of belonging and identification with those who share similar cultural backgrounds. Some said that they do not like to interact with ABCs (American-Born Chinese), because they just act too "white-washed."

While those who are less Americanized may disapprove or even despise the Twinkies, the latter also strive to distinguish themselves from the former.

Wharton sophomore Joanna Wu, who hails from Waukesha, Wis., was shocked by the sheer volume of the Asian population upon entering Penn. Wu told me that she feels especially alienated from the fobby Chinese who "speak in tongue," something that she often chuckles at.

"I made a promise to myself that I would hang out with the non-Asian crowd as much as possible," she said bluntly.

Angela Xu, a sophomore in the College and Wharton, agrees that "it's self-damaging to socialize with only Asians." How does Xu identify herself, I wondered?

"American," she said. No hesitation.

Indeed, the wide spectrum of self-segregated groups within the Asian community reveals a recurring theme of "us versus them," which simmers underneath the seemingly tranquil surface. While not as pressing and blatant as some other racial tensions characterizing Penn, this issue nonetheless confronts the roughly one -fourth Asian population on campus.

Rather than perpetuating the existing hostilities and resentments, different Asian subgroups should view their time at our diverse university as an opportunity to overcome misconceptions and stereotypes.

In order to remove the barriers, they (and yours truly) must learn to better understand each other. The collaborative effort by a plethora of Asian clubs to sponsor the Asian Pacific American Heritage Week was a good start. Students should also participate in other activities to increase their cross-cultural awareness, such as a Bubble Tea Social hosted by the Penn Taiwanese Society or getting in on the Chinese New Year festivities this February.

That is not to say that we should all begin flashing victory signs in photos or solving Sudoku puzzles in our free time. But still, it's about time we break away from the outdated prejudices and bridge the destructive chasms.

Jenny Zhan is a College and Wharton sophomore from Pleasanton, Calif. Her e-mail address is zhan@dailypennslyvanian.com. Jenny from the 'Burbs appears on Fridays.

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