Their side of the story

Berkeley Chinese Scholars confront accusations of discrimination

By Megan Sego
From the March 2007 Print Edition

            The Berkeley Chinese Scholars and Students Association was denied funding from the Graduate Assembly after being accused of racial discrimination at its October Moon Festival. Funding adviser Stefanie Stevens was “made to feel unwelcome” when she attended the traditional festival celebrating autumn, and, as a result, members of the BCSSA are now required to undergo diversity training before they can be reimbursed for holding their event.

            This scenario described in a December 8 Daily Californian article is very straightforward: accusation, confession, and consequence, end of story. This, however, is where outside observers may be missing part of the picture. There is more to this story than the cursory quotes from those involved, and this absence may say something about real attitudes toward racial discrimination at UC Berkeley.

The account of the Daily Cal describes Stevens, who is black, attending the Moon Festival in Dwinelle with her two children. Claiming she was “not acknowledged” by ticket-takers and met with attitude by students working the event was only part of the complaint, however, as the entire event was conducted in Chinese with no subtitles. Stevens’ reaction quoted by the Daily Cal was, “this is a place of education, not a place where you need to force acknowledgement.”

The BCSSA is a non-profit, non-political student group registered with the ASUC with more than 800 members, and still growing. Its mission is to lead as an organization “dedicated to the goal of promoting social, intellectual, and cultural activities for Chinese students and scholars at UC Berkeley as well as other interested members in the Berkeley community.”

Many of the BCSSA’s members are graduate students who are in Berkeley on F-1 student visas, having completed their undergraduate work in China. The October Moon Festival may be seen as a way for these students to feel a semblance of normality, despite their other difficulties.

“Many privileges, which students from other regions of the world take for granted, are things we dream about,” said BCSSA President Peng Li. One of those “privileges” is the ability to return home to visit their families.

“I have heard of students going back to mainland China to visit their families, been detained or rejected from re-entering the U.S, and not able to finish their graduate program,” Li said.  “By now, I’m so used to hearing friends from mainland China telling me they haven’t visited their home for seven, eight, nine years.”

Adding to this burden is the need to assimilate to Western culture, language, and academic communities, which presents challenges that most students never think twice about.

The language barrier is a serious challenge for many Asian students, so when the BCSSA decided to put on the traditional festival, they wanted to create an air of “homecoming” for the graduate students, to allow them to be comfortable with members of their own culture without the pressures of Berkeley’s academic and social expectations. Many students have faced prejudices due to their lack of English skills.

Reacting to the article, Li, BCSSA Vice President Jane Qi, and other members of their club’s administration were disappointed and somewhat disturbed, but not disheartened. In response, they reaffirm, “We are all trying to build a bridge that could connect both sides of us with a better understanding, and the efforts have been rewarded with some positive results.” Referring to the Daily Cal article, Li said, “I had never thought of the outcome as [being] ‘shot down’ before I read this article, and I believe my fellows who see those ‘strong’ words will also get their feelings hurt.”

Despite what looks like unfair treatment, BCSSA officers are positive that continued efforts to build cultural understanding will help avoid conflict over their events. Their diversity training was scheduled for February 8, and the officials said beforehand that they hoped it would be a learning experience for them, especially “about what ‘diversity’ means to American people.” Their attitudes are not of anger and resentment, but of a sincere desire to conform to diversity standards. Unlike many students, the BCSSA feels compelled to present itself positively; as its committee said, “we represent not only single persons, but also our country.”

At press time, BCSSA officers had not responded to requests for comment on their experiences at the training.

In an academic atmosphere, education extends past the classroom to all other areas of social and cultural life. In an institution as celebrated for its diversity as UC Berkeley, Stevens’ initial complaints can seem hypocritical. It is unclear whether a Chinese student feeling excluded from an African-American cultural event would have resulted in such stern condemnation. Education cannot be forced, but “forced acknowledgement” is exactly what the Graduate Assembly has achieved, by inconveniencing those who attempt to celebrate diverse cultures.

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