Asian students' art exhibit 'outs' racial microaggressions.on campus

RACIAL MICROAGGRESSIONS, like those never-ending little drops of water that by themselves are harmless, but after a while, those hundreds of drops become thousands, millions, billions and eventually, through erosion, can split a granite rock or scar a mountainside. The racially-based insults - many uttered without mean intent - cuts into a person's psyche and through wear and tear, could damage one's self-image, or self esteem, or, in the worst case, build up a well of hatred that eventually explodes into violence.

Last month, the Asian student association at Brandeis University set up an art exhibit in a public space on campus to stir up a conversation about race.

The Asian American Students Association also sent a lengthy email to the general Brandeis student population saying that the “burden” of “microaggressions” “can be overwhelming and frustrating.”

If you haven't heard the phrase before, "racial micro aggressions" is the current buzz phrase discussed  around college campuses. 

Brandeis University has a student population of just under 6,000. About thirteen percent of the students are Asian or Asian American. It costs over $60 thousand to attend the exclusive school located in Waltham, Massachusetts.

“Now, you see how these words, when visually placed together on the Rabb steps, become impossible to ignore,” stated an email from the group’s president, Esther Lee. “These papers are invasive of a space that you often inhabit and must pass through; similar to how these remarks invade our communities and the space we share as a whole: Brandeis. The experience is often alarming, alienating, and ultimately harmful. To us, it is unavoidable.”

“We want to reinforce that this installation is a commentary on how these insults build up together to create a campus environment that does not welcome Asian students,” continued the email, which was sent to the student body of the prestigious private research institution.

Ironically, the display had its own unintentional consequence when other Asian students felt that the artwork was, itself, a form of a micro aggression which triggered a followup email from the student group. 

"We would like to acknowledge and apologize to the Asian students on campus who were triggered or hurt by the content of the microaggressions in our installation. We understand and empathize with the effects that this installation could have without the context of the explanation provided on our Tumblr. As a response to student concerns, we installed a condensed physical explanation of our mission statement today at the Rabb steps. We want to reinforce that this installation is a commentary on how these insults build up together to create a campus environment that does not welcome Asian students.

"As Asian students, we had no intention of mocking or harming our own community and ourselves. We acknowledge the disconnect between intention and effect. The purpose of this project was to call out members of our community who believe it is acceptable to say these comments to us, without understanding that we go through life at Brandeis hearing these negative and alienating phrases."

Are the Asian students at Brandeis just "overly sensitive" to those innocent-sounding comments? Imagine being subject to racist comments - intentional or not - day after day, sometimes several times a day. Sometimes you can shrug them off. Sometimes you try to laugh them off. But they stay with you ... deep inside ... eating away at you. The remarks insult and demean, eventually wearing you down, tearing you apart. Day after day, after day, after day ... and so on. People of color don't have to imagine.