As the most populated minority at Boston University, Asians make up 13 percent of the student body, almost double the percentage of the city of Boston’s Asian population, which ranges from the richest to the poorest.
Eugenio Menegon, a BU professor of Chinese history, said the term “Asian” lacks distinction because the title refers to a wide expanse of countries with vastly different cultures.
“It’s like saying ‘Europeans,'” he said. “Asia is a huge continent with so many cultures.”
Chinese Student Association Vice President Angela Chung said universities have a high Asian percentage for cultural reasons.
“In Chinese culture in particular, education is very important,” the College of Arts and Sciences junior said in an email. “While circumstances have changed, I think people still see education as the key to success, so a lot of parents put a lot of resources into their children’s education.”
The percentage of Asians at BU is almost double the 7.5 percent of Asian Bostonians, according to a May 2004 University of Massachusetts Asian-American Studies Institute study.
Of Boston’s total population, 6.4 percent lived in poverty in 2000, according to the UMass study. Of the city’s Asian population, 12 percent lived in poverty. The study cited Asians as representing both the lowest and highest socioeconomic classes in Boston.
The city’s Asian population also grew more than 10 times the total rate of Massachusetts’s population growth in the 1990s, according to the study.
Boston City Councilor-at-Large Sam Yoon, who represents all of Boston’s neighborhoods, said he recognizes the “demographic shift taking place in Boston.” Yoon became the first Asian-American to run for elected office in Boston in November 2005, according to the City of Boston website.
“Becoming a majority-minority city has profound implications on our city’s social, civic and political life,” he said in an email.
International students from Asian countries make up the majority of BU international student representation, with students from China, India and Korea topping the list for the past three years, according to the BU International Student and Scholars website.
There are a number of Asian groups in the city that strive to improve Asians’ quality of life, said Asian American Resource Workshop Director Michael Liu. AAREW, based in Chinatown, provides the city’s Asian community information about events and promotes immigration rights.