Harvard University sophomore Justin Fong’s article, “The Invasian,” about the “self-segregation” of Asians at the University has been met with both criticism and praise since it was published in last Thursday’s Harvard Crimson.
Fong said the article was highly misunderstood and was intended to give not only Asians but also other minorities and groups, including “people from Long Island, red-heads, soccer players and any other group that hides behind walls due to their origin and identity, the sense that people are curious about what is behind those walls.”
The article has provoked everything from protests by minority groups at Harvard to propositions for an on-camera interview by ABC News and interviews from reporters all around the country.
The staff feature in Fifteen Minutes, the weekend and more “edgy” edition of Harvard’s daily newspaper has been called “irresponsible journalism” and a product of a “lack of understanding” by Asians and other minority groups at Harvard.
Fong said he knew his article might be considered “blatantly over-offensive” yet was surprised by the amount of attention his article received. He confessed that he would have spent time “proportional to the number of people it would reach” if he had known it would become more than a wake-up call for people at his school.
What he intended to be an exercise in “sociological freedom” has become a national issue of free press and first amendment rights, he said.
Fong said “knew it would provoke discussion and intrigue,” among other reactions, and said many people can at least partially identify with what he wrote and some even thank him for waking them up to negative factors of self-segregation. He said he feels his critics were upset to be “whipped out of their comfort zones” since self-segregation hasn’t been noticed by many people.
“I am very confident with my American identity,” Fong said, adding that his own article does not offend him. “This is not about hate, racism, shock-humor or anything like that. I meant it to be light-hearted; the article may even be called a parody. I want to use my possible notoriety to lead to positive things.”
While some Boston University students said the article was inappropriate, many said they thought it was a good example of satire.
A smirk crept across the lips of College of Arts and Sciences freshman Deeptej Singh as he read the article.
“All of these stereotypes are unfounded and based in ignorance,” said Singh, who characterized the article as “blatantly stupid.”
Joe Stapleton, a junior in the College of Communication, smiled for a different reason.
“I’m sure a lot of people think it’s racist — I think it’s funny. But I’m not Asian. … People should be able to write whatever they want and not be classified as racist,” Stapleton said.
Ryan Jones, a CAS freshman, said he was “speechless.”
“I thought people at Harvard were more intelligent than that,” Jones said.
Mehar Sethi, a COM freshman, said he felt Fong successfully lampooned Asian stereotypes.
“I think it’s funny. … Since he’s Asian, he gets to say it,” Sethi said.
Sethi said he could understand how Asian students could become frustrated with racial stereotypes, and said membership in a minority comes with a certain amount of self-loathing.
Dafna Farber, a CAS freshman, called the article “bold but true.”
Anish Vori, a School of Engineering sophomore, fell to the ground in laughter when he read the article.
“This is a really good article, despite the beginning,” which Vori said was designed to provoke the reader more than the rest of the article.
Vori said the article was a humorous satire of the stereotypes Asians often find themselves cast in.
Vanny Chinn, a junior in SMG, said she thinks rejection from the Asian community might have provoked Fong to write the article.
Asian-American groups at Harvard are planning to work on forming a coalition of the different ethnic groups at Harvard, as well as instituting teach-ins and other pro-active events to combat racism and ignorance within the University.
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