Writer’s note: This post was originally published on Medium on July 23, 2019.
I heard a grad school instructor make this comment, and I looked up from my notes. Somewhere between dumbfounded and disgusted, I looked around the room for Asian students. There were none. That’s when I realized why this instructor felt super comfortable making that comment. I mean, who else would make a fuss about telling an Asian student to go back to her country? Even that student wasn’t there to defend herself.