South Asian students have spoken out against what they consider to be a lack of representation in the Office of AHANA Programs. Despite the discrimination they feel they have endured, particularly in light of the events of Sept. 11, they believe that the Office of AHANA student programs has remained focused on providing support mainly for black, Hispanic and Asian students.
Two Boston College undergrads coined the term AHANA in 1979 in order to demonstrate solidarity among different ethnic groups on campus. At that time, no South-Asian students attended BC. Technically, these ethnic groups fit under the umbrella of "Asian," but students feel there is a natural tendency for that term to be associated only with Japan and China, not Pakistan and India.
Donald Brown, head of the Office of AHANA Student Programs, has told these students that he plans to make every effort he can to help them. He emphasized this at a forum at BC on racism last week titled "Under Your Skin," during which he said, "If you feel you are being discriminated against, by all means, come speak to us. Our office won't turn away any student."
He also told students that the term "AHANA" was not intended to exclude any groups, but to show solidarity. "What one needs to bear in mind is that when the AHANA acronym was coined, there simply were no Arab-Americans to be represented in BC's student body. The term was based on the ethnic groups that made up BC's student body at the time."
Prabhdeep Singh, A&S '06, has been particularly vocal in this debate. He met last month with Vice President of Student Affairs Cheryl Presley, along with Wajiha Ahmed, A&S '06, to discuss the issue further, and to clarify who exactly is included under the AHANA label. "I think the University really needs to clarify who is represented by the term AHANA," said Ahmed, who felt that Brown's comments at the "Under Our Skin" event did not completely align with the views presented by Presley in their meeting.
Singh said he feels that, whether the AHANA acronym is altered or not, there needs to be more of an effort by the AHANA Office to reach out to students of Middle Eastern descent. "If we don't feel we are included, if we don't feel we are welcomed, we are not going to want to participate at all," he said.
Ahmed said some friends have noticed a tendency for some events to focus on the black community. "At one award ceremony, there was an entire video focusing on African-American students. If that is a BSF [Black Student Forum] event, that's fine but this was an event for the entire AHANA community," she said.
Ahmed said she has a deep respect for the adversity other ethnic groups have overcome and does not want her actions to in any way detract from their struggles. "I have a deep respect for what other ethnic groups have gone through, so I don't want this to look like we taking away from that. What we want is solidarity, because there is an institutional white supremacy in place in this country."
Blame for miscommunication over the AHANA acronym does not entirely fall on the administrators, said Ahmed, who feels that too many South Asian students have become apathetic. "I have been to the Thea Bowman House, but how many other people have? If you are a brown person in this country, you can't afford to be apathetic."
Singh also pointed out that, of the faculty and administration currently working in the AHANA Office, no one is of Middle Eastern descent, he thinks that this is also making Arab-American and Indian-American students feel unwelcome.
Students have taken issue with the argument that Middle Eastern students can be considered Asian. "If we're not part of the acronym, aren't we considered a minority, and isn't this what the whole issue was about in the first place? AHANA was founded to stop students from feeling like minorities," he said.
"If I'm not included in the AHANA acronym, that means I am a white student, and that's not the case. My experience has not been that of a white student," said Ahmed.
Singh said he felt reassured by the willingness of administrators to dialogue with Middle Eastern students. "The first thing we need to do is make people and students more aware of the situation. Then, a real change can be made," he said.
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