Non-Performativity in University Responses to Anti-Asian Hate During the Pandemic by Brendon M. Soltis
When colleges and universities address racism, they do so as reactionary responses to discrete racialized incidents. Further, they rarely follow through on their written commitments to racial equity and justice (Ahmed 2012). This includes how university leaders responded to rampant anti-Asian hate during the COVID-19 pandemic, exacerbated by the perpetual foreigner stereotype. This stereotype portrays Asian people as un-American and foreign-born regardless of country of origin or citizenship status (Cheryan & Monin 2005)—the stereotype increased in visibility during the pandemic as infectious disease has historically been connected to Asian bodies (Man 2020). While universities issued responses swiftly after the violent anti-Asian attack in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2021 the attention to address anti-Asian racism dissipated quickly with the high-profile Students for Fair Admission, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College (SFFA v. Harvard) Supreme Court case about race-conscious admissions. The model minority myth became the dominant narrative portraying Asians as universally successful through hard work, hiding educational disparities within the Asian diaspora and supporting an inferiority myth of other minoritized racial groups (Museus 2008). These shifting narratives during the pandemic exposes non-performativity in the commitments made from university leaders during the pandemic to support Asian communities facing racism.
Addressing Growing Concerns of Anti-Asian Racism
Due to the fear caused by the pandemic combined with anti-Asian political rhetoric, the U.S. experienced an increase of anti-Asian hate incidents from the onset of the pandemic in early 2020 (Yellow Horse et al. 2022). On March 16, 2021, a horrific and tragic shooting took place in Atlanta, Georgia. A white man targeted three spas, killing eight people, six of whom were Asian women. Accordingly, many university leaders responded through public statements condemning this violence and proclaiming solidarity with Asian communities (Soltis 2023).
Institutional rhetoric in response to the shootings in Atlanta positions Asian people as victims of racism, portraying colleges and universities as sites of past, present, and future equity and justice (Stein, 2022). While proclaiming solidarity with the targeted communities, university leaders imagined a future free from racial violence, promising action and change (Soltis 2023). University rhetoric has been shown to be non-performative (e.g., Squire et al. 2019), never living up to what was promised. In other words, university rhetoric commits to radical change with the intention of maintaining the status quo (Ahmed 2012). By doing so, colleges and universities can acknowledge and move past the discrete incidents of racial violence without addressing institutional racism in higher education (Cole & Harper 2016).
Universities (re)position Asian people according to the current political moment: the perpetual foreigner to scapegoat the pandemic and the victim of racialized violence after the Atlanta shooting. In another shift, universities soon forgot their commitments made condemning anti-Asian violence with their attention turned to race-conscious admissions.
Non-Performativity as Evidenced by SFFA v. Harvard
It has been over two years since the shooting and anti-Asian violence is still occurring throughout the U.S., although it does not receive the same national attention. Currently, Asian students are back in the spotlight as the Supreme Court recently struck down the race-conscious admissions process of both Harvard and the University of North Carolina as unconstitutional. The past two years demonstrates how malleable Asian people and communities are within higher education. Before the pandemic, the model minority myth was the common narrative about Asian college students, showcasing the academic achievement of Asian students. When the pandemic started, the narrative quickly shifted to scapegoat Asian people as the cause of global disease, resulting in horrific racialized violence. While university leaders acknowledged this racialized violence, the focus on anti-Asian hate and Asian people as the victims of racism was fleeting. The promises of a more equitable and just future, free from anti-Asian hate, violence, bias, and discrimination has been forgotten. Instead, race-conscious admissions dominate the conversation in higher education and once again, Asian communities are carrying the burden of fighting back against the model minority myth. This cycle illustrates the non-performativity of university rhetoric after the Atlanta shooting. Commitments made to support Asian communities were never actualized. This shift of non-performativity maintains structural anti-Asian racism, where the university can demonstrate a commitment to address a discrete incident of racialized violence but quickly move forward without interrogating embedded issues of racism (Squire et al. 2019). In order to actualize rhetorical commitments, universities need to materially invest in Asian communities through physical space, curricula, financial resources, staff and faculty, and sustained relationships (Choi et al. 2021).
About the Scholar
Brendon Soltis is a PhD student in the Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education program at Michigan State University. He is a research assistant with the Neighborhood Student Success Collaborative, supporting college access programs. His research focuses on multiraciality discourses in higher education, multiracial identity and categorization, and multiracial college student experiences. Before joining Michigan State University, he served as the Assistant Director for Residential Education at Tufts University. Brendon earned a BS in Computer Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and an MA in Student Development Administration from Seattle University
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