Imagine going from being the President of the Indian American Student Association with over 400 members at the super diverse University of Michigan to being President of the South Asian Law Student Association with less than 20 members at the not so diverse Washington University.
It was definitely a culture shock for me, to say the least.
Both are amazing and reputable schools, and I am so blessed to have gotten the opportunity to learn at both of these incredible institutions.
However, I will always be more of a Michigan girl. And one of the reasons why UMich became home was because of the diverse people in my community.
I was fortunate enough to meet and interact with so many different people; and learning from and with these individuals allowed me to feel welcomed and valued. On top of that, having a South Asian family on campus to fall back on was really comforting while being away from home.
I’ve heard people say not to “stick to your kind” or not to walk around with a “minority label” your entire life. But that’s honestly the reality of it. I am South Asian, I am Gujarati Indian, I am Indian American, and I am a woman who proudly carries those identities and more.
In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with craving friendships with people who share similar identities. The majority of the friends I made at Michigan were non-Gujaratis, so we all led very different lives. However, there was a level of comfort between all of us because of the similarities we did share.
Our love for Bollywood. Growing up in brown households. Overcoming obstacles or pressures of being from families of immigrants. Going to extravagant events in royal-like clothing. Navigating through South Asian communities. Common jokes. Dealing with certain stereotypes or discrimination. Craving Indian food. And so much more.
Having friends who never go through any of those things is great when you want to get away and want to be different. But once in a while, you want somebody to understand and know where you’re coming from. And that is what I found and loved at Michigan.
Fast forward to law school where I was the only South Asian in my section, one of about seven South Asians in my entire class, and one of about twenty South Asians in my entire law school.
Most days I’m fine. I’m so busy with school that I don’t really realize the lack of South Asian representation at my school.
But other days it hits me. When I get “On this Day” memories from Facebook about my high school or college events with the numerous Indians I was constantly with. Or when I’m struggling to navigate through law school and realize that I don’t have the connections and resources that other students have. Or even when I’m just sitting on my bed and realize how social I used to be, but how I just didn’t care to try as much during my first year.
I have never felt as different from everyone else as I did during my first year in law school. I’m all about trying to meet new people and learning from people who come from different backgrounds. But it was so hard to approach people when I felt so much like the odd one out.
It wasn’t just the color of my skin–but the views I held and the reasons why I was in law school. I’m more of a non-traditional law student with my career goals–and combining that with my lack of legal knowledge and South Asian background made it very difficult to find common ground with many law students.
I grew up in a very minority-heavy community and attended a university that placed a major emphasis on diversity and liberal views.
But coming to a private law school in Missouri changed my perspective on a lot of things. Don’t get me wrong, St. Louis is relatively diverse and liberal–so if I were to be in the city alone, I would not have noticed the things I did. Even our law school is slowly becoming more diverse with a lot more women and people of color.
However, I have never been in a room with a good sized group of white–sometimes privileged, sometimes racist, sometimes from families of lawyers–usually ignorant males with very strong opinions.
The ones who raise their hand every single day in every single class. The ones who tend to not substantially contribute, but who just like to hear the sound of their own voices.
Usually, when these individuals speak, it’s just annoying noise that you can easily block out. But sometimes, there are very insensitive or racist comments that are uttered from their mouths.
At times, they are just unaware of the impact their words are making on other students. So if someone accidentally says something on the spot during a cold call–I completely understand. None of us are perfect and we tend to say things during cold calls that we wouldn’t necessarily say if we had time to fully organize our thoughts.
However, when students actively raise their hands to say the same ignorant things over and over again…or when the same students make the same types of inconsiderate comments again and again without trying to learn from their classmate’s concerns—other students will get irritated.
There are very privileged individuals in law school who may not understand the obstacles and circumstances their peers have had to navigate through their entire lives. They may not comprehend the daily racism or discrimination that minority law students face because of the identities they were born into. They may never appreciate the struggles their friends continue to struggle with on a daily basis.
That’s why it’s important to have peers who see you. Who understand you. And who support you.
I completely agree with not using your South Asian identity to limit yourself or your options. And I definitely don’t think we only need to surround ourselves with people like us.
But we need to be aware of what is happening around us. And that is when a lot of minority students are there for one another when other peers may not be.
I can’t speak for all South Asians, and I can’t speak for all Indians–but generally as a group, Hindu Indian Americans are relatively privileged in many aspects of life. However, we all come with our own stories and come from our unique backgrounds. Regardless of whether we fall victim to them or not–especially because we have witnessed our friends’, families’ and personal struggles–we cannot just act like certain problems in the system don’t exist.
Rather than blindly following a system that is dominated by white conservative males–we need to empower one another to ensure that we change the makeup of our field with minority representation because it is the 21st century.
Rather than ignoring the fact that students (and even professors) tend to make insensitive comments in and outside of the classroom–we need to call them out on how they are affecting those around them and how they are devaluing the lives of people who continue to struggle in ways they can only imagine.
Rather than accepting the fact that many students come from families or communities of lawyers and are able to gain access to the help and resources they need to succeed–we need to stand by and lift each other up to make sure we have access to those same opportunities.
I’m pretty tired of the jokes about how the reason why there aren’t South Asians in law schools is that all South Asians are just off becoming doctors and lawyers.
That mindset is what is preventing many South Asians from pursuing their dreams in non-traditional careers. And it’s far from true.
It’s true that there are more South Asians in STEM and business than in law (which is another reason why they may not see the hardships and differences that South Asians in non-traditional, non-South Asian dominated fields go through. If you’re always surrounded by people who look or think like you, it becomes hard to understand why others crave some of that similarity in their own fields!).
But there is an increase in the amount of South Asian (and minority in general) representation in the legal field, and we have students spread across the 200+ law schools in the U.S. They may be lacking at my school, but they may be plentiful at the school you attend.
- Awareness: We as South Asians in Law need to help our community members understand the importance of the legal field and allow them to witness the diverse opportunities that exist. From my personal experience, I’ve realized that some people from India are under the impression that law is not a reputable career because it is not seen that way where they’re from. SOO many people in India automatically ask me “Why law and not medicine?!”
It’s irritating, but we need to understand that they were not born and raised here. The legal field is complex, and you don’t need to get into full detail about what you’re planning on doing; but it’s important to help these family members see that this is a promising career that pays well and leaves a meaningful impact on others. Help them see that there’s so much more to our passions than what lawyer jokes boil us down to. - Recruitment: Another improvement needs to be made from within the law schools themselves. One of the biggest reasons I chose the school I did is because my parents and I were paired with two South Asian students for lunch during our visit to the campus. This is the first law school were we 1) saw Indians at all and 2) heard students telling us about the efforts they’re making with the admissions office to increase South Asian representation and recruitment at the school.
My parents and I felt so reassured that I would have older students I would automatically feel comfortable enough to turn to during this new journey. At the same time, this pushed me to strive towards leadership positions, look into outreach opportunities and become an Admissions Ambassador myself so that a prospective student can find that same level of comfort in the future. - Leadership: This comfort translates to classroom settings as well. My absolute favorite professor this semester was an Asian American woman. She was voted Faculty Member of the Year and is pretty much everyone’s favorite because she teaches in a way that makes law school understandable—and even fun!
Looking to the front of the classroom at a professor who comes from a similar background as me makes me proud and inspired to work even more passionately–towards achieving my own goals but also towards ensuring there are more South Asian women represented in higher roles–as partners, professors and leaders.
Of course you should seek the guidance of mentors from all walks of life. But growing up by looking up to people who look like you, doing the things you want to achieve, leaves a different kind of psychological impact.
Moments like this, joining South Asian organizations, attending conferences such as NASALSA (https://www.nasalsa.org/), going to happy hours or other networking events, and reaching out to current students or professionals allows minorities pursuing non-traditional fields realize that they are able to follow their dreams in their communities. This gives them the motivation and support they need to empower themselves and others along the way!
