Third in a series of features examining Harvard's minority communities

Angelica D. Pizzarro '94 was born in the Philippines and came to America at the age of 10. She grew up in California, in "a barrio with a lot of Filipinos," and she was one of relatively few in her high school to go to college.

At Harvard, she has encountered widespread ignorance about her ethnic group, which will soon be the largest Asian-American population in the U.S.

"I have to say, 'No, I'm not Chinese, I'm not Vietnamese, I'm not Hispanic. No, I don't eat with chopsticks,'" she says. And she has to explain that the "model minority" stereotype of Asian-Americans does not hold true for the neighborhood she comes from.

The relative ignorance of Asian-American cultures that Pizzarro has encountered and the belief that Asian-Americans are a "model minority" are widespread, Asian-American students say.

Many people tend to view the huge variety of Asian cultures as "monolithic," they say, and miss the diversity of experience and history the term "Asian-American" encompasses.

"People who don't know much about it tend to assume they [Asian cultures] are very similar," says Dat T. Lu '95, president of the Harvard Vietnamese Association.

Different groups have "different cultures, different languages, different emigration patterns, different economic patterns," says Selene S. Ko '93, president of the Taiwanese Cultural Society, and no generalization can cover all of the groups.

Asian-American students also say they have seen widespread acceptance of the "model minority" stereotype among Harvard undergraduates.

People think that "Asian-Americans are somehow all educated, all fairly wealthy, don't cause trouble," says Mark H. Kim '94, co-president of the Asian-American Association (AAA). "Most Asian-Americans don't fit thatmodel minority mold," Kim says.

Some students said they see Asian-Americansthemselves perpetuating the stereotype.

"A lot of Asians themselves tend to assume thatAsians are pretty well-off," says Jim W. Cheung'95.

In addition, Asian-American students say theyoften encounter the "pre-med, scienceconcentrator" stereotype.

Amy E. Kadomatsu '94 recalls that in herexpository writing section, which contained manyAsian-American students, the teacher said, "Mostof you, being Asian, are science majors, notliterature majors."

"Things like that really shock you," saysKadomatsu.

Although many students speak strongly againstthe "pre-med myth," some said it is not entirelyfictitious.