The 1990s: "The Asian Invasion" · "Cherry Blossoms Among Magnolias?": A History of the Asian American Experience at Duke

"One interesting aspect of this scene [Duke in the early 90s] is that the racial spectrum has become more complex over the past decade. Whereas the black-white dimension was the only significant focus of race relations at Duke (and throughout the country) thirty years ago, there are now at least two more minorities which share the scene.

Substantial numbers of Asian-American and Latino-American students are beginning to make their voices heard. They appear to be going through the same kinds of organizational steps charted earlier by African Americans, though so far with considerably less turmoil. Perhaps, from here on, the relationship between the several minority racial groups - black, yellow, Indian, etc. - will be as important important as their individual and possibly collective interaction with the decreasing white majority."^[1]

-Jack J. Preiss, Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Duke from 1959-1988

Undergraduate Asian American Enrollment from 1972-2014

Undergraduate Asian/Pacific Islander American Enrollment at Duke from 1972-2014^[3]

Note: Data from the 70s gathered from statistics relating to "Orientals" at Duke, and graph does not include international students of Asian descent.

Starting from the late 1980s, the small stream of Asian students enrolling at Duke turned into a torrent. As Duke increased its international reputation as an academic powerhouse and improved its outreach, more students of Asian descent began to see Duke as a viable college option. Coupled together with the skyrocketing growth in the United States' Asian American population (going from 3.26 million in 1980 to nearly 7 million in 1990),^[2] this resulted in Asian Americans enrolling in ever growing numbers at what had once been a regional university dominated by Caucasian students from the Mid-Atlantic region.

In 1993, Asian Americans replaced African American students as the most dominant minority in the undergraduate colleges in terms of overall numbers.^[3] Asian American political and cultural life on campus started to develop at Duke, and a greater sense of consciousness of what it means to be an Asian American at Duke became keener. Asian cultural/political groups on campus like Diya (the South Asian student association) and the Asian Student Association (ASA) began to negotiate with the administration on pressing issues concerning Asian students at Duke.

The East Coast Asian Student Union (ECASU) was held at Duke in 1995; the first time ever that the conference was held south of Washington D.C.^[4]

Groups like the ASA started to meet with administrators to discuss issues around Duke's Asian community, as evidenced by this 1995 memorandum from ASA sent to President Keohane.^[5]

Besides the Asian Student Association, more ethnically specific organizations like Diya (the South Asian student association) and the Korean Student Association became active.^[6]

As part of an ongoing project to increase Asian American awareness on campus, the Asian Student Association hosted a series of political/cultural events in the early 2000s.^[7]

Duke University Office of the University Vice President & Vice Provost, Legacy, 1963-1993: Thirty Years of African American Students at Duke University (Durham: Duke University, 1995), 20.
Yu Xie, Table 1: Asian Americans Population by Major Ethnicity: 1980, 1990, and 2000 Censuses, http://www-personal.umich.edu/~yuxie/Research/brief/Tables.pdf.
Duke University Office for Instituional Equity, Head Enrollment as Reported To IPEDS (United States Department Department of Education), (2014), distributed by Office for Institutional Equity.
Newspaper Article, “Asian Americans Gather to Examine Diverse Roots,” [February 20, 1995], Feb. 1995-May 1995, The Chronicle Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
Memorandum, “Asian Student Association Memorandum,” [1995], Box 1, Asian Student Association Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
Report, “South Asian American Community Initiatives,” [2002], Box 2, Asian Student Association Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.
Flyer, “Voices: Duke’s Asian Pacific American Fall Political Series,” [ca. 2000], Box 2, Asian Student Association Records, Duke University Archives, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.