What does it mean to be an Asian in a pandemic?: Exploring experiences of racism and discrimination among Asian international students in the united states during covid-19
Date:
Koo, K, Kim, Y., Lee, Y., & Rodriquez, S. (2021, April)
By interviewing 15 Asian international students in the United States, this phenomenological qualitative study explored students’ experiences on racism and discrimination during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that Asian international graduate students directly and indirectly experienced racism and discrimination in both in-person situations and virtual settings during COVID-19. Six main themes emerged from our race-related conversations: 1) Asians are targets and victims of racism during COVID-19; 2) vicarious experiences with racism are pervasive; 3) anti-Asian incidents are more severe off-campus than on-campus; 4) racism that Asians experience is different from that experienced by other racial groups; 5) self-quarantine was a remedy to avoid racism; 6) laws and policies themselves discriminate against ethnic minorities.