I logged into Facebook the other day and, to my displeasure, discovered a huge growth in an “Iowa State University Memes” page. In an oversimplified description, memes are classes of pictures with overlaying text that ‘humorously’ enhance the picture. While looking through the pictures, rage boiled inside me. One meme features a female Asian teacher with text over it that reads “Herro crass, wercome to carcurus” on at the top and “F–k it, I’m screwed” along the bottom. No, I am here not to write about this tasteless misuse of Internet memes but about a commonly held attitude among Iowa State students.

I have heard countless students complain, “These Asian professors are the WORST teachers.” Now, think about how many times you have heard students complaining about a physics professor’s accent, or grumbling about “the Asians” taking over the volleyball and basketball courts, or mocking the way Asian students always sit together in the dining center. Now, think about all the times anyone has stood in defense for our international students in light of these statements.

Why is this attitude so widely acceptable in Iowa State’s culture? Why are we allowed to paint Iowa State as “us” and “the Asians”? Or “us” and “the foreign students”? Why is it so acceptable to paint our international student and faculty body as something bad?

It is so incredibly frustrating to see our native born students so easily dismiss a large part of their campus as strange and inaccessible. Maybe a math professor who travelled far away from their home and received a Ph.D. in mathematics is not thrilled to be teaching your math 150. Maybe our international students find it easier to make friends who also speak their foreign tongue. Maybe mastering a new language is really hard.

I am writing this because a lot of international students and faculty do not stand up to this ridicule. I am writing this because 30 years a go, my dad was “one of those Asians,” just a poor Vietnamese guy trying to make his life better. I am writing this because you should try to understand these people, not just make fun of them.