Being the Minorty at an HBCU

Amina Pasha is a sophomore at North Carolina Agricultural & Technological State University from Seattle, Washington. She is a Business Management major who lives on campus. Pasha is part of the campus organization West Coast Aggies. She eats at the cafeteria, goes to some football games and the occasional house party. Amina Pasha is an Aggie; she is Aggie born, Aggie bred, and when she dies she’ll be Aggie dead, just like any other student that goes to A&T. On paper, Pasha sounds no different from the traditional Aggie. To the eye, Pasha’s bi-racial roots make her stand out on A&T’s predominantly black campus.

Pasha is one of 825 non-black undergrad students who enrolled at A&T in 2008. A&T is a HBCU, Historically Black College or University.

In the US, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, and Indians are the minority races, once one steps foot on an HBCU campus Whites join that list and blacks become the majority race. In recent decades there has been an increase in the amount of minority students enrolling at HBCU’s, that is the amount of Hispanics, Whites, Indians, Asians, and “others”. The increase in numbers leads some to wonder what makes HBCU’s appealing to non-black students.

Amina Pasha’s case is an interesting one. Pasha looks Asian, or even White to some people, but she is actually Asian and Black. “My mother is Asian and my father is Black”, Pasha explains.
When it came time for Pasha to decide what college to go to, she knew she wanted to go to an HBCU, “My high school was predominantly Black and Asian, so I was used to being around people of color. I thought going to a Predominantly White Institution (PWI) would be too much of a culture shock. I thought going to an HBCU would be a good experience, and my dad suggested A&T because at the time he was doing business with the school’s Engineering Department. I also liked the size of A&T’s campus as well as the school’s class sizes”
Pasha’s expectations of A&T were few, “I know I don’t look black so I knew some people may look at me like ‘Why is she here?’ at first but I knew I would get over it. I also expected to see more of a mixed student body.”

Pasha says A&T turned out to be a completely different world than where she’s from, but most of the differences are regional not racial. “I’m used to people from the west coast. We talk different, dress different, and listen to different type of rap music.”

Pasha says that she doesn’t feel the reaction from her fellow Aggies was a negative one. “Random people would come up to me and ask me ‘What are you?’ or ‘What are you mixed with?’ as soon as they met me. I didn’t find that offensive though because I’d rather someone ask me than just stare at me and speculate.”

Jasmine Chaves, another minortiy student at A&T, also says she is bombarded with the same "what are you" questions. Chaves likes to nonchalantly respond, "a girl", because while being Hispanic is a piece of her, it is not the most important one.

The adjustment hasn't been easy for all minority students here at A&T. Antonio Gonzalas has a somewhat different take on his A&T expereince. "It has been hard to meet new people. It’s hard because I feel sometimes a little bit segregated, everybody looks at me a little different because I’m a different guy from a different place and it’s so weird to find somebody that gets close to you and starts talking to you. It’s unbelievable that I have more friends at UNCG than at A&T and I feel that people over there have been more embracive, more open-minded but I don’t know why. I have met amazing people here but it has been harder to meet people at A&T than at UNCG. Sometimes people just stare at me but they don’t talk so it’s hard. So far this school has been great, great professors, but basically the same.”

Most of Pasha’s friends are black, “I didn’t come to A&T to make friends with other Asians that kind of defeats the purpose.”

When it comes to being part of a minority race here at A&T Pasha says this, “Your experience here depends on your attitude. You can’t walk around always being race conscious. Just enjoy your experience and don’t let your race affect it.”