South Asian student groups on campus are hosting a Town Hall on September 22nd at Noon EST. This is meant to be an open space for South Asian students and faculty to discuss the representation and organization of their identities through existing groups at Brown. In particular, we hope to better understand student experiences with domination of spaces, (mis)representation, exclusion, and issues of belonging within and between existing South Asian student groups.
The context for this discussion is the history of exclusion of minorities within South Asian spaces as well as the domination of South Asian identities at Brown by Indians, specifically those of certain religious, caste, and other identities. This has been underscored by many of the practices and spaces historically taken by the South Asian Students’ Association (SASA). In reference to this history, the current SASA E-Board in particular wants to engage in this discussion to better understand experiences with representation within the South Asian community.
This forum will not just discuss these issues. We encourage participants to share their perspectives and recommendations for how South Asian groups should be structured and organized. Moving forward, groups will use these points to make concrete decisions about structuring South Asian groups on campus. Please share your experiences and ideas on this form. This form is to hear your thoughts, concerns, and questions about South Asian groups at Brown so that we can structure this town hall to meet the needs of our community.
You do not have to attend the Town Hall to fill out the form and all responses will be anonymous. The zoom link is accessible only to the Brown community and available here.
