As a college student thriving to learn and grow, there have been a number of recent events that affected me on a personal level. Specifically, issues touching on the "diversity" of our home, the "melting pot." For example, in 2008, the U.S. elected an African-American president to take office for two consecutive terms, but as the next election approaches, one of the nation's leading candidates proposes the establishment of a wall to segregate Hispanics. Some cities are changing national holidays to rightfully celebrate the history of America, but Halloween still invites cultures to be used as costumes.

Regarding today's society, much of the nation has become at least familiar with the outrage experienced by African-Americans in the nation, sparked by a number of police brutalities, accused murders by police officers, as well as other events. Most of us should be familiar with Trump's ridiculous desire to essentially rid America of the Hispanic population. Well, what about Asians in the U.S.? To give you a little more perspective on how diversity is doing in the U.S., here are a few things I've come to notice as an Asian-American student:

Overqualified, but Overlooked

Asian-Americans have been described as "model minorities" by many, due to a number of reasons.

Here are a couple of facts to consider:

∙ Data collected over ACT shows that 57% of Asian-American test-takers met at least three of the test's benchmarks, the highest performing group among Asian, African-American, American Indian, Hispanic, Pacific Islander, and white test-takers.

∙ In contrast to 28% of the general population, about 49% of Asian-Americans have a bachelor's degree.

But...

∙ Statistics show the number of Asian college bound students accepted by Ivy League schools to be inversely related to their improved performance. Between 1992 and 2011, the college-age Asian-American population nearly doubled while the white college-age population remained roughly the same. Although the Asian youth generally tends to retain higher expectations from their parents, it seems that colleges are raising their expectations as well. Data on admissions of Ivy Leagues concludes that Asian-Americans need 140 SAT points (out of the total 1,600) more than white students to be accepted into public universities.

∙ In 2012, of the largest 500 U.S. corporations, only 114 companies have Asian and Pacific Islander directors on their boards. Of the 5,524 board seats available, Asians and Pacific Islanders held a mere 144, or 2.6%, of board seats. To put this data into perspective, let's look at the demographics of the American workforce as a whole. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, white workers made up 80% of the labor force, African-American workers made up 12%, Asian-American workers made up 5%, American Indian and Alaska natives made up 1%, and Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders made up less than 1% in 2012. The remaining 1% comprised of people of at least two races. That totals 6% of the U.S. workforce consisting of Asian and Pacific Islanders.

I'm not saying that Asian-Americans are, in any way, smarter or superior, but if I'm reading the data is correctly, why is the number of Asian-American students being accepted into Ivy Leagues declining? If higher expectations are set for Asian-Americans' test scores, shouldn't their high performance indicate that they should be considered for authoritative positions, such as board seats, more frequently?

Mocked, and Mad

When you mock the stereotypical speech patterns--the occasional confusion of "r" and "l" sounds, the typical conversations heard in nail salons, or what you may think my parents say to me about my grades--you're not offending me. As an American-born Asian, I speak fluent English. You know who doesn't? My parents. Neither do my grandparents. Or my aunts and uncles. When you think you're being harmlessly funny, you're actually mocking the people who raised me. You know how sometimes a "your mom" joke is actually a sneak-diss? Same thing.

So, it's irritating enough when non-Asians attempt stereotypical Asian accents, or when non-Asians assume an Asian person's ethnicity (this guy once tried to holler at me from across a parking lot and when I ignored him, he yelled "kon'nichiwa," a Japanese greeting, but I'm Vietnamese), but neither are the types of ridicule that we are here to discuss.

What if a social issue that objectifies women was written as a comedy? How funny could a show be when the focus is on an underground business involving women being traded for money? What if that issue is particularly prevalent in the continent of your nationality?

Well, it nearly happened. NBC recently announced that it would begin development of a comedy about a Filipina mail-order bride.

Of the 2.5 million victims of human trafficking reported by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 1.4 million are in the Asia-Pacific region.

The Asian community has criticized the entertainment industry for lack of Asian representation, sometimes going so far as to cast white actors for roles that should be played by Asian actors. Sure, it makes sense to maintain a majority white cast if the setting or theme of a production requires it, but suddenly the demand for Asian entertainers appears when Hollywood wants to mock serious issues in their home or ancestral countries?

Tough luck, NBC, you messed with the wrong crowd.

Confused, and Quite Frankly, Fed Up

Positive discrimination is "the act of giving advantage to those groups in society that are often treated unfairly because of their race, sex, etc." That sounds like a good thing, right?

Wrong.

Have you ever been told that you were given something simply because of a personal demographic? Ladies, you must have heard "oh, he only did that for you because you're a girl and you're hot" before.

Well, it gets even worse when race is the assumption. "You're only well-liked because you're Asian and some people just have 'a thing' for Asians." It's one thing to assume one's sex has an effect on the opposite sex's behavior, but to imply that a culture fetishism causes discrimination, even positive discrimination, is confusing. Even in situations where that may be true, what are you to do about it?

We've all heard of authors publishing their work with pseudonyms for the sake of anonymity, but to what extent is that acceptable? Is it okay to create a fictitious racial identity? What about the time a white poet used a Chinese pen name?

As an American born minority, the line between harmless jokes and offensive statements becomes seemingly thin as I get older. What does it mean for your behavior to be remarked as "Asian" or for a clothing accessory to "look Asian"? Those don't sound like insults but they don't quite seem to be compliments, do they? Now, let's consider the obvious ones, the stereotypes about "all Asians looking alike," poor driving, Asians' physical attributes, the assumption that they eat common household pets, and more.

Why is it okay for a white poet to fake his racial identity for the benefit of seeming "different" but not experience its cultural ambiguities?

You can't take the merit without doing the work.

You can't pretend to be what you aren't even familiar with.

You can't have the originality without facing the stereotypes that created it.

You can't experience the diversity without experiencing the frequent feeling of alienation.