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<p>Diversity needs may differ depending on an individual’s background, experience, and stage of development.</p>
<p>My childhood neighborhood was mostly working class Hispanic with some African-Americans and White ethnic groups(i.e. Irish, Greek). In my elementary school, I was one of only 2 Asian-American kids in the entire school dominated mostly by Hispanic students. </p>
<p>My non-neighborhood public junior high school had more Asian/Asian-Americans, but we were still a tiny minority, especially in the regular classes. </p>
<p>When I started at Stuy, it was just over half Asian/Asian-American. For someone who spent most of his life as “the visible other”, it was finally great to be in an environment where my status as a “visible minority” was no longer a factor. </p>
<p>One high school buddy joked quite correctly “Unlike many NYC area schools, no one would be dumb enough to yell anti-Chinese/Asian racial epithets at Stuy. If they are dumb enough to do that, at least half the school will come down on him hard and it’ll be well-deserved.”</p>