Despite being racialized as a homogenous cultural and racial group in the United States, Asian Americans represent one of the most diverse communities in higher education. As a designation, the term Asian American is a racialized construction that reflects a wide range of ethnicities and nationalities. In the United States, those considered Asian Americans include East Asians such as Chinese, Korean, and Japanese; South Asians such as Pakistanis, Indians, and Sri Lankans; Pacific Islanders such as Native Hawaiians, Guamanians, and Samoans; and Southeast Asians such as Vietnamese, Lao, and Cambodians. In the U.S. Census, at one time, Asian Americans included Pacific Islanders but now, these are separate Census groups.

Asian Americans are multiracial with varying experiences of discrimination related to how they appear physically as opposed ...