I. I got accepted into a two-year program in Teacher Education. It was a very challenging program. A lot of my classmates had graduated from Ivy League colleges, so I was in a program with some very bright people. I also had an excellent teacher. He was a product of an Ivy League education, but he wanted to create a program that would produce independent and critical thinkers. Educators that would reform the public school system. I admired him very much. He was the best teacher I've had.
II. I loved the learning environment at Evergreen. We didn't compete against each other for grades, but worked collaboratively in the search for knowledge. I became one of the best students in the program. Evergreen was a place of progressive white liberals who believed in cultural diversity, or so I thought.
III. During my second year, I moved into a house off campus. There were three other Evergreen students living in the house, but one student was in Alaska fishing for the summer so I didn't have a chance to talk with him before I moved in. I didn't know he doesn't like Vietnamese people. One day when I was sitting on the floor eating and watching television, he called me a "Gook" and sucker-punched me when I wasn't looking. One other housemate broke up the fight. It wasn't much of a fight since I didn't have a chance to defend myself. I called the City of Olympia 911 number, and filed a police report. The other housemate also gave a witness statement of the assault. The one who assaulted me didn't get arrested. He didn't get jail time. He didn't get a fine. He didn't even get a record. And I still thought I was white.
IV. I got offers to teach at the San Diego School District and at Portland School District. Both of these districts were actively trying to recruit minority teachers. I also had excellent recommendations.