If you have stepped foot in the wonders of Perkins during your Duke career, then you have had some sort of connection with Katherine Zhang. It’s impossible to miss Multitudes, the striking portrait exhibit on the first level of Perk, showcasing diverse Duke individuals who share some powerful words. Katherine, a senior double majoring in English and Economics, and her childhood friend Tong Xiang, developed and implemented this project completely on their own, inspiring and humbling students across campus.
Growing up in Charlotte, NC, Katherine explained she lived in an oppressively white environment. “Tong and I both had issues with racial identity and didn’t really come to terms with them until college when we both enrolled in a course called Asian American Theatre. That class changed our lives, and truly raised our racial consciousness.” Still wanting to continue the conversation and enact change, she and Tong formed a House Course named “Asian American Topics of Social Justice,” and from this, came up with an idea of an activist project. She poignantly explained, “There is a lot of racism against Asians, but it’s not talked about, and Asians often don’t even realize it. The problem stems from homogeneity – people thinking we are all the same, trapping us in stereotypes.” As a Chinese-American, I found myself sadly nodding in agreement.
The set up for the display mimicked this idea of homogeneity; all of the portraits were deliberately shot the same way, with similar lighting, in a black background. It isn’t until you are close enough to read the individual statements that you better understand diversity. “The intention was to create a very powerful dissonance between racist notions of Asian homogeneity and highly charged and individualized combative statements,” she said. Seeing how much of an impact Multitudes had on me, I wasn’t surprised with the outpouring of appreciation and feedback they received. If you look at the comment book next to the exhibit, it is filled with words of gratitude and support from Duke students, prospective students, and parents.
After this awesome project, Katherine and Tong were asked to become the co-presidents of the Asian American Alliance (AAA), a group based on political activism, and thus different from Asian Student Association (ASA) which is an umbrella organization with a primary social function. Understanding that unlike other minorities at Duke, Asians tend to see struggles as independent and lonely feats, AAA has since created more collective resistance to racism and has published a magazine called “The Yellow Pages” focusing specifically on Asian American political activism.
Aside from her incredibly inspiring pursuit with Multitudes, Katherine also chairs the Chronicle’s Editorial Board, one of the only boards across top schools that contributes daily editorials. Topics range anywhere from campus culture and the housing model, to critiquing policies or student organizations. Their endorsements for DSG candidates and Young Trustee nominations also hold substantial weight. Although there is a misconception that the edit board consists of purely students who “represent” Duke, or who fill editorial positions on the Chronicle, they are actually 12 students who make it through an application process. Katherine explained, “We look for informed, smart, and perceptive people, and by doing so, we end up with a really diverse group in terms of identity and affiliation.” She continued by describing the unique culture of the edit board: “When you get people who are really involved on campus together, our meetings become fast-paced and it’s really rewarding.”
“My job as edit board chair is to create topics ideas, lead conversations, and build consensus around oftentimes very contentious issues, such as Greek life and investment banking,” shared Katherine. Not only has she been a member since her first-year, but also is the first female and minority chair! Bring it girl. Represent. Although edit board sometimes participates in the well-known crazy Chron parties, it also maintains its objectivity by sticking to itself.
Besides making us all look bad by her amazing involvements, Katherine loves to explore the Durham scene because of her “foodie” identity. She has an obsession with reading tabloids, so knows basically everything about celebrities (and now we get to read about her), and religiously attends Wilson gym’s High intensity Interval Training workout classes. What? This girl does it all, AND pulls off some of the hippest fashion styles at Duke.
Boy she knows how to werk.
If you have an idea for an editorial, or would like to be involved in AAA, be sure to email Katherine Zhang at ktzhang92@gmail.com