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Chinese students say coronavirus scare leads to stigmatization on campus By Esther Animalu

While Chinese students at the University of Miami are in distress about the impact of the coronavirus in China, many say they face another source of distress on campus– prejudice, ridicule and xenophobia.

“I think people are using the coronavirus as an excuse to be racist,” said Seraphina Choi, president of UM’s Hong Kong Student Association.

“When the Ebola outbreak happened, it was all sympathy,” said Mikayla Kaptzan, a junior majoring in media management. “But now, just because people look like they’re from China, they are being made fun of.”

Choi, a senior medical anthropology major, said she was a victim of ridicule just a few days after the outbreak.

“I was on the Metro and a guy sat down next to me and asked if I was from China,” Choi said.

“After I told him I was from here, he would not stop talking about the coronavirus and his crazy theories about it. I was so uncomfortable, I did not know what to do.”

Kaptzan and Choi said they know several other Asian students who have experienced ridicule since the outbreak.

“People have literally yelled at Chinese students to put masks on,” Kaptzan said. “I just wish more people would understand how insensitive they’re being. There have been no outbreaks down here; there is no need to shun anyone.”

But despite the lack of cases in South Florida, rumors regarding the coronavirus have been circulating around campus. At the end of January, one student posted a viral TikTok video that alleged his roommate, an exchange student from Wuhan, was on the way to the hospital with flu-like symptoms. However, the student, who asked to remain anonymous, later confirmed that the video was completely fabricated. He does not even have a Chinese roommate.

Jihan “Doria” Qu, a freshman psychology and gender studies major, said there is no reason for these types of discriminatory comments and accusations, many of which revolve around the medical facial masks that some Chinese students have been wearing.

“We wear facial masks to protect ourselves not because we are a carrier of the virus,” said Qu.

Shiyang Li, 23, said people in China wear face masks to prevent any kind of infections. Li, a junior motion pictures major, has carried this prevention method into her daily life on UM’s campus. But she said she has not received the best reactions from other students.

“Recently I noticed people around me look at me frightened, but I will always wear a mask because I have to protect myself, just in case,” she said.

Kaitong Zhang, a 21-year-old sophomore from Xi’an, said she is aware that non-Asian students might look at her differently following the coronavirus outbreak.

“Somehow yes, I started to care about how people see me,” Zhang said. “I’m not from Wuhan, and I haven’t been to China for more than half a year; and to be honest I was afraid to contact people who just came back from China.”

Zishan Cai is a senior majoring in creative advertising from Dongguan, an industrial city. Cai said she hasn’t faced any type of discrimination at UM, but some of her friends told her that students make fun of them when they wear their masks.

“Even though people may be rude sometimes, my friends and I are grateful for having the opportunity of being here in the United States safe,” Cai said. “We just hope that this issue ends soon.”

Katherine Begg, Nicole Bozkurt, Maria Flores, Victoria Kline, Sebastian Morales, Isabella Popadiuk and Ciana Quintero contributed to this report.