Brown University becomes first university in the U.S. to add caste protections

Brown University is one of many schools that have added caste protections to their nondiscrimination policies, a measure designed to give Dalit students the chance to report bias.

According to the Dalit civil rights organization Equality Labs, the private university in Providence, Rhode Island is the first Ivy League school to mention casteism in its general policy. The push for caste-equity has been sweeping schools and institutions in the U.S. for the last few years.

If you add caste to a non-discrimination policy, now everyone who has to abide by that policy has to know what caste is, said one caste-oppressed Brown graduate who spent over a year pushing for the change. People are going to have to get trained about it. They have to make an announcement. The former student asked to remain anonymous to avoid retaliation and doxxing that often happens to caste-oppressed activists.

The system of social stratification, or casteism, defines many lives on the subcontinent and persists in South Asian communities as they migrate to the West, according to experts. Those born into the lower castes face violence and oppression on the subcontinent and often exclusion and hate in the diaspora.

Neha Narayan, a student who advocated for policy change, said that caste follows the South Asian community wherever they go. I have heard of several instances of people being asked coded questions, even on a couple of instances when students were asked: Hey guys, what is everyone's caste? Brown said on Thursday that there was a need for such protections as the South Asian American population grows.

Sylvia Carey-Butler, Brown's vice president for Institutional Equity and Diversity, said in a statement that the previous policy would have protected people experiencing caste discrimination. We felt it was important to lift this up and express a position on caste equity. The anonymous graduate said that during her time at Brown, casteism made her feel unwelcome in spheres meant for all South Asians.

She said I avoided a lot of the South Asian social spaces because of that exclusion.

She hopes Brown's formal recognition of casteism will change that reality for future students, even though she isn't a student there anymore.

She said I'm so elated. It is a first step. It opens doors for dialogue that hasn't been happening. It is a concept that is misunderstood, and most people are ignorant to it. Before the policy change, caste wasn't something that came up much when talking about South Asian identity on campus, Narayan said.

She said it was the most openly held secret. As a caste-privileged student looking in, I can see how someone would be very alienated in that environment. In an environment where caste is never discussed, how difficult is it to speak up about caste discrimination. With casteism now banned in Brown's policy, she hopes that caste-oppressed students will have more avenues to talk about their experiences and seek out safe spaces with a better understanding from leaders.

Other schools, like the University of California - Davis, Brandeis University in Boston and the entire California State University system, have made similar moves after pressure from student activists backed by Equality Labs.

Harvard University added caste protections for graduate student workers last year, but unlike Brown's overarching measure, Harvard s updated policy didn't extend to the entire student body.

The road ahead to transforming our higher education institutions to be caste equitable is still long, but we are one step closer, organizer Manmit Singh said in a statement from Equality Labs.