Dhairya Gupta and Rahul Kodali were cheering when the Longhorns secured a victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes in a thrilling match on Saturday. A day later, they found themselves in the middle of a raging controversy over how universities in Texas are teeming with non-White students. Texas Republican Bo French, who is contesting in a November election, raised the issue, sharing a celebration photo. Gupta told The Dallas Morning News that he never heard of Bo French. “It was just us having some enjoyment. And now it's just people being blatantly racist toward us," 21-year-old Gupta said.
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While the social media narrative took shape assuming that most of these Asian students are on student visa, 21-year-old Gupta told the Dallas Morning News that he is a US citizen. So is Rahul Kodali, who was right beside him in the now-viral photo. They are Indian-origin US citizens.
Gupta said he came to the US when he was 5 years old and got his citizenship in his childhood.
Kodali was born in Syracuse, New York. His family moved to the Dallas area when he was a toddler. He graduated from Flower Mound High School in Denton County and receives in-state tuition.
“Whether or not we are immigrants, that doesn’t change anything,” Kodali said. “I’ve been an American my entire life.”
Sen. John Cornyn warned that silence from other GOP officials would allow “intolerance and racism” to become normalized. House Speaker Dustin Burrow, R-Lubbock, also condemned the post.
Both of them said that Bo French does not deserve to be elected to the railroad commission because of his post.
