{"id":2661696,"date":"2026-09-15T13:38:40","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T17:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignassimilation-means-more-than-going-to-a-football-game\/"},"modified":"2026-09-15T13:47:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T17:47:26","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignassimilation-means-more-than-going-to-a-football-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignassimilation-means-more-than-going-to-a-football-game\/","title":{"rendered":"Assimilation Means More Than Going To A Football Game"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaignassimilation-means-more-than-going-to-a-football-game%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2661696&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A social media post by Texas Republican Railroad Commissioner nominee Bo French showing a photo of cheering South Asian students at a University of Texas football game sparked controversy and discussions about cultural assimilation. Critics argued that the students\u2019 participation in American traditions doesn\u2019t necessarily indicate full integration, emphasizing that <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >manny immigrant groups maintain distinct cultural<\/a> and religious identities.French expressed concern that the photo highlighted broader issues of demographic change and the displacement of customary American values, which he believed could alter the country&#8217;s cultural and institutional foundations. <\/p>\n<p>The article explores how immigration and demographic shifts, such as the growing Indian population in Texas and specific ethnic enclaves, can impact assimilation, cultural continuity, and political dynamics. It emphasizes that participation in American activities, like sports, is not proof of cultural integration, especially when many immigrants live in insular communities and cling too their native customs. The piece also discusses the role of religion and language in shaping the process of assimilation, highlighting how deep-rooted cultural and religious differences can influence American societal cohesion. <\/p>\n<p>Ultimately, the article calls for a more meaningful conversation about what it means to truly assimilate and adapt to American values, beyond superficial participation in cultural events, acknowledging challenges posed by mass migration, diaspora communities, and tribal divisions within local and national contexts.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>For those not chronically online, X erupted over the weekend after Texas Republican Railroad Commissioner nominee Bo French posted a photo of students \u2014 all of whom appear to be of South Asian descent \u2014 cheering at a football game at the University of Texas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI heard UT graduation this year looked like this,\u201d French posted. \u201cI didn\u2019t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn\u2019t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Ys1bql0y4U\">pic.twitter.com\/Ys1bql0y4U<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Bo French (@bofrench) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/bofrench\/status\/2099118916282810552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 13, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>French\u2019s post drew condemnation from the usual suspects, including RINOs like John Cornyn, who accused French of being intolerant and racist. Other critics said that the cheering South Asian students are proof that they assimilated perfectly fine.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese Indians are literally assimilating into traditional American culture by celebrating the Texas comeback win over Ohio State,\u201d user Barry McCockiner <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/BarryMcOnHere\/status\/2099212665692230048?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posted<\/a> on X.<\/p>\n<p>Another user <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SpicesHobo\/status\/2099672351218479431?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">posted<\/a> \u201cIf you show up at a college football game and cheer wildly when UT pulls off an improbably upset over the #1 ranked team in the nation, you\u2019re assimilated.\u201d Similarly, user <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/the_hoch\/status\/2099665051388985524?s=20\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Alex Hochberger<\/a> said \u201cCheering a UT (American) football win in a UT shirt, with a Cowboy [hat] and screaming like a frat boy from the 1980s movie looks a lot like assimilating.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But those defenses shut down a larger \u2014 and important \u2014 conversation that French was getting at. <\/p>\n<p>In a subsequent post on X, French appeared to explain the underlying concern of his aforementioned post, which is that  the photo exposed \u201chow many Americans have been displaced by foreigners.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>The photo is a symbol of a demographic change that is altering our culture and institutions across the country. <\/p>\n<p>Maybe all of the people in the photo French posted were born here, in fact, it\u2019s probable that they were born here. But just because someone was born on our soil doesn\u2019t magically make them an assimilated American \u2014 and that\u2019s a conversation we must have. Many immigrant groups, some generations removed from the initial migrants, cling to cultures and traditions that are fundamentally at odds with American culture. You can see it with the large Hindu temples being erected throughout Texas. You can also see it in the photo. These students appear to be clustered together in one section with their fellow South Asian descendants, as many new immigrants do in neighborhoods in big cities, and that in no way indicates that they\u2019ve assimilated. In fact, immigrants who cluster together seem to be more resistant to true assimilation, and those clusters reinforce native cultures and traditions.<\/p>\n<p>Just as French\u2019s photo does not irrefutably tell us those students have <em>not<\/em> fully assimilated, the photo similarly reminds us that presence at a football game is not conclusive evidence of assimilation. <\/p>\n<p>Tourists can and do attend football games. Foreign exchange students can and do go to football games. Some of them probably enjoy a hotdog or hamburger while there or crack open a cold beer in the parking lot. It\u2019s the same way foreigners come here, either temporarily or permanently, and enjoy Hollywood, the Fourth of July, bonfires, or camping without thinking that America is their nation or that Americans are their fellow people. But true assimilation requires more than just going to a football game, and shutting down a bigger conversation about assimilation because people who appear to be of South Asian descent are enjoying an American pastime is unfair, yet what so many on the left and the right want to do just that.<\/p>\n<p>According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/austin\/2026\/03\/02\/south-asians-elections-texas\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Axios<\/a>, there are more than 450,000 Indians living in Texas, \u201calmost double from 2010.\u201d According to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chron.com\/culture\/religion\/article\/texas-growing-hindu-population-election-19880422.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chron<\/a>, \u201cthe majority of the statewide voting bloc is Hindu, while others are of Muslim and Christian faith.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/religion\/2023\/10\/11\/religion-among-asian-americans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pew Research<\/a> found that 48 percent of Indians are Hindu, 8 percent Muslim, 8 percent Sikh, and 15 percent Christian.  <\/p>\n<p>But religion is a big \u2013and important \u2014 part of assimilation. America\u2019s legal, political and cultural frameworks are the product of Christianity. As John Adams wrote, our Constitution \u201cwas made only for a moral and religious people\u201d and is \u201cwholly inadequate to the government of any other.\u201d Adams was warning that the Constitution does not work with just any set of character, beliefs, values, or moral claims. The Constitution and ordered liberty required citizens to possess virtue and religion \u2014 and not just any abstract religion. Adams, like the other Founders, was a Christian. The founders had Christianity in mind.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not to say every immigrant has to convert to Christianity, but it is to say that mass immigration from religions vastly different than ours can fundamentally change the moral and cultural framework upon which our Constitution and therefore institutions were built \u2014 even if those immigrants do wear UT t-shirts.<\/p>\n<p>If America were to replace the entire population tomorrow with 300 million people who were shaped by different religious values and traditions, America would not look the same in its institutions, customs, or protection of liberty because the success of those things in America are downstream of Christianity. Assimilation requires more than just following our laws, it should require adopting the moral and civic traditions that produced our country and institutions. Importing vast amounts of people who statistically do not adopt those moral and civic traditions and convictions because of their religious beliefs does not make America stronger \u2014 even if those immigrants and their descendants do cheer at a football game.<\/p>\n<p>The large Indian population has also produced somewhat of a parallel culture. <\/p>\n<p>According to The Texas Monthly, Indian celebrations in Frisco have become \u201cmore vibrant and more public.\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasmonthly.com\/news-politics\/frisco-indian-immigrants-influencers\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Texas Monthly<\/a> also reported that some newer Indian immigrants do not regularly interact with Americans of other races. <\/p>\n<p>One Frisco resident who has lived in the city since 2012, Mom Roy, said she has had to remind newer immigrants to respect American culture and personal space because, as she explained, Indian culture is not the same as the \u201cculture here.\u201d While Roy\u2019s attempt to help newer immigrants assimilate is an example of <em>her<\/em> assimilation taking place, it also exposes the problem that this was a necessary lesson to begin with. To presume someone comes to America and automatically assimilates is silly, even if these new immigrants start wearing jeans and t-shirts, or even a Longhorn shirt. Further, ethnic enclaves also inhibit true assimilation \u2014 a problem Texas is clearly seeing. If newer immigrants have to be explicitly told to stay out of American\u2019s spaces because of culture differences it likely means they haven\u2019t experienced American culture on their own because they are insulated from it despite living in America. Not to mention that ethnic enclaves allow foreigners to live in parallel societies in which they don\u2019t have to abandon their old habits and attachments. <\/p>\n<p>The complications of mass migration also show up in political and tribal divisions outside of the Indian immigrant community too.  <\/p>\n<p>Recall the 2025 Minneapolis mayoral race. Incumbent Mayor Jacob Frey possibly won because of Somali ethnic blood feuds. State Sen. Omar Fateh is from the Darod clan, but a large part of the Somalis living in Minneapolis are Hawiye. Reporting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.startribune.com\/minneapolis-mayor-election-divide-somali-community\/601518222\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">indicated<\/a> that Hawiye\u2019s may have withheld support for Fateh because of their clan rivalry. <\/p>\n<p>Language is another key measure of assimilation. <\/p>\n<p>A few weeks ago I walked Ditmars Boulevard in Queens hoping to talk to Americans about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who represents that district. The people I approached dressed like me, used the same phone as me, walked the same streets as me. Yet many could not carry a conversation with me in English. Several appeared to be part of the areas longstanding Greek community. I spoke with some who said they were citizens but the language barrier ultimately ended the interview because they couldn\u2019t understand my question.<\/p>\n<p>Despite wearing jeans, owning an iPhone, and riding the same public transportation, many were not assimilated \u2014 including the citizens. <\/p>\n<p>The photograph French became controversial because it represented something larger. Texas\u2019 Indian population has nearly doubled since 2010. Across the country, immigrant enclaves of Somalis, Haitians, Mexicans, Guatemalans, etc., have allowed foreigners to live among their own peel with their own language and culture. That the students of apparent South Asian descent were all clustered together in their own enclave on the stands is perhaps a microcosm of that very same problem.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile foreign tribal divisions have surfaced in American towns while our government and candidates are using foreign languages to communicate with voters whether it be in campaign ads or translated ballots.<\/p>\n<p>Those are real concerns only made possibly by mass migration and lack of required assimilation. French\u2019s post catalyzed a long-needed discussion that shouldn\u2019t be dismissed just because students who appear to be of South Asian descent are participating in a football game.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>X erupts over South Asian students at UT football game<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2661697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot-2026-09-15-at-1.15.09-AM-scaled-e1789449387304-1024x576.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[62928,37032,51716,85710],"class_list":["post-2661696","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-assimilation-2","tag-community-engagement","tag-cultural-integration","tag-social-inclusion"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Screenshot-2026-09-15-at-1.15.09-AM-scaled-e1789449387304-1024x576.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2661696","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2661696"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2661696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2661706,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2661696\/revisions\/2661706"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2661697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2661696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2661696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2661696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}