{"id":15574,"date":"2013-06-05T03:06:31","date_gmt":"2013-06-05T03:06:31","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2013-06-05T03:06:34","modified_gmt":"2013-06-05T03:06:34","slug":"Asian-American-Students-Face-Unique-Affirmative-Action-Challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=15574","title":{"rendered":"Asian-American Students Face Unique Affirmative Action Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"

Though many Asian-American interest groups have lined up to support the University of Texas\u2019 affirmative action policy amid the Fisher v. University of Texas court battle, some Asian-American groups have sided with Abigail Fisher, arguing that race-conscious decisions in university admissions hurt qualified Asian-American students.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When Abigail Fisher, who is White, sued the University of Texas after she was denied admission, claiming UT\u2019s affirmative action policy discriminated against her, as it gave preference to minority candidates over her, the subject of universities and the validity of their affirmative action practices were called into question. Scores of pro-affirmative-action groups voiced their support and stressed how a diverse campus benefits all students, including Whites.<\/p>\n

Of those who demonstrated their support of affirmative action, dozens have been Asian-American groups. In the months leading up to the Supreme Court hearing last October, five Asian-American groups \u2014 including the Asian American Legal Foundation based in San Francisco \u2014 filed amicus briefs in court opposing the University of Texas\u2019 policies. A second brief was filed on behalf of four additional Asian-American groups: the 80-20 National Asian-American Educational Foundation, the National Federation of Indian American Associations, the Indian American Forum for Political Education and the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin.<\/p>\n

Asian-Americans are arguably the most diverse ethnic group in the United States \u2014 and perhaps one of the least understood. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Asian-Americans are the fastest growing minority group in the United States, accounting for 6 percent of the overall population.<\/p>\n

And the spectrum of people of Asian descent in the United States is almost as broad as it is on the Asian continent. Many Asian-Americans have roots from numerous countries, including China, India, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Pakistan, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines. As such, Asian-Americans in support of affirmative action emphasize that they historically have been victims of racism and are beneficiaries of affirmative action.<\/p>\n

A study conducted by the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research shows that 63.1 percent of Asian-Americans support affirmative action. The study also shows that 62.6 percent of Asian-American college students disagree with eliminating affirmative action.<\/p>\n

Though the Asian-American groups supporting affirmative action outnumbered those against nearly 20 to 1, the differences highlighted a rift within the Asian-American community on the matter.<\/p>\n

\u2018Model minority\u2019<\/h2>\n

\u201cI think there\u2019s more attention on us than usual,\u201d says Khin Mai Aung, director of the educational equity project for the Asian-American Legal Defense and Education Foundation, which filed one of the briefs with 18 other groups.<\/p>\n

But Asian-Americans have a complex relationship with affirmative action, one that diverges from that of Blacks or Hispanics in a number of ways. Unlike other minority groups, Asian-Americans have been given the appellation of being \u201cmodel minorities\u201d due to the many high-achievers in that community.<\/p>\n

For example, 8.3 percent of Asian-Americans are physicians and make up more than 50 percent of the technology workforce in Silicon Valley. It is estimated that the percentage of the Asian-American student body at Ivy League schools is between 12 and 18 percent. In fact, Harvard University\u2019s incoming freshman class in 2012 was 21 percent Asian-American, a number that has held steady in recent years. These noteworthy achievements fuel perceptions that all Asians are high-achievers.<\/p>\n

It is this perception that is at the crux of the divide in the Asian-American community. For years, there have been rumors that, since Asian-Americans are disproportionately represented at top colleges and don\u2019t get the same breaks as Blacks, Hispanics and American Indian candidates that are often perceived as less qualified, there is an unofficial cap, known as the \u201cbamboo ceiling,\u201d on Asian enrollment at these schools.<\/p>\n

Irwin Tang, an Austin, Texas-based psychotherapist, editor and co-author of Asian Texans: Our Histories and Our Lives, says the bamboo ceiling is very real. He says the ceiling is an obstacle for Asian-Americans as far back as birth. Like some Asian-Americans, Tang believes that some of the nation\u2019s elite institutions of higher learning have unofficial quotas that cap the admission of students of Asian descent.<\/p>\n

So even though there\u2019s an impressively high percentage of Asian-American students at the nation\u2019s top colleges and universities, many reason that the number would be higher were it not for this quota, which has never been proved to exist. Tang believes this unofficial quota extends down to the K\u201312 level.<\/p>\n

He cited an example of a set of parents \u2014 White and Hispanic \u2014 who have two children \u2014 one who is half-Hispanic and the other who was adopted from China. The parents were attempting to have their children placed in honors classes at their school. He says the parents believe the school has an unofficial quota system for honors classes that favors minorities like their half-Hispanic daughter at the expense of their Chinese-American daughter.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe daughter adopted from China was going to have a harder time getting into honors classes than the other child who is half-Hispanic,\u201d Tang says. \u201cThe school insisted that the races of their daughters be revealed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tang, a son of immigrants from Hong Kong, adds, \u201cAnother mother told me that she knows it will be extremely difficult for Asian students to get into an Ivy League school, so she\u2019s going to aim for the University of Texas. Her expectations have already been lowered. To me, that\u2019s really sad.\u201d<\/p>\n

Helping or hurting?<\/h2>\n

Tang believes race-conscious admissions harm all minorities.<\/p>\n

\u201cAffirmative action lowers the bar for Black and Hispanic students,\u201d he says. \u201cThey don\u2019t have to score high or have as high of a GPA compared to an Asian student. That\u2019s why many Asian students are being advised not to reveal their race, because other minority students will have a harder time to get in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Proponents say Asian-American groups that favor ending race-conscious admissions overlook some key details that are unique to certain groups.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s true that certain ethnic populations tend to come from highly educated and upper-middle-class backgrounds,\u201d says Dr. Madeline Hsu, an associate professor and director of Asian-American studies at the University of Texas at Austin. \u201cBut we have many Indians working as cab drivers and Koreans that run family businesses. There are issues among Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians, like higher-than-average poverty rates.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hsu says several highly selective colleges use discretionary factors when making admissions decisions. Such factors, she says, include leadership and extracurricular activities.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at who benefits from the criterion, it\u2019s actually White students,\u201d she says. \u201cIt\u2019s borne out by statistics. The kind of argument Fisher is making doesn\u2019t hold.\u201d<\/p>\n

Robert Teranishi, an associate professor of higher education at New York University, believes marginalized Asian-American Pacific Island subgroups will be severely affected if universities banish their affirmative action practices. \u201cAmong those groups, we\u2019re seeing low rates of college attendance, high rates of not persisting in college and low rates of participating in selective universities.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tang says a sensible answer to race-conscious admissions is simply to eliminate the race factor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to see our high schools and elementary schools improve so everyone has a more equal playing field when it comes to receiving a better education,\u201d he says. \u201cThe solution is not affirmative action. The solution is to have equal standards for everyone and an improved education system.\u201d<\/p>\n

via www.diverseeducation.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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