Conservative group and some Chinese American suing Harvard for racial discrimination in a case that could end affirmative action. Case goes to trial next Monday. My story of why I support affirmative action as an Asian American and parent. #DefendDiversity chronicle.com/article/Actual…
Last week, Trump's Department of Justice opened investigation at Yale charging anti-Asian discrimination -latest attempt by Trump administration to take aim at the long-standing practice of allowing race to be used as one of many factors, and never only one in admissions.
I am Asian American, have Yale degree, and I have conducted research on Asian Americans for over 20 years as a professor of Asian American Studies, and have Asian American high schooler who will soon be applying to college. That's why I SUPPORT affirmative action.
For the past two decades, I have devoted much of my professional life to teaching students about the long history of racial discrimination faced by Asian Americans in the United States.
Spending life conducting research on and teaching about Asian Americans has made me keenly aware of how race has shaped the experiences of Asian Americns -and made more aware of how Asian Americans fit into the larger U.S. racial landscape. I don't buy charges of discrim at Ivies
1. Asian Americans, many who are Chinese American, like me, are enrolled at Yale at a rate three times greater than their numbers in the population. This is not lack of inclusion.
2. Purported evidence of racial discrimination at highly-selective institutions is flimsy. A main piece of evidence at Harvard -Asian American applicants to Harvard score lower than other groups on the university’s “personal rating.” Not a measure of personality!
Some Asian Americans have assumed that implicit bias is at play - are we seen as one-dimensional nerds? But simply demonstrating a lower average score on a single admissions measure not evidence of intentional discrimination
Harvard’s expert did further analysis of the data -found that Asian Americans from California and Asian American female score higher than other groups on the personal rating. This finding is inconsistent with systematic bias.
Perhaps some might see my Asian American son as test-taking machine, but research shows implicit bias for Asian Americans will lead most to raise academic expectations of him and believe he has more academic potential -bias has opposite effect for Black and Latino classmates
3. False “Asian-penalty” narrative is embodied in the investigation at Ivies. At the core is an assumption that Asian Americans need higher test scores than non-Asian Americans to get into a highly-selective college (this myth has been debunked).
Higher test scores among Asian Americans compared to other groups are best explained by systematic group advantages, such as the higher average levels of income and parental education that are the result of selective U.S. immigration policies in place since 1965.
To argue that variations in test scores are the result of qualities intrinsic to “Asian culture” or group-values is to rely on the very kinds of bias that the groups suing Yale and Harvard say they oppose.
Asian Americans who do not benefit from high levels of parental education, proximity to high-performing schools, or high levels of income do not as often demonstrate stellar test scores. Using race in college admissions has been helps these Asian American students.
Anyway, you can read more about how I affirmative action helped me get into UCLA and Yale and how I believe it helps Asian American kids in the article link above. @spamfriedrice @ProfMChin @harvarddiverse @NAACP_LDF @JLee_LDF @AAAJ_LA @AAAStudies #DefendDiversity
