Current Events

[singlebilingual]

 

 

I remember many years ago when there was an article that Asians would need to score much higher than the other students in the SAT in order to enter an Ivy League university. I warned my sister and my friends about this. At that time, there were many Asians in these Ivy League universities. They didn't think it would become a problem when they'd have children. When I have kids, this would be one of the reasons why I'd raise them outside the US. Fortunately, the discrimination has been debated in the Senate Judiciary Committee recently. This has raised my hope for education in the US a bit.

[singlebilingual]

https://www.yahoo.com/gma/justices-aim-race-conscious-college-120900034.html

Quote

 

Justices to take aim at race-conscious college admissions in affirmative action cases

 

DEVIN DWYER and SARAH HERNDON

 

In her 2003 opinion upholding affirmative action in higher education, former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor famously predicted that in 25 years "the use of racial preferences will no longer be necessary" in America.

 

Next week, years after that milestone and with lingering gaps in minority college acceptance and achievement, a new group of justices will decide whether to overrule O'Connor – and more than 40 years of precedent – to declare that admissions policies must be race-blind.

 

"That would be a sea change in American law with huge implications across society," said Jeffrey Rosen, president and CEO of the National Constitution Center.

 

In a pair of oral arguments Monday, the justices will take up race-conscious admissions policies at Harvard University, the nation's oldest private college, and the University of North Carolina, the nation's oldest public university.

 

It is the first test for affirmative action before the current court with its six-justice conservative majority and three justices of color, including the first-ever Black woman justice, Ketanji Brown Jackson.

 

"I think we have to be realistic in that this is a very conservative Supreme Court," said David Lewis, a Harvard University junior and member of the school's Black Students Association. "But this issue has been tried over and over again at the court, and the precedent has still been upheld."

 

Students for Fair Admissions, a conservative and multiracial coalition of 22,000 students and parents, sued the schools in 2014 alleging intentional discrimination toward Asian American applicants in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment..........

 

 

[singlebilingual]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/harvard-admits-record-number-asian-225448361.html

Quote

 

Harvard admits record number of Asian American students while Black and Latino admissions drop

 

NBC NEWS

Sakshi Venkatraman

Wed, April 5, 2023 at 7:54 AM GMT+9

 

Harvard University admitted a record number of Asian American students to its class of 2027, a move experts are wary of celebrating given the drop in admissions of most other minority groups. It comes as the Supreme Court continues deliberations on a lawsuit brought against Harvard by a right-wing group(?) that alleges race-conscious admissions discriminate against white and Asian students.

 

In a breakdown of the incoming class released by the university last week, Harvard revealed that 29.9% of admitted applicants are Asian American. It’s a 2.1% jump from last year’s number.

 

“It’s been part of a long-term trend,” admissions Dean William R. Fitzsimmons told The Harvard Crimson. “The percentages have been going up steadily. It’s not a surprise.”

 

There are a couple of possible reasons for this, said Julie Park, an associate professor at the University of Maryland who studies racial equity in high education. One could be an increase in Asian American legacy admits, which favors children of Harvard alumni in the admissions process. It also coincides with a population growth of Asian American young adults and high school graduates in the U.S. generally.

 

“Race-conscious admissions can be very dynamic and institution-specific,” she told NBC News. “Under race-conscious admissions, Harvard has a very sizable Asian American class. … It’s just a natural byproduct that you’re just going to numerically have at Harvard, unless they step away from legacy admissions, which I actually think they should.”

 

Harvard did not respond to multiple requests from NBC News for comment.

 

The Supreme Court is currently preparing a decision on Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard, a lawsuit that alleges the Ivy League university‘s race-conscious admissions process discriminates against Asian applicants.

 

After the court heard the case in October, advocates fear the conservative majority might mean the end of affirmative action. Students of color at both Harvard and the University of North Carolina, also being sued by Students for Fair Admissions, have spent months protesting and speaking out in favor of race-conscious admissions.

 

Losing that battle could put lower-income Asian American and Pacific Islander applicants at a disadvantage, Park said, as well as stunting students’ diverse educational experience.

 

“We know from research that low-income Asian American students actually do receive a boost under these policies,” she said. “They pay attention to not just race, but also ethnicity, to subgroups that have been historically underserved in education, like Southeast Asian Americans and the Pacific Islander community.”

 

What concerns experts is that, for the second year in a row at Harvard, Black and Latino admits dropped, comprising 15.3% and 11.3% respectively. Native Hawaiian and Native American admits are also down from last year, sitting at 0.5% and 2% respectively.

 

“While you have seen growth in the Asian American high school graduate population, it is nothing compared to the growth in the Latinx population,” she said. “So it’s really concerning and illuminating that you’re not seeing that similar uptick in admitted students among the Black and Latinx students. … That disparity points to some issues.”

 

Without a clear breakdown of application data, it’s hard to know why this might be the case, said Wil Del Pilar, senior vice president of The Education Trust, an organization working to fill gaps in educational inequity.

 

But threats to affirmative action have a chilling effect — not only on applications by students of color, but on outreach efforts from universities too.

 

“It can have a very detrimental effect on the students who get served and the services that are provided to them,” he said. “When you put it in conjunction with all of the anti-DEI, anti-critical race theory legislation that’s passing at the state level, I think it creates these conditions that can have a huge impact on enrollment.”

 

Even ongoing lawsuits or proposed bills can have a regressive effect, with institutions preemptively taking money out of diversity efforts, recruitment or support structures.

 

“The decision may come out and say you can’t use race as a factor in admissions,” he said. “So institutional actors may say, ‘OK, you can’t use race as a factor in awarding financial aid, or in creating student support groups or in targeting enrollment, or in targeting efforts at certain groups.”

 

Park also cited the university’s high tuition and its emphasis on matriculating athletes, which she says tends to favor white recruits.

 

“They have these policies that are trying to facilitate equity, but they also have these policies that undermine equity,” she said. “So, you know, I think they really need to take a hard look in the mirror.”

 

 

[Davis Lee]

It's great to see progress being made in the fight against discrimination in education. It's important for all students, regardless of their ethnicity, to have equal opportunities to pursue their academic and professional goals. It's unfortunate that past policies may have unfairly disadvantaged certain groups of students, but it's heartening to see that the issue is being addressed and debated in the Senate Judiciary Committee. With continued efforts towards equality and fairness in education, hopefully future generations will have even greater opportunities to succeed and thrive.

[kenshi]

Totally agree! It's awesome to see progress in fighting discrimination in education. Everyone should have a fair chance, no matter what. Old policies may have messed things up, but at least we're talking about it in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Let's keep pushing for fairness in education so future kids can do even better
 

[faizi_ch]

The Senate Judiciary Committee debates on discriminatory practices in Ivy League admissions have given hope for fairer education in the US, which might influence my decision to raise kids there in the future.

[singlebilingual]

 

 

 

 

[singlebilingual]

 

 

[Chris6677]

The sentiment expressed in your post reflects a concern that has been prevalent for many years regarding the perceived higher standards Asians have faced in gaining admission to Ivy League universities, particularly in relation to standardized testing like the SAT. Your experience of warning your sister and friends about this disparity highlights the awareness of systemic challenges faced by Asian students in accessing higher education opportunities.

Your consideration of raising your future children outside the US due to these concerns underscores the gravity of the issue and the impact it may have on personal decisions regarding education and opportunities. It reflects a broader sentiment of disillusionment with the fairness and inclusivity of the American education system.

The recent debate on discrimination in the Senate Judiciary Committee offers a glimmer of hope for addressing these longstanding issues. It signals a recognition at the highest levels of government that disparities in education access and opportunities based on race or ethnicity need to be addressed. This development has understandably raised your optimism for the future of education in the US, albeit cautiously.

Overall, your opinion reflects a thoughtful assessment of a complex issue, blending personal experience with broader societal concerns and a cautious optimism for positive change.