Where Do APAs Stand On Affirmative Action?
Pacific Citizen, News Report, Lynda Lin Posted: Mar 12, 2008
Jeremiah Tsang calls himself an athlete and a scholar. At his Maryland high school, Tsang's high academic achievements in the top two percent of his class coupled with some state track championships enticed all of his choice colleges to accept him with open arms - some even with promises of a full ride.
Tsang, 20, settled at the University of Maryland, College Park as an electrical engineer major. But along the way, he noticed a troubling trend - some African American and Latino classmates with comparatively inferior qualifications were getting more scholarship money to go to the same college.
Outraged, Tsang did what most students do these days to unite under a common cause - he started a Facebook.com group called "Asians Against Affirmative Action." The group, which has attracted over 950 members from all over the United States, refers to a 2005 admission preference study of three prestigious private universities to support its statement that this type of diversity promotion does not advance equality. In this case, it actually hurts overrepresented Asian Pacific American students, according to the study.
"Diversity is good, but at what cost?" said Tsang, who is second generation Chinese American.
"Promotion of diversity is a noble thing, but the ideal is not being carried out correctly."
It's a sentiment that is echoed by a group, led by former University of California regent Ward Connerly, hoping to capitalize on its successful anti-affirmative action campaigns in California, Washington and Michigan to end similar programs in five additional states come November.
Hanging in the balance are the academic futures of many underrepresented minority students.
A Broader Crusade
Anti-affirmative action groups have launched a coordinated five state campaign to dismantle preferential treatment based on race or gender in public contracting, employment and education. The campaign - dubbed Super Tuesday for Equality - aims to get anti-affirmative action initiatives on the November ballots in Arizona, Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.
Each state requires a varying number of signatures in order to put the initiative before voters, but the controversial campaign is already off to a shaky start with affirmative action proponents vowing to challenge each measure every step of the way.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court recently certified an anti-affirmative action initiative for placement on the November ballot. But critics of the measure are accusing the petition-gatherers of lying to voters about what they're signing and circulating false information including pages of signatures with the same handwriting.
Affirmative action proponents say they will challenge the measure once the Oklahoma secretary of state posts the notice of approval.
"We are very confident that we will be able to eliminate a sufficient number [of signatures] to knock the initiative off the ballot," said Donna Stern, of By Any Means Necessary (BAMN), a national coalition aimed at defending affirmative action.
In Nebraska, the anti-affirmative action campaign recently failed to get the initiative placed on the ballot by a vote of the state legislature.
Sen. Mark Christensen withdrew a proposed constitutional amendment (LR233CA) prohibiting preferential treatment because some lawmakers said they would not support his other bills if the anti-affirmative action measure was not withdrawn. Backers of the ban on affirmative action will now have to circulate petitions to get the initiative on the Nebraska ballot.
"The fact that politicians do not want the people to have a chance to debate and vote on this important issue is extremely troublesome," said Jennifer Gratz of the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI), a national civil rights organization established by Connerly.
Similar anti-affirmative action groups in Colorado, Arizona and Missouri are currently still circulating petitions for deadlines later this year.
"There are good 'affirmative action' programs that are intended to alleviate discrimination. However, any program that employs preferences for one 'group' based on race or gender automatically discriminates against someone else," said Gratz.
An APA Issue On Both Sides
Connerly has successfully championed similar measures in three states including California's controversial 1996 passing of Proposition 209 dismantling affirmative action. Since then, studies have shown that APAs have been major beneficiaries of Proposition 209.
APA admission has increased steadily at University of California campuses in Berkeley, Los Angeles and San Diego, according to a 2008 University of Florida study, which expanded on the 2005 Princeton University study that APA students generally don't benefit from affirmative action at so-called elite colleges.
The facts have raised dissenting opinions in the APA community, with many saying affirmative action programs have both benefited and adversely affected them.
"I have mixed feelings on the issue," said Kie Riedel, 20, a mathematical economics major at Colorado College. The Yonsei Mile-Hi JACL chapter member chose to attend the liberal arts school over four other larger universities, including Dartmouth, because of its smaller size.
Riedel was the valedictorian of her high school class and graduated with a perfect 4.0 grade point
average, but she did not get into all of the schools of her choice.
"I did not get into three schools - the big three, to be exact: Harvard, Princeton and Yale," said Riedel, who added that it was probably because her SAT scores, although weren't terrible, were below the average of a typical Harvard student.
Still at Colorado College, Riedel has been able to take advantage of programs for students of color like career fairs and fellowships. She feels affirmative action is very beneficial to her college as a whole because of the diversity it brings to the campus.
"At the same time, however, as an Asian American I feel like the Asian community can be negatively affected by affirmative action. Asians are overrepresented in most situations and thus, do not qualify for many affirmative action policies.
"In fact, when I was applying to college my adviser told me not to mark the 'Asian' box and only the 'White' box if I applied to any schools in California because it would be much more difficult for me to be accepted as an Asian," added Riedel, who is Hapa.
But many say there is an intrinsic problem with one holistic "Asian" box.
While some APAs are not underrepresented in higher education, other APAs, particularly those who are of Southeast Asian descent and newer immigrants, are underrepresented and benefit from affirmative action programs.
"Clearly, Asian Americans have had a mixed experience with affirmative action," said Al Muratsuchi, JACL's former PSW regional director who lead the organization's fight against Proposition 209.
In May 1996, the national board adopted a resolution to reaffirm its longstanding commitment to affirmative action as an important tool in fighting for equal opportunity and racial gender inclusiveness.
"On the one hand, there is clearly the perception, if not the reality, that some Asians lose more than they gain from affirmative action, particularly in the context of admissions to highly competitive schools. On the other hand, Asians continue to suffer from discrimination, particularly in the areas of employment and promotions," said Muratsuchi, the current vice president of the school board in Torrance, Calif.
About three years ago, Portland JACL board members were split on the issue of affirmative action - has it outlived its usefulness? Now, the chapter allows students to offer their opinions in an essay question topic for their chapter scholarship application, said Jeff Selby, chapter president.
"All things considered, I believe Asian Americans do have an interest in supporting the basic principle underlying affirmative action, which is to promote diversity and inclusion at all levels of society," said Muratsuchi.
In light of new anti-affirmative action efforts, the JACL, which has always been a strong supporter of affirmative action, will continue to strengthen its position, said National Director Floyd Mori.
"Lumping all students of a specific race denies the there are differences between ethnic groups and the conditions in which they have become part of American society. Newer immigrant Hmongs and American Samoans may have vastly different abilities to access higher education than a fourth generation Chinese or Japanese American," added Mori.
It's about unity, said Stern.
"Our nation cannot move forward if every race and ethnicity fights each other for shrinking crumbs of opportunity, rather than uniting to expand opportunity for all," she added.
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User Comments
jon on Mar 13, 2008 at 08:41:18 said:
If you are interested, read over this entire article. Interesting arguments from both sides (proponents/opponents). And even more interesting, APAs have a dual existence in this argument. On the one hand, the program they argue makes it difficult for them to be accepted into big colleges/univ, but some have found it beneficial; those who are underrepresented due to historic socioeconomic conditions that have impacted their group. So, the argument lies in a cost benefit analysis. Surely it is easy to say that preferential treatment toward one group based on race or gender is unfair, but is it not unfair to argue that if one truly stands for equality, it is also unfair to permit continual burdens on access to opportunites for those who have been historically the receipients of injustice. Those burdens maintain inequality and those burdens are unfair.
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