Asians would benefit most from the end of AA (college-wise), but they still defend it

College Confidential Community
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<p><a href="http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=155512%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.thenation.com/blogs/notion?pid=155512&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>To put it bluntly, AA either favours blacks/Latinos and hurts Asians, or vice versa (if it ended). But the majority of Asians support AA, while the most vociferous anti-AA crowd seems to be the whites, a group that is least affected by AA. So why are the "victims" defending a program that supposedly hurts them and why is a group that has little to lose either way so against against a program that doesn't affect them?</p>

<p>From my own theories, as well as the ones presented in The Nation article, I have some thoughts.</p>

<p>1) Despite success in college admissions, Asians know that the odds are stacked against them everywhere else, especially in a post-college career world. What good's an Ivy League degree if you can't translate it into good social standing? </p>

<p>2) Despite the Model Minority myth, Asians still feel like a minority and thus are more sympathetic to blacks/Latinos than to whites.</p>

<p>3) Whites are against AA because they erroneously believe that "undeserving" blacks/Latinos are taking up places for white students, when it is actually Asian students. </p>

<p>4) It's a battle of principle: whites believe that past historical injustices have been atoned for and all reparation programs should now be abolished, while Asians think that the effects of those injustices are still felt today, and therefore aid programs should exist. Many on both sides of the argument have never actually been a victim/benefactor of AA, and most are operating under hearsay, gossip, and prejudice.</p>

<p>UC Berkeley went race-blind a decade ago, and their campus is half Asian. I'm not saying that's a good thing or a bad thing, but if you got rid of AA and backdoor admissions, I think it's pretty safe to say that there'd be a lot more Asians in top American universities. But is this what anti-AA whites want? Even those who begrudgingly concede that if a pure meritocracy ushers in more Asians, then so be it, they undoubtedly dream of a system that brings in the most whites possible, with token sprinklings of minorities to create a microcosm of false diversity. That's their version of a meritocracy. </p>

<p>So for all of you who are against AA and are racists (not saying that two go together like peanut butter and jelly), you do realize that you're chasing away blacks/Latinos and welcoming in Asians? Whites are hardly affected.</p>

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<p>all i know is that if you are truly great and deserving, it doesnt matter what kind of opportunities are provided (or not provided)</p>

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<p>gee, I guess Asians aren't as smart as they are made out to be.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
So for all of you who are against AA and are racists (not saying that two go together like peanut butter and jelly), you do realize that you're chasing away blacks/Latinos and welcoming in Asians? Whites are hardly affected.

[/quote]
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<p>So hurting Asians is a good thing and not racist?</p>

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<p>er no, people against AA arnt necessarily racists is what he's trying to say.......</p>

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<p>I don't know any Asians who support AA.</p>

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<p>same here, snoopyiscool</p>

<p>I certainly don't.</p>

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<p>really? cause i am and i do</p>

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<p><em>Looks at above post</em></p>

<p>...</p>

<p>Well, now I know a grand total of one Asian person who does.</p>

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<p>I'm against AA, but I hate it when (white) people who are against AA think that I have an advantage because of it...yeah right, like there's shortage of Asians/Indians at science/math/engineering colleges...</p>

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<p>I'm Asian and I'm in favor of AA as a tipping factor. When admissions becomes as competitive as it is at Ivys, the college can essentially mold the class. They can take X theater people, Y engineers, Z premeds, etc. If you are a URM and you make it to the final cuts where all the applicants left are very qualified, race can be a factor that helps you get in so the college can have a diverse campus. I do not agree with AA if colleges slash requirements to admit URMs. That not only undermines URMs who get in on their own merit, but undermines the rest of us who get in on our own merit.</p>

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<p>5) They're ignorant on the effect of AA on their chance of admittance.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
I'm Asian and I'm in favor of AA as a tipping factor. When admissions becomes as competitive as it is at Ivys, the college can essentially mold the class. They can take X theater people, Y engineers, Z premeds, etc. If you are a URM and you make it to the final cuts where all the applicants left are very qualified, race can be a factor that helps you get in so the college can have a diverse campus. I do not agree with AA if colleges slash requirements to admit URMs. That not only undermines URMs who get in on their own merit, but undermines the rest of us who get in on our own merit.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That's a good point. Applicants to Ivy League schools are so good that once the admissions selects the top 50% of applicants, they could probably make their class at random and still have superb student bodies year after year. The selection process is beyond academic merit, because the "best" and "worst" students in an applicant pool are probably separated by a couple of of A's in their sophomore years.</p>

<p>I for one enjoy having racial diversity wherever I go, because as much progress we've made in society, a Rodney King incident will affect a black person very differently than it would a white or Asian person. In college, it's important to have a class capable of arguing all viewpoints.</p>

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<p>100% against AA. I support socioeconomic version. If you are poor for like your past 18 years, then ok you can get some benefit. Well, I suppose that would own people like me whose parents are high income, high asset, but cheap as hell .</p>

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<p>Socioeconomic admissions policies would vastly reduce the amount of URMs at top universities.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Socioeconomic admissions policies would vastly reduce the amount of URMs at top universities.

[/quote]
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<p>Then are you prepared to attend a UCB-like school with a 50% Asian student population?</p>

<p>Or will they devise a new admissions criteria that punishes blacks/Latinos for being too "dumb", and Asians for being too "smart"?</p>

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<p>I would be in favor of admitting a black or Hispanic applicant from a low income area with good grades but low standardized scores rather than a black or Hispanic applicant from an umc/affluent background with lower scores - say 150-200 points lower than that for the majority of accepted applicants (in the interest of diversity - a 50-60 point spread is fine, otoh).</p>

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<p>I don't know enough of Affirmative Action to judge (at first glance, I thought this post was about Alcoholics Anonymous...) but I am at least against it based on its racial aspect. To each his own merit and intelligence. Stereotypes, though not altogether correct, do usually have some truth to them. Honestly though, I don't want my race to be counted for or against me.</p>

<p>I don't care the least about cultural diversity. I've lived around the world a bit...and I don't see much difference at all, physical appearance aside.</p>

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<p>What's really messed up is that a kid from Bangladesh and a kid from Singapore would constitute a "homogeneous" environment (they're both Asian, whatever that means), while an Asian and a black kid from some prep school would be "diverse".</p>

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<p>I have an idea why Asians support AA. I can't be sure, but what do you want more a 50k scholarship only a few can get or a 50k scholarship everyone can get? I mean its ego right, but most would choose the one only a few can get. The thing is, most Asians (in this category) feel or know they can get into top ivies so they want it to be more competitive so getting in means more. AA=more competition because spots go to urms, spots Asians can't have. Anyway, one person noted before-it doesn't matter if u have an Ivy league degree its what you do with it. So, prospective employers won't be able to decide which Asians got in with the removal of AA and which did not and would likely say they got in due to its removal AA. (ironic, the same thing is happening to blacks now with AA) As a result, an Ivy degree held by an Asian is not as worthy. But today all can recognize that any Asian who can get into an Ivy must have been a real attractive applicant and extremely smart. Also, one must not be so cynical. People can stand up for what they believe, even if it is at their detriment.</p>