Amna: Since the supreme court
struck down affirmative action
in college admissions, questions
remain over how this will affect
students moving forward and who
will be most impacted.
The court sided with plaintiffs
who argued race-conscious
admissions discriminate against
Asian Americans.
But how do Asian American
students feel about the loss of
race-based college admissions?
Let's hear first from some who
support the decision, and then
those that oppose it.
>> I was overjoyed with the
decision.
I believe that the supreme court
got this right and that
affirmative action needed to go.
Obviously, this doesn't
guarantee us entry into any
college we want.
But what this does guarantee me
is that I know that everything
that happens is not because of
something I can't control.
And if I don't get in, it's
because I could have just worked
harder.
It's because I should have
studied more, not because of
something that I can't change,
which is in my race.
>> They take away opportunities
from certain ethnic groups in
order to benefit others, which
is completely racist.
And asian-americans such as me
and my peers we have worked
extremely hard and we fear that
our college admissions will be
denied because of our race.
I was considering like opting
out of my race in the college
admissions process.
But I think now that affirmative
action is gone, it's just more
fair.
And if I don't get into the
college I want to get into, it's
not something that I can't
control.
And it's more of like, I could
have worked harder.
>> I come from a pretty
privileged family, relatively
affluent.
And I understand that I perhaps,
you know, do have some
advantages over many others.
However, I think that
disadvantage is not from the
color of my skin, right.
I don't want to -- I don't want
to be judged on that.
>> I definitely believe that
affirmative action is beneficial
to Asian Americans.
The asian-american community is
a very diverse community.
We have, like hmong people of
-- hmong people, Vietnamese
people, Cambodian people,
Chinese people, we have all
sorts of different cultures.
And so affirmative action is one
of those things that ensures
that our culture is represented
and that we all have a voice
.
>> Race is something that
historically has been very
important in shaping the lives
of people currently.
And that's not something that I
think can be ignored, especially
on a level when people are
applying to colleges.
>> I actually wrote a paper in
high school against affirmative
action because a lot of the
conversation in my household and
growing up was always on the
idea of like meritocracy, which
a lot of people against
affirmative action are talking
about now and this idea of
survival.
Again, if you work so hard, you
should be able to deserve it.
But as I'm now going through the
reality of this country and
navigating all these systems and
spaces, I'm starting to realize
that meritocracy is only an
illusion and that there are just
so many, again, factors that
make meritocracy incredibly
hard.
>> Until we progress in a
society where I think, I don't
know, maybe America can truly be
race blind or we can truly
acknowledge each other as as
equals or be more holistic in
our interpretations and our
understanding of others and our
identities, I think that
affirmative action still has a
place.
Amna: To dig more deeply into
those views, I'm joined by
Janelle Wong.
She's a political scientist and
the director of Asian American
studies at the university of
Maryland.
And Susana liu-hedberg, the
executive director of the
education nonprofit, the 1990
institute.
Welcome by the supreme court --
how do you think it will be
affected by the supreme
court's decision?
Janelle: -- Get better access to
education.
For more than 10 years, we have
found consistent support for
affirmative action among Asian
Americans interviewed in
language and young people just
like those you heard from on the
whole are even more supportive.
So I recognize the value of
hearing from diverse voices but
on the hall, I think is an
American students are going to
really miss the diversity that
happens when you have a program
in place that systematically
accounts for lack of access for
groups to the college campus.
Amna: As one of the students
mentioned, it comprises a very
broad range of racial and ethnic
backgrounds.
They do broadly support
affirmative action but does that
support change based on which
group you are talking about?
>> It does change and as we
delve deeper and disaggregate
data, the myth of the Asian
American monolith and model
minority myth correlate in this
way and we see this playing out
with, for example, the June pew
research survey which showed
that Asian Americans have mixed
views on affirmative action and
with the interviews that you
saw.
You know, so first of all, just
uplifting pew research survey
that was done a few years ago
that showcased 30 plus different
ethnicities that are under one
asian-american monolith, that we
all, 30 plus ethnicities, are
the same.
And when we disaggregate this
data, we fin that not every
asian-american has the same
lived experience and the study
even delves deeper into each of
the cities and where they fall
within party and education
including access to higher
education.
>> There's a couple of really
good ideas I want to pull
apart.
I want to put to use some of
those numbers.
When you take a look at those
numbers on asian-american views
of affirmative action, overall,
53% of those surveyed say it is
a good thing.
They support affirmative action.
76% said race should not be a
factor in admissions.
53% said that considering race
and ethnicity in admissions
would make the process less
fair.
Those seem to be contradictory
ideas so what should we
understand about that?
Janelle: With the pew question
on race and ethnic city,
it provides little context.
It asks if it should be a major,
minor, or no factor.
That is not how admissions work
in the real world.
Race has been considered
holistically.
In race conscious admissions, it
is never the only factor
considered nor is it the primary
factor but many think it is and
this may affect how they respond
to that question.
Some, with this question, may
not even know they are being
asked about affirmative action.
I think what is really critical
here is that other studies have
shown that a majority of Asian
Americans do support affirmative
action but Susanna is right.
There is one group that does not
support affirmative action
consistently, and that is my own
group, chinese-americans.
Amna: What should we understand
about why that view is held
among chinese-americans?
Janelle: Susanna mentioned the
model minority myth.
This is the idea that Asian
Americans have a special value
for education and are competent
-- Uber competent.
The internalization and
endorsement of this model
minority myth is associated with
antiblack attitudes among Asian
Americans and associated with
skepticism about affirmative
action.
Let me be really clear.
Asian Americans face racial
discrimination and they are
victims of white supremacy, but
that is really what gave the
supreme court case power.
Edward Bluhm recruited
asian-american plaintiffs
because they are victims of
white supremacy and they
shielded his organization from
charges of racism.
So the fact is that black,
Latino, and native American
students, the fact that they are
showing up in much smaller
proportions compared to white
and Asian students tells us
something is W wng with the
system and that some groups face
much higher barriers to
accessing education than others.
That is not fair and it does not
lead to opportunity for all.
Amna: Clearly, the views held
among the very diverse
population that falls under the
category of Asian Americans,
it's very complicated and worth
unpacking, disaggregating, but
when it comes to impact, what do
you believe?
The impact of the supreme
court's decision?
Susana: Diversity remains
incredibly important in any
learning environment and as we
can see from the interviews and
also the surveys that we have
read, this issue was and remains
a complex one.
The cases and the ruling tied
two things together.
On the one hand, we acknowledge
there needs to be some mechanism
in place to support students who
have been historically
marginalized and
underrepresented to ensure
equity and access to higher
education but on the other hand,
if processes in admissions are
based on one certain criteria
like race, than that does become
discriminatory.
Now affirmative action did not
need to be struck down but it
did need to be fixed.
The law, like many other of our
laws, is not perfect.
But it was and could have been
reworked or implemented
differently to reflect today's
needs and address the and
equities and frustration that
some of the api community felt.
And also in the case of the
students that you had
interviewed here.
The nation really did a
disservice to so many minority
students by taking a
sledgehammer basically a two
decades of progress.
We should have worked together
to find a solution that allowed
all historically
underrepresented minority
students to thrive which
includes asian-american students
and also now is a time where we
are looking to do and see what
is next.
Now is the time to seize on that
opportunity, to move forward,
and really work together, not
just within the api community
but also all affected
communities.
Amna: Thank you both for joining
us in bringing your experience
to this very complicated issue.
Thank you.
♪♪