Essay #1- Affirmative Action
A controversial topic that has gained national coverage in the recent years is the issue of affirmative action. Affirmative action in universities aims to ensure racial diversity and equality in education. Historically, race and higher education have not been exclusive realms. Since the 1950’s, affirmative action policies have been in place. These policies have hugely benefited minorities such as Hispanics/Latinos, Blacks, Native-Americans, and Asians. However, unfortunately for the Asian population, affirmative action policies are in fact hurting their chances in getting accepted to Ivy-league and other elite schools. Compared to their non-Asian counterparts, Asian-American students have consistently preformed better on the SATs in writing and math, and have a higher SAT score average than any other racial group. However, since affirmative action policies are working to keep the balance in the diversity of student bodies, according to one study, Asian-Americans must preform 150 points higher than the average because the pool of Asian-American applicants are so strong.
In California, affirmative action has been ruled unconstitutional by Prop. 209 in 1996 and in top California schools such as USC, UCLA, and Berkeley have seen Black and Latino admission rates have plummeted since then. However, Asian Americans have benefited greatly from Prop. 209, in fact a third of the student population is Asian while they only make up of 14% of California’s population. According to recent polls, the over a half of Americans believe that college admissions should be race blind, however many do not want high education spaces to fall into re-segregation. What do you think? Should admission to college be race-blind? Or should policies be implemented to protect the diversity of college campuses?
Essay #2- The Model Minority
A common stereotype of Asians is that they are considered the ‘model minority’. The model minority is a minority group whose members are perceived to attain a higher degree of success than the average. The aspects of success include crime rates, level of education, income, and family stability. The general perception of Asian Americans in the area of education labels them as studious, obedient and quiet students. However the positive stereotype can be detrimental to addressing the issues many Asians struggle with. For example, there are many racial and ethnic groups within the Asian population who do not perform as well as larger ethnic groups such as Chinese and Indians. Many Pacific-Islander Asians face large issues that are often overlooked. According to a recent study, 41% of Cambodian-Americans, 40% of Laotian-Americans and 32% of Vietnamese-Americans lacked a high school diploma. To put that into perspective about 18% of Blacks and 38% of Hispanics/Latinos did not complete high school.
The exclusion and generalization of Asians from discussion of minority-education issues is a large barrier to those Asian students who are struggling. Robert Teranishi, a professor at NYU says, “It conceals a reality that’s seldom acknowledged. To render a population invisible is really a problem. You really strip them of a voice in terms of broader conversations in our nation”. As an Asian American myself, I see firsthand how stereotypes affect the lives of friends and myself. The label of Asians being naturally smart and high achieving not only undermines our successes but it also shadows the needs of other ethnic Asian groups who are not doing so well. There definitely needs to be a change in how Asian Americans are perceived.
A controversial topic that has gained national coverage in the recent years is the issue of affirmative action. Affirmative action in universities aims to ensure racial diversity and equality in education. Historically, race and higher education have not been exclusive realms. Since the 1950’s, affirmative action policies have been in place. These policies have hugely benefited minorities such as Hispanics/Latinos, Blacks, Native-Americans, and Asians. However, unfortunately for the Asian population, affirmative action policies are in fact hurting their chances in getting accepted to Ivy-league and other elite schools. Compared to their non-Asian counterparts, Asian-American students have consistently preformed better on the SATs in writing and math, and have a higher SAT score average than any other racial group. However, since affirmative action policies are working to keep the balance in the diversity of student bodies, according to one study, Asian-Americans must preform 150 points higher than the average because the pool of Asian-American applicants are so strong.
In California, affirmative action has been ruled unconstitutional by Prop. 209 in 1996 and in top California schools such as USC, UCLA, and Berkeley have seen Black and Latino admission rates have plummeted since then. However, Asian Americans have benefited greatly from Prop. 209, in fact a third of the student population is Asian while they only make up of 14% of California’s population. According to recent polls, the over a half of Americans believe that college admissions should be race blind, however many do not want high education spaces to fall into re-segregation. What do you think? Should admission to college be race-blind? Or should policies be implemented to protect the diversity of college campuses?
Essay #2- The Model Minority
A common stereotype of Asians is that they are considered the ‘model minority’. The model minority is a minority group whose members are perceived to attain a higher degree of success than the average. The aspects of success include crime rates, level of education, income, and family stability. The general perception of Asian Americans in the area of education labels them as studious, obedient and quiet students. However the positive stereotype can be detrimental to addressing the issues many Asians struggle with. For example, there are many racial and ethnic groups within the Asian population who do not perform as well as larger ethnic groups such as Chinese and Indians. Many Pacific-Islander Asians face large issues that are often overlooked. According to a recent study, 41% of Cambodian-Americans, 40% of Laotian-Americans and 32% of Vietnamese-Americans lacked a high school diploma. To put that into perspective about 18% of Blacks and 38% of Hispanics/Latinos did not complete high school.
The exclusion and generalization of Asians from discussion of minority-education issues is a large barrier to those Asian students who are struggling. Robert Teranishi, a professor at NYU says, “It conceals a reality that’s seldom acknowledged. To render a population invisible is really a problem. You really strip them of a voice in terms of broader conversations in our nation”. As an Asian American myself, I see firsthand how stereotypes affect the lives of friends and myself. The label of Asians being naturally smart and high achieving not only undermines our successes but it also shadows the needs of other ethnic Asian groups who are not doing so well. There definitely needs to be a change in how Asian Americans are perceived.