The Supreme Court has agreed to hear cases challenging affirmative action–race-conscious–admissions policies at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), an organization led by legal strategist Edward Blum, sued the universities in 2014, alleging that their admissions policies discriminate against Asian American and white applicants. SFFA accused Harvard of discriminating against Asian Americans through the personal rating–which purports to measure personality traits such as leadership and kindness–it assigns to each applicant. On January 24, the Court decided to hear the SFFA v. Harvard case.
When asked in a 2018 Gallup poll if they “generally favor or oppose affirmative action programs for racial minorities,” 61% of Americans answered that they approved. However, when the question is framed differently to emphasize the role of race, public opinion appears different. Pew asked respondents if “companies and organizations should take a person’s race and ethnicity into account, in addition to their qualifications, in order to increase diversity in the workplace,” and 74% said that they “should only take a person’s qualifications into account, even if it results in less diversity in the workplace.”
Many Asian American student organizations at Harvard have rallied behind the university and its policies. “Affirmative action is essential to support diversity and equity in higher education,” said Benjamin Chang, co-president of the Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association. “This recent lawsuit is a politically charged attempt to use Asian Americans to exacerbate racial inequity.” Some believe that the lawsuit does not truly represent Asian American interests and, instead, uses them as pawns to further a white, conservative agenda.
However, other students have their reservations about the equitability of race-based affirmative action, arguing that it does not achieve its intended purpose. “The purpose of affirmative action is a good purpose, but it should be based on socioeconomic status and not race,” one Asian American student, who has asked to remain anonymous, commented. “It lumps together a bunch of people [who] are in totally different situations in life.” Asian Americans have the greatest income inequality of all racial groups in the United States. Some of the most disadvantaged applicants in the nation are consequently categorized with their extremely privileged counterparts in the admissions process.
Affirmative action has withstood repeated tests in front of the Supreme Court–notably in Grutter v. Bollinger and in Fisher v. University of Texas–but the results may be different this time. Following President Trump’s appointments of Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett, the balance tilted in favor of SFFA. The Court now has a 6-3 conservative majority and will likely question the validity of affirmative action. The restriction or termination of Harvard’s affirmative action policies could spell trouble for similar admissions programs across the nation and transform the ethnic makeup of higher education.
SAMPAN, published by the nonprofit Asian American Civic Association, is the only bilingual Chinese-English newspaper in New England, acting as a bridge between Asian American community organizations and individuals in the Greater Boston area. It is published biweekly and distributed free-of-charge throughout metro Boston; it is also delivered to as far away as Hawaii.
