Why are Asian students suing Harvard, UNC for affirmative action policies? [merged]

[Umka36 781]

http://news.yahoo.com/why-asian-students-suing-harvard-unc-affirmative-action-211016762.html

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

http://news.yahoo.com/why-asian-students-suing-harvard-unc-affirmative-action-211016762.html

Its amazing that in this day and time, we still are using race to promote some ahead of others.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Affirmitive Action hurts everyone. It holds back the people who put forth the effort to excel and it artificially rewards those who don't. That in turn waters down the talent pool and in the end, we all suffer the consequences.

Harvard University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill are facing lawsuits over their race-based admissions schemes, which hold Asian and white students to higher standards because of their skin color.

The lawsuits were filed Monday by a group of interested parties, including two unnamed college students who were rejected from Harvard and UNC. According to Inside Higher Ed, the Harvard applicant is of Asian ethnicity: He had a perfect ACT score, two 800s on SAT II subject exams, and was valedictorian of his high school. He didn't get in.

Remarkably, Harvard has managed to keep its Asian student population constant over the years, while universities that don't consider race as an admission factor have seen more and more Asians gain admittance. According to Inside Higher Ed:

What Harvard calls a holistic approach to admissions (in which applicants are reviewed individually, with a range of criteria considered) is actually a disguise for racial balancing in a system where Asian Americans are held to higher standards for admission, according to the lawsuit. As evidence, the lawsuit says that the racial demographics of Harvard’s admitted class, first-year enrollment and total student body have remained stable over the last several years. ...

"In light of Harvard’s discriminatory admissions policies, [Asian Americans] are competing only against each other, and all other racial and ethnic groups are insulated from competing against high-achieving Asian Americans,” the lawsuit reads.

The Supreme Court has previously upheld racial considerations in university admissions, but the recent Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin decision in 2013 further limited the permissible uses of affirmative action. Plaintiffs believe UNC's admissions system would fail the Fisher rationale. It's also conceivable that the Court would rule affirmative action entirely unconstitutional if presented the right kind of case.

Who can defend abject racial discrimination against Asians? Harvard's administrators and some of its faculty can. One professor even had the gall to suggest that discriminating against Asians is good for Asians. According to Fox News:

“Asian-American students benefit greatly from attending the racially and socio-economically diverse campuses that affirmative action helps create,” Julie Park, assistant professor of education at the University of Maryland and author of the book “When Diversity Drops,” told FoxNews.com.

I should think Asian-Americans would be better served by a non-discrimination policy. All student applicants should have the same right to a colorblind evaluation of their academic merits. With any hope, the sinister justifications offered by Park and others are becoming less compelling to the voting public, as well as the courts that will adjudicate lawsuits like this one.

http://reason.com/blog/2014/11/18/rejected-for-being-asian-students-sue-ha

[Jacque67 7,328]

Nice dress!

[Teddy B 17,252]

Nice dress!

Is the pic of the dress showing in my avatar? For some reason, it doesn't show up on my end.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Is the pic of the dress showing in my avatar? For some reason, it doesn't show up on my end.

I see it if I click on your profile. One word dude, Nair. Just saying.

[Teddy B 17,252]

I see it if I click on your profile. One word dude, Nair. Just saying.

It's all about going au natural Marv!

I see it if I click on your profile. One word dude, Nair. Just saying.

I don't know why it won't change in my avatar, oh well.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

It's all about going au natural Marv!

I don't know why it won't change in my avatar, oh well.

You can't be my woman. If you have more hair on your legs than me, there's a problem.

You might have to give it some time. Some changes take a minute to show up.

[Teddy B 17,252]

You can't be my woman. If you have more hair on your legs than me, there's a problem.

You might have to give it some time. Some changes take a minute to show up.

I changed it yesterday.

Back on topic, any opinions about the article in the op?

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

I changed it yesterday.

Back on topic, any opinions about the article in the op?

Ouch, you might need to report that, since you know that's what you do

My opinion? I'm conflicted about it. On one hand, I view it as a necessary evil since I know there are those who are discriminated against due to skin color, gender, and religious affiliation. On the other hand, I view it as wrong if qualified people, regardless of race, gender, and religious affiliation, are not hired so a quota can be met.

Since the playing field is so lopsided, it's going to be hard finding common ground.

[Teddy B 17,252]

Ouch, you might need to report that, since you know that's what you do

My opinion? I'm conflicted about it. On one hand, I view it as a necessary evil since I know there are those who are discriminated against due to skin color, gender, and religious affiliation. On the other hand, I view it as wrong if qualified people, regardless of race, gender, and religious affiliation, are not hired so a quota can be met.

Since the playing field is so lopsided, it's going to be hard finding common ground.

Discrimination of any kind is wrong in my book. In a perfect world everyone would be judged based on merit, nothing else, but of course we do not live in a perfect world. I think more needs to be done to level the playing field at the elementary and high school levels so that once these kids are ready to graduate high school they all have a fair shot of gaining entry into any college they choose. It's no secret that the level of education kids receive in public schools is not equal across the board and that needs to change. But at the same time more of an effort needs to be made by the parents to keep these kids in school and working hard towards good grades. I think Affirmative Action is the easy way out and a quick fix that in the long run will hurt us.

[Jacque67 7,328]

I'm conflicted about it too.

Affirmative action can be good if those who come from economically poor backgrounds are given a chance to apply for Harvard. How does the system work for Harvard? Are candidates given interviews? I know that when I was ready to go to university in the UK, if a teacher thought you had promiss, they would write a letter of recommendation to say,Oxford, you would have a test and interview with a Don of the college, and if they liked the way you thought, you would be given a place regardless of your national exam scores.

Personally I don't think this lawsuit will win in court. Is there evidence of abject discrimination? Plenty of other universities to choose from

[MacUK 983]

If all of America (and indeed the world) of all skin colours would stop thinking about everything in terms of skin colour then it would be a happier place.

From blacks complaining that every disadvantage they face is due to their skin colour to whites complaining that other colours are given priority due to political correctness.

Skin colour has nothing to do with who a person is or what they are capable of. If all people would just get on with being the best they can be without trying to blame their problems on pigmentation then everyone can succeed.

Unfortunately though the human race hasn't evolved enough to look beyond peoples appearances and the world is inherently racist.

Here in the UK there are groups formed to fight prejudice against ethnic minorities who in turn don't admit members who are not of their ethnic group due to their skin colour. Where's the logic in that?

[landr 126]

I can understand that it can be devastating for individual students who don't get into a prestigious school. However, universities and their departments have budget and student number quotas. They also need to ensure that there's a good mix of students to ensure that the students who eventually enroll get the best experience possible. Having too many from a minority ethnic group can cause an imbalance.

If Harvard gets inundated by applications from Asian American students who all meet the minimum academic requirements, they can't let all of them in. There needs to be a cut-off point somewhere.

Edited November 19, 2014 by landr

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Discrimination of any kind is wrong in my book. In a perfect world everyone would be judged based on merit, nothing else, but of course we do not live in a perfect world. I think more needs to be done to level the playing field at the elementary and high school levels so that once these kids are ready to graduate high school they all have a fair shot of gaining entry into any college they choose. It's no secret that the level of education kids receive in public schools is not equal across the board and that needs to change. But at the same time more of an effort needs to be made by the parents to keep these kids in school and working hard towards good grades. I think Affirmative Action is the easy way out and a quick fix that in the long run will hurt us.

I agree with this. The issue is two fold, problems with the schools and folks not raising their kids right.