On October 10, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over the "race-conscious" admission policies. 80-20 EF's entry into this battle was commonly recognized as a major element helpful towards possibly upending the "race-conscious" admission. The petitioner's main brief mentioned "Asian Ams 22 times." The Supreme Court is expected to announce its decision next June.
Will 80-20 EF win the battle for you? It's a huge and very difficult battle. We are only 5.5% of our nation's population. 80-20 EF is trying valiantly.
See quotes from a very informative article on this matter: http://www.thehartfordguardian.com/2012/09/17/fate-of-affirmative-action-hangs-on-fisher-v-univ-of-texas/comment-page-1/#comment-207505
Veteran education reporter Scott Jaschik, who was the editor of the Chronicle of Higher Education from 1999 to 2003, was interviewed by New America Media.
New America Media: How will this decision affect college admissions policies throughout the country?
Scott Jaschik: I think this will have a large impact in different ways.
There are places like the University of Texas, other flagship universities
and also elite private universities that consider race in admissions. These
institutions are very hard to get into, places that typically make their
admissions decisions based - in large part - on test scores and course
grades. On average - and it's very important to say on average because
there are exceptions to this - if they eliminated the consideration of race,
most of these institutions would admit fewer black, Latino, and Native
American students. Many of them might see an increase in Asian-American
students.* In fact, when affirmative action was eliminated in California,
there were initial spikes in Asian-American enrollments more so than
white enrollments.
So, first of all, the decision will be important for the highly competitive
admission institutions, but it [may have] other impacts. It could well affect
the way many colleges, and not just the elite institutions, administer
financial aid or how their summer programs operate.
There are places like the University of Texas, other flagship universities
and also elite private universities that consider race in admissions. These
institutions are very hard to get into, places that typically make their
admissions decisions based - in large part - on test scores and course
grades. On average - and it's very important to say on average because
there are exceptions to this - if they eliminated the consideration of race,
most of these institutions would admit fewer black, Latino, and Native
American students. Many of them might see an increase in Asian-American
students.* In fact, when affirmative action was eliminated in California,
there were initial spikes in Asian-American enrollments more so than
white enrollments.
So, first of all, the decision will be important for the highly competitive
admission institutions, but it [may have] other impacts. It could well affect
the way many colleges, and not just the elite institutions, administer
financial aid or how their summer programs operate.
*NOTE: 80-20's purpose in the Supreme Court fight is to ELIMINATE THE DISCRIMINATION against Asian Am applicants in college admissions. It is NOT to increase the no. of AsAm students in elite colleges, although that may come as a result of our winning the case. Indeed, S. B.'s personal view is that an education from elite colleges is helpful towards advancing AsAm graduates' careers only, not necessarily their value system. He said, "I hope we'll see more AsAm IVY graduates fighting for equal opportunity for our weak & powerless Asian Am community."
NAM: What's your sense of where court is headed?
Jaschik: Most experts think the current court isn't generally sympathetic
to affirmative action. The court could scale affirmative* ("race-conscious" admission) back partially or fully. You really don't know until the decision comes out. Even then, if it's a decision that drives a major change in current policies and the colleges start to adjust accordingly, there will probably be more lawsuits and court decisions. I think the ramifications of this decision could be
quite dramatic over a period of time.
to affirmative action. The court could scale affirmative* ("race-conscious" admission) back partially or fully. You really don't know until the decision comes out. Even then, if it's a decision that drives a major change in current policies and the colleges start to adjust accordingly, there will probably be more lawsuits and court decisions. I think the ramifications of this decision could be
quite dramatic over a period of time.
*NOTE: "Race-conscious" admission is only a small part of the affirmative action. Indeed, the so-called affirmative action in college admission is actually ANTI-affirmative, so far as Asian Ams are concerned. Recall that Asian Ams need to score 140 points higher than whites to have an equal chance to enter elite colleges. We believe Mr. Jaschik is talking about "race-conscious" college admission only.
Together, we shall overcome. Post your comments at:
http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/politicaledu/posterboard.asp .
S. B. Woo. A volunteer
President, 80-20 National Asian Am. Educational Foundation, Inc.
President, 80-20 National Asian Am. Educational Foundation, Inc.
WARNING:
Have you donated to EF recently and yet NOT received a "thank you" from S.B.? If so, tell S.B. about the amount, and the approximate date of your donation. He'll get in touch with you. Thanks.
Have you donated to EF recently and yet NOT received a "thank you" from S.B.? If so, tell S.B. about the amount, and the approximate date of your donation. He'll get in touch with you. Thanks.
