The Supreme Court Decision on College Admissions

   The Supreme Court issued its decision on college admissions yesterday. In a 7 to 1 decision, it referred the case back to the Court of Appeals with the following key instructions.

(1)  The Supreme Court made it clear that race-conscious admissions should NOT be used unless there is "no workable race-neutral alternatives (that) would produce the educational benefits of diversity (emphasis added)". 80-20 advocates a race-neutral college admissions policy. We are also for diversity. However, diversity should be achieved WITHOUT discriminating against Asian American college applicants, e.g. by replacing "race" with "class". We are delighted that the Supreme Court seems to agree with both key points that 80-20 has advocated.

   Nevertheless, given that the case is referred back to the Court of Appeals, no final conclusion should be drawn except one -- we are better off today than a year ago.

(2)  The SC also asked the lower court to apply "strict scrutiny" in determining whether "race-conscious" in college admissions is called for.
   Justice Anthony Kennedy writing for the majority stated, "Strict scrutiny does NOT permit a court to ACCEPT a school's assertion that its admissions process uses race in a permissible way WITHOUT CLOSELY EXAMINING how the process works in practice.(emphasis added)"

  80-20 hopes that the so-called Asian Am. civil rights organizations such as      

         AALDEF of New York,

         OCA of Washington D.C.,

         AAJC of Washington D.C. and

         APALC of Los Angeles

will take Justice Kennedy's statement above to heart. They should apply "strict scrutiny" before accepting NAACP's and universities' assertion that the current "admissions process uses race in a permissible way."  Now is their time to join 98% of the Asian Americans who prefer "race-neutral" college admissions.

   80-20 is proud to have helped Asian American students get a step closer to enjoying equal opportunity to enter elite colleges. We shall continue to battle until Asian American adults and children enjoy equal opportunities fully.

   FORWARD this email to your friends. To post a comment, click on http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/politicaledu/posterboard.asp .


Sincerely,
S.B. Woo, volunteer
President, 80-20 National Asian Am. Educational Foundation
http://80-20EF.org

LA Times Op Ed on 80-20 & College Admissions

   In a few days, the Supreme Court will announce its decision on "race-conscious" college admission. See what our nation's most prestigious papers are saying recent days:

   NY Times, a liberal paper, didn't mention 80-20. But it predicted a result that 80-20 has fought for. "I've come to think there may be a better way to accomplish diversity: namely, by shifting attention from race to class." The author was the executive editor of NYT until September 2011. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/10/opinion/keller-affirmative-reaction.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130610

   LA Times mentioned 80-20 in its first paragraph:

   "Any day now, the Supreme Court will announce its decision in the Fisher vs. University of Texas case, which could invalidate the use of race-conscious policies in college admissions. Some Asian American groups, such as the 80-20 Education Foundation, have been among the most vocal and visible in opposing what's broadly termed affirmative action. They believe getting rid of race considerations will work to the advantage of Asian Americans, who on average have held more extracurricular leadership positions and have higher test scores and grade-point averages than whites, yet have the lowest acceptance rate to elite private universities."

   "They are not wrong to worry about Asian admissions. The circumstantial evidence for a "bamboo" ceiling on Asian admissions is mounting. According to a 2009 study by sociologists Thomas Espenshade and
Alexandria Radford, Asian Americans must score 140 points higher on the SAT to have the same chance at admission to private colleges as whites. College enrollment trends show that the percentage of Asian Americans in many Ivies has stayed flat — between 15% and 18% — in the last 20 years, even though the college-age population of Asian Americans has doubled."

   "Still, affirmative action is a red herring for those who are truly concerned about discrimination against Asians in higher education. . . "
 
Click on http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-chen-fisher-asian-affirmative-action-20130613,0,6358807.story

   CAN YOU IMAGINE that almost ALL the so called Asian American "CIVIL RIGHTS" orgs actually OPPOSED this good result? They actually filed amicus brief and issued press releases to STRONGLY support "race-conscious" college admissions.

   Please think on that one!!! How could such a weird situation come about? Will it happen again? Do you feel safe with these "CIVIL RIGHTS" orgs protecting you? They are:

       OCA, based in Washington D.C.,
       AALDE, based in NY City,
       APALC, based in Los Angeles,
       AAJC, based in Washington D.C. and many smaller ones.

   We hope that these orgs. will make amends and begin helping our college-aged youngsters. If they do that, the past can be forgiven. Otherwise? What should be done with them? You tell us. Pls comment on
http://www.80-20educationalfoundation.org/politicaledu/posterboard.asp.

Thanks.


Sincerely,
S.B. Woo, volunteer
President, 80-20 National Asian Am. Educational Foundation
http://80-20EF.org