NY Times asked 80-20's . . .

New York Time emailed to asked 80-20 PAC's Advisor, Haibo Huang,
Ph. D in Physics and 80-20's expert on college admissions, this question: 

       "Is it time to move to income-based affirmative action?"

Haibo sent back a short but powerful reply:

"Yes, it's time to move on to merit-based college admissions with
socioeconomic considerations. Racial preference is divisive and helps
the wrong kids.

According to 2004 data, 86% of African American students in highly
selective colleges are middle or upper class. Race-conscious admissions
tend to enhance such socioeconomic statistics. In Fisher v. University
of Texas at Austin, plaintiffs challenged the use of race in admissions,
arguing that Texas's race-neutral "Top Ten Percent" creates sufficient
racial diversity: 4.5 percent African-American and 16.9 percent Hispanic
in 2004. Yet the university argued that a "race-conscious" plan is still
needed to bring in affluent minorities to create diversity within diversity,
and an incredulous Justice Kennedy retorted "So what you're saying is
that what counts is race above all." By contrast, here in California where
racial consideration in state university admission is banned, California
schools must work harder to achieve diversity and instead focus on
socioeconomic status. It's working; in the 2011-12 academic year,
approximately 40 percent of students on University of California campuses
were Pell Grant recipients for needy families. In addition, ~42% of UC
student admitted 2007-2008 has both parents without a college degree.
The result: More poor black and Latino students are gaining access to
higher education.

Judging people by their skin color is morally repugnant. It is not fair
to pass over better qualified students based on innate characteristics. It
violates the 14th Amendment. It stigmatizes the so-called beneficiaries
in the eyes of others. It fosters victim mindset, removing any incentive
for excellence. It mismatches students and institutions, causing high failure
and dropout rates among the “beneficiaries.” It papers over deep-rooted
social problems, condemning under-privileged kids to a permanent cycle
of dysfunctional schools.* It compromises academic mission and hurts U.S.
competitiveness in the global economy. The secondary school students
ranked 30th in math and 23rd in Science out of the 65 countries in the
2009 Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey. The
US Education Secretary Arne Duncan called it "an absolute wake-up call for
America". And we are still short changing ourselves with racial preferences?

True diversity is the diversity of ideas, the celebration of our differences;
it's not clumsy attempts to equalize everything. If the United States is a
melting pot, why is it necessary to identify each ingredient?

I have a dream**. Do you? (*The author thanks Mr. Roger Clegg for his inputs.)"
 
Forward this e-newsletter, if you benefited from reading the above.
  

         80-20 Is Always Battling for YOU & Your Children

   Join the fight by donating to SELF. Click on
      http://admin.80-20nj.info/cgi/80/e?l=8/au/1/f&w=no

If SELF doesn't raise the money so that SB can recruit, train, and nurture at least 3 competent political fighters by the end of 2016, 80-20 will likely disappear
from the battle field.

    Will you have the time, political know-how & will to fight for
yourself? May donating to SELF be the most cost-effective way?
  

Respectfully,
  

S. B. Woo, a volunteer
President, 80-20 National AsAm Educational Foundation

**A reference to Dr. Martin L. King, Jr.'s famous statement: "I have a dream that
my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged
by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."
  

VICTORIES on many fronts

                     GOOD NEWS on Many Fronts

(1) On the Supreme Court Front: It UPHOLDS MICHIGAN BAN
on college affirmative action. Implications? The vote was 6 to 2,
with a liberal Justice Steven Breyer voting to uphold the ban.
Is the tide turning?

(2) On the US District & Appeal Courts' fronts:

   Mr. Ed. Blum's Project on Fair Representation targets
Harvard, UNC- Chapel Hill, and UW-Madison for "unconstitutional
admissions policy." 80-20 is working with Mr. Blum to find
potential AsAm plaintiffs, particularly for the suit against Harvard.

http://harvardnotfair.org/

   Look out! There'll be a front page ad in the World Journal nationwide,
urging AsAm students to step up and speak up. 80-20'll them up. Such
law suits will be filed in the federal District and Circuit Courts. We are
no longer on the defense all the time. Nowadays, we take initiatives.

(3) In the Court of Public Opinion:

   (a) Mercury News editorial: "Affirmative action is yesterday's
solution to inequality." Mercury is a liberal paper. Is the dam breaking?

   (b) NY Times seeks 80-20's view AGAIN on college admissions.
PLACE:    "Room for Debate," where S. B. Woo participated last year.
TOPIC:    "Is it time to move to income-based affirmative?"
PARTICIPATING FOR 80-20:    Dr. Haibo Huang, an 80-20 Advisor.
He wrote an eloquent statement. To read it & add your comments,
click here .

   NOTE the "full court press!" - in all courts of the law, in the court
of public opinion, and in the political arenas in D.C. & CA through
the SCA 4 battle. Are you proud of 80-20's vigorous defense
of your rights?

(4) The MOST IMPORTANT front - the SELF-EMPOWERMENT front!

   Thanks to YOU, 80-20 has reached $250,000 in 3 day, meeting
its goal. To verify, click here. One day, when all may abandon
us, we'll STILL have 80-20 that believes in SELF!

   Don't relax. SELF must, EACH day, raise an incredible $1,400/yr for
5 years to make its goal of $1,000,000/yr for 5 years by Oct. 21, 2015.
Note that a lump sum of $1,400 per day amounts to $280/yr for 5 years
ONLY. Please commit to donate FOR 5 YEARS. To donate, click here .

              Why has the debate on admissions shifted
                         so QUICKLY in AsAms' favor?

   When the victims, i.e. the AsAm students, have lawyers who said that
"we like being victims", then they will remain victims. That was the case
when the so call AsAm "civil rights" orgs (CROs) like OCA & AAJC filed
legal briefs SUPPORTING "race-conscious" college admissions time & again.

   Then, 80-20 came onto the scene.

   2.5 years ago, 80-20 did a survey and found that 98.2% of AsAms prefer
"race-neutral" admissions. So 80-20 rose to defend you. We fought in
courts. We fought in the court of public opinion. We fought those
AsAm CROs.We also fought in the political arenas in D.C. and in CA
through SCA 5. That helped make a difference.

   That is, once the victims, i.e. the AsAm students, clearly stated that
"We OBJECT to being the victims", our nation begins to respond.
Things change.

   NOTE: AsAm CROs like Asian Am. Justice Center (AAJC), Organization of
Chinese Americans (OCA), Asian Am. Legal Defense & Education Fund
(AALDEF) continue to pretend that they represent us, and say "Keep on
beating us, we like it." Sigh!!!!

                                Lessons for All of Us

   [A] Money talks. When we let OTHERS' money support OUR "civil
rights" orgs., our CRO may talk on behalf of OTHERS.

   [B] Politics is important. When we ignore politics, OTHERS will
pretends to speak for us politically, as OCA & AAJC did and still try.

   [C] Must financially support ones’ own political org. Open up
our pocket books.    Otherwise, HISTORY MAY REPEAT!
    

S. B. Woo, a volunteer
President, 80-20 National AsAm Educational Foundation
  

Great news for us; Sad news from 80-20

                       GREAT News for Us !

 

   NATIONALLY, our effort to defeat race preference in college
admissions is gathering momentum. New Initiative? 80-20 is helping to
recruit plaintiffs - students unfairly reject by Harvard, UNC-Chapel Hill
and UW-Madison - to possibly sue these universities for their race
preference in admissions.

   The rights of AsAm children are being vigorously defended.

   In CALIFORNIA, 80-20 helped defeat SCA 5* in short orders.
It's a political shocker that led to attentions on 80-20. S. B. Woo
received requests for interview or to speak as a panelist from:

      Economist,  LA times,  National Review,  The Nation,
      Nat'l Writer's Assoc. (reporters who cover education),
      FOX TV,   Channel 26 of SF,    S. CA Public Radio,
      Singtao Radio,  SOH Radio  San Francisco Chronicle,
      Mercury News,  Sacramento Bees,   Singtao Daily,
      California Magazine,  Pasadena Star-News and …, etc.
Our voice is being heard in CA and nationally.

   SUMMARY: We are EMPOWERING ourselves! Stopping SCA 5, or
even stopping race preference in admissions nationwide, is not in itself
that significant. In my mind, the following is significant!

    The awakening of AsAms to rise and defend ourselves; our
    proven ability to hold AsAm elected officials accountable; &
    our new ability to induce AsAm "civil rights orgs - financially
    supported mostly by non-AsAms - to be accountable to our
    rightful interests ARE SIGNIFICANT! For example, OCA has
    recently switched from its decades long SUPPORT of "race-
    conscious" admissions to ANTI-SCA 5.

               Sad News From 80-20 - too poor to last !

   The annual budget of AIPAC, the fabled Jewish-Am political org., is
$17 million.

   80-20, by far the largest AsAm political organ., is an all volunteer plus
one staff org., with an annual budget of $100,000. It is 1/1700 that of AIPAC.

   Is e82 it because our community is poor? NO. Is it because our population
is smaller? NO. We are 2.65 that of the Jewish population.

            SELF: Self Empowerment Long-term Fund

   SELF aims to raise, within 2 years, at least $1 million/yr. for 5 years.
Why? To help make 80-20 a lasting professional organization! I'll explain:

   My title may be the president. In reality, I am also the janitor - I do
whatever things that are left undone. :-) I am 76 year old having served 80-
20 for 15 years, & donated about $100K to 80-20 (Note: there are
Board Members who have given more!) I have begged at least 10 AsAms,
since 2001, to be 80-20's president. NO TAKERS! I'm fading & WILL retire
at the end of 2016 presidential campaign to avoid damaging YOU and 80-20.
Who will take over and do our community justice? As you know, politics
need to be learned like everything else. I need 2 years to recruit, train a
good staff and pass on my political experience, knowledge & lessons learned
from my mistakes. A reasonably financially secure foundation for 80-20 is
necessary to recruit good people. That is why we must have $1 million/yr
for FIVE years.

   For SELF to succeed, it must raise $250,000/yr for 5 year every 6 months!
The first 6 months ends in 3 day! SELF is $14,027/year for 5 years SHORT.

   If we can't even meet the goal at the first time-mark, what is the chance that
it'll meet the target later? YOU be the judge!

   If you think 80-20 is worth saving, PLEASE DONATE, click on

           http://admin.80-20nj.info/cgi/80/e?l=8/au/1/f&w=no

   If 140 AsAm families will generously commit to donating $100/yr for 5
years soon, we'll catch up. If 14 families will each donate $1,000/yr for 5
years, we'll catch up . If you donate $100 as a lump sum we'll need 750 such
families to reach the same goal, since a donation of $100 as a lump sum is
ONLY the equivalent of $20/yr for 5 years. :-(
  

S. B. Woo, a volunteer
President, 80-20 National Asian Am. Educational Foundation, Inc.

*SCA 5 stands for Senate CA Constitutional Amendment 5. It aimed to turn
back the clock and reinstate race preference in college admissions in CA.

Latest News: 80-20 supports Silicon Valley Chinese Association (SVCA)'s endorsement of Catherine Baker in CA District 16. Note: 80-20 normally doesn't endorse non-federal and non-state-wide candidates.

 

A possible lawsuit against Harvard

     FORWARD This Important E-newsletter To Your Friends!

   There's light at the end of the tunnel to defeat "race-conscious"
admissions NATIONALLY! The Fisher legal team in "Fisher v. Univ.
of Texas" is ready to mount a fierce wave of legal attacks against
the use of race as a factor in admissions.

   Has your applications to Harvard, or UNC-Chapel Hill or UW-Madison
been unfairly rejected? If so, then RISE AND ACT! Take action to
force these universities to be fair to you. A great legal team is ready to
fight for you. Please visit one or more of these sites:

http://harvardnotfair.org/
http://uncnotfair.org/
http://uwnotfair.org/

   It'll take you at most 1 minute to fill a form to be a potential plaintiff.
It’ll take you less than 5 minutes to read through one of the 3 IDENTICAL
sites. Best yet, if you are selected as one of the plaintiffs, you'll enjoy

(1) Complete confidentiality, unless you end up participating as a
     plaintiff in a legal action against one of these universities;
(2) No cost. The Project of Fair Representation, headed by Edward Blum,
     will cover all expenses; and
(3) No public exposure. Mostly likely you'll not be required to appear
     or testify in court or talk to the media.

   See the FAQ in each site to verify the above 3 points. The lawyers on our
side have greatly refined their approach to win equal opportunity for you.
Step up and be counted. Do a great service for all of us.

   If a students does become a plaintiff, the amount of public exposure is
still somewhat subject to one's own choices. If you want to show the
courage of your conviction, you can be like Ms. Abigail Fisher. See
the photo below.

To know more about Mr. Blum, click here.

Edward Blum, center, with Abigail Fisher, left, before the national media.

   On the homepage of each sites, it asks:

     "Were You Denied Admission to Harvard/UNC/UW?
              It May be You are the wrong Race."

   All sites show youngsters with obvious Asian features. :-) :-)

   80-20 is proud to have played a part in a big team effort that leads to
this innovative project, and perhaps to VICTORY!

   What did 80-20 do?
a) Filing an amicus brief with the Supreme Court on Fisher's side,
b) causing t 5230 he Fisher legal team to note that emphasizing the blatant
     discrimination against AsAm students could be a winner, and
c) helping to defeat SCA 5 in CA quickly, impressing national political
     observers that race preference in admissions may be passé.

   Your comments are most welcome at EF's Posterboard . Don't forget to
donate to 80-20's SELF project, click here . If SELF fails, 80-20 will likely
close shop after the 2016 election.

   Who will fight for you as fearlessly & effectively then?
  

S. B. Woo, a volunteer
President, 80-20 National Asian Am. Educational Foundation, Inc.

PS: Note simultaneous NATIONAL media on this possible legal challenge:
A Chronicle article by Richard Kahlenberg on Good News for Low-Income Students.

                FORWARD This E-newsletter To Your Friends

 
(*Please email email.list@80-20initiative.net to subscribe to our newsletter)

Good and Bad News

                                        GOOD NEWS:

[1] 16 US corporations gift-match for 80-20's SELF:

The corporations are:
  1) Boeing           2) Adobe           3) ATT           4) Microsoft
  5) TE Connectivity     6) Amylin Parmaceuticals     7) Merck
  8) Sana Capital (an enterprise owned by an Asian Am)     9) Amgen
  10) Morgan Stanley Annual     11) Rockefeller Foundation
  12) JPMorgan Chase Foundation   13) EOG Resources   (14)GE
Approval for gift-matching from IBM and Qualcomm are still pending.

Does your company offer matching? If so, take advantage of it. It may NOT be too late to apply for gift-matching for your donations to SELF made months ago.   Most companies permit retroactive matching.

[2] 2013 Year-End Accounting of SELF Completed

   Money in the SELF account is NOT to be spent, unless we reach $ 1million/yr for 5 years. If 80-20 doesn't achieve this minimum goal, your donations will be RETURNED TO YOU IN FULL. So we did a careful accounting.

   Every Penny accounted for up till 12/31/2013! :-)

   We thank Lynn Chen-Zhang, CPA, and Kathleen To, former 80-20 PAC President, for handling the checks, the Paypal payments and doing the accounting.

                                              BAD NEWS:

[1] CA Chinese-Am Senators Voted for "race-conscious" College Admissions

   3 California Senators just voted to go against the will of the CA voters. They voted to bring back "race-conscious" admission policy in colleges. Understandably, it was pushed by the Hispanic community, because they want more of their children to get into first tier CA colleges. What is NOT understandable is that all three Ch-Am state senators voted for the bill, which will work AGAINST Asian Am. applicants.

 

   Asian Am politicians have always raised money from us. We'd like them to protect our rightful interests. Each of them could easily have voted "NO!" by stating that they don't want to oppose the expressed will of CA voters, because Proposition 209, which prohibits "race-conscious" practices in CA, passed overwhelmingly a few years back. Shall 80-20 take action? Love to have your comment. To comment, please click here.

[2] Donation to SELF slowed down!

    $250,000/yr for 5 years should be reached a long time ago. Instead, we are at $225,000/yr. If 80-20 fails to reach its minimum goal to raise $1 million per year for 5 years in another 21 months, 80-20'll admit its failure to serve you well. 80-20 Initiative will probably demise shortly thereafter.

   Since 80-20 came on the scene 14 yrs ago, no organization, whether Asian or non-Asian, has fought as hard & gotten as much results for YOU. To donate click here.
 

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

PS: My apologies to those new Life Members and regular members that we didn't put your names on our MEMBERSHIP list for the past few months, owing to a staff error. Click here to see your own names being displayed proudly.