Among Asian Americans, Affirmative Action Ruling Angers, Elates

Whether they've liked it or not, Asian Americans have figured prominently in the decades-long debate over affirmative action in higher education. In fact, the Supreme Court decision to strike down race-conscious admissions on Thursday came partly in response to a lawsuit claiming Harvard was intentionally discriminating against Asian American applicants.

Justices ruled 6-2 against Harvard, siding with Students for Fair Admissions which was founded by a white conservative activist named Edward Blum, the only plaintiff named in the suit.

The group had accused the country’s oldest university of holding Asian Americans to a higher academic standard while rating them lower than other applicants when it comes to having a good personality.

'Lack of diversity'

The Supreme Court produced the Harvard decision in tandem with a related ruling that the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had also illegally used race in college admissions.

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Together, the decisions effectively stop the use of racial demographics as a factor in selecting college students, forcing colleges and universities to find other methods to maintain campus diversity, which experts expect to fall at the most selective schools in the wake of the ruling.

Among Asian Americans, reactions to the high court ruling ran the gamut. Leaders from some of the country’s largest Asian American advocacy organizations accused Students for Fair Admissions of using their communities to "advance a white supremacist agenda." They also denounced the decision as harmful to all students of color, including Asian Americans.

Last October, students rallied for affirmative action in higher education outside the U.S. Supreme Court before oral arguments.

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“For example, Southeast Asians and some Pacific Islander groups, who have been benefiting from affirmative action, we're going to see a loss of their opportunities,” said Connie Chung Joe, CEO of Asian Americans Advancing Justice Southern California.

Joe said Asian American students’ education will suffer from the absence of affirmative action in higher education.

“Affirmative action allows schools to have a diverse student body,” Joe said. “The lack of diversity that's going to come out of this decision has a really profound impact on all of us.”

‘What makes America great’

By contrast, the ruling was celebrated by members of the Asian American Coalition for Education, which was founded to fight “discriminatory college admission practices against Asian American children" and has supported Students for Fair Admissions in its legal battles.

“The Court upheld the greatness of the U.S. Constitution where everybody is created equal, everybody will be protected equally,” said Alex Chen, a coalition member from Irvine who described feeling emotional.

Alex Chen of Irvine is a member of the Asian American Coalition for Education which sees affirmative action policies as discriminatory.

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Chen said he started organizing with other Chinese American parents through social media and alumni groups nearly 10 years ago. That's when there was an unsuccessful campaign to bring back affirmative action to California’s public universities after Prop. 209 banned the consideration of race in admissions in 1996. Another effort to undo Prop. 209 failed in the 2020 election.

“We’re proud to be part of this because we believe meritocracy is what makes America great,” Chen said.

Asian American views on affirmative action

While Chen described his Asian American social circles as overwhelmingly opposed to race-based admissions, Joe said foes of those policies are a "very loud minority."

What do surveys say?

One released by the Pew Research Center earlier this month, shows a majority of Asian Americans — 53% — support affirmative action However, just 21% thought colleges should use race or ethnicity in admissions, leading researchers to conclude respondents have "mixed views of affirmative action."

Another survey that AAPI Data co-released last year showed much more robust support for affirmative action in higher ed. Asian Americans voters were asked their views on “affirmative action policies designed to help Black people, women, and other minorities gain better access to higher education.” Sixty-nine percent of respondents said they were in favor; 19% were against and 11% “didn’t know.”

AAPI Data broke down responses by ethnicity and found that Korean respondents were the most supportive of affirmative action (82%) while Chinese respondents were the least (59%).

What's next

For both supporters and detractors of affirmative action, the Supreme Court decision does not spell the end of their work.

Joe of Asian Americans Advancing Justice said that organizations like hers will strive to keep campuses diverse by increasing the pipeline of high schoolers of color entering college through tutoring programs and scholarships.

"In California, we've done a lot of those things to try to make up for the loss of race-conscious admissions policies (at public institutions)," Joe said. "I think a lot of other states and are going to have to start doing that in their colleges and their K-12."

Affirmative action in admissions at public California universities was banned by Prop 209 in 1996

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Joe said there are also strategies to retain these students once they're in college through affinity groups and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

Meanwhile, Chen said that groups like his will be keeping an eye on schools to make sure they are adhering to the Supreme Court decisions. He was hopeful that the rulings would stay in place for at least a couple decades if the conservative, relatively young majority on the court does not change — or maybe even generations.

Chen said his own children are grown but "if I didn't do anything, I would not be able to face my grandkids."