Affirmative Action And Asian Americans

This thesis mainly discusses the Asian Americans,Affirmative Action and the interaction between the two terms.Through analyzing the dilemma that Asian Americans are confronted with in college admissions,this thesis tries to unveil the myth of the so-called label “the Model Minority”.In 2014,Student for Fair Admission – a group representing primarily Asian American students and parents – filed a lawsuit against Harvard University.The accusation alleged that Harvard University intentionally discriminated against Asian Americans and used implicit racial quotas.In October,2019,the Federal District Court ruled that no persuasive documentary evidence of any racial animus or conscious prejudice against Asian Americans was found in the admissions process.At present,Asian Americans did not manage to challenge Affirmative Action through the judicial procedure,however,as the case was almost guaranteed to reach Supreme Court,Affirmative Action would face a new round of shock led by Asian Americans.Asians have been victimized by race-based policies throughout the country's history pointing to the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act and the WWII-era Japanese internment camps,among other injustices.As the victims of past racial discrimination,Asian Americans should have been benefited from Affirmative Action,which was implemented for the purpose of compensating the disadvantaged ethnic minorities.But the SFFA case demonstrates that Affirmative Action policies actually lay the “racial caps” for the Asian Americans aiming at elite universities,such as the Ivy League.It is found in this thesis that even if Affirmative Action brings negative effects to Asian applicants in college admissions,it is not the root for this problem.Asian Americans are deemed as “neither black nor white” in terms of the racial relations,occupying a changing but marginalized position.They become the unintended victims of Affirmative Action not because this policy is originally harmful for Asian Americans,but because it is primarily utilized as the compensation for African Americans.Moreover,it is not rational to treat Asian Americans as a monolithic ethnic group without differences of subgroups.This thesis conforms to the latest trends of the lawsuit concerning Asian Americans and Affirmative Action,so it is of great research value and significance.