80-20 may fight against higher admission bars against AsAm students
A momentous decision, deeply impacting Asian Am. youths, will be made by 80-20 tomorrow. Please read this e-newsletter and let me know YOUR view before Tuesday’s vote.
80-20’s Executive Committee voted 5 yeses and 1 abstain to call a Board meeting tomorrow to vote on a motion to file a “friend of the court” (amicus curiae) brief with the Supreme Court supporting the banning of race as a decision making factor in college admission. (Note: the Board has voted 13 to 2 to take on this issue on Dec. 8, 2011.)
Currently, Asian Am. college applicants face an apparently much higher admission bar* to enter first tier universities — a situation twice confirmed by our Supreme Court to be legal.
However, the Supreme Court’s composition has changed. Samuel Alito has replaced Sandra O’Connor, who voted with the last ruling in a 5-to-4 decision. Alito has consistently voted against the use of racial classification. Hence legal experts are predicting a reversal when the court takes up the “Fisher versus Univ. of Texas” case.
Click on a NY Times article for more information http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/16/sunday-review/college-diversity-nears-its-last-stand.html?pagewanted=all .
Should the Supreme Court reverse it, the student body at the University of Texas and many other public colleges and FIRST TIER private universities would almost instantly become whiter and more Asian, and less black and Hispanic. However, 80-20 is pleased to learn that the ABSOLUTE number of black and Hispanic students and graduates are NOT expected to decrease.
See a recent Washington Post article by George Will:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-unintended-consequences-of-racial-preferences/2011/11/29/gIQAbuoPEO_story.html .
Tell we YOUR view, before the 80-20 Board’s vote is taken.
To join, using a credit card, click on here. Or send your check to:
80-20 PAC • 13337 South St. #189 • Cerritos, CA 90703.
Basic $35; Family $50; Student $15; Life Member $1,000.
Respectfully yours,
S. B. Woo, a volunteer for 80-20 PAC for 13 years & donated $100K
* A study by Princeton sociologist Thomas Espenshade examined applicants to top colleges from 1997, when the maximum SAT score was 1600 (today it’s 2400). Espenshade found that Asian-Americans needed a 1550 SAT to have an equal chance of getting into an elite college as white students with a 1410 or black students with an 1100. However, SAT score is not the only factor in admission considerations.
PS: See an USA Today article, “Some Asians’ college strategy: 5770 Don’t check ‘Asian'”
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2011-12-03/asian-students-college-applications/51620236/1
(Imagine that. Will we survive as a minority if our youths feel that way?)
Additional Information: (PDF files)