FLIPSIDE OF AFFIRMATIVE ACTION... BARRIERS AGAINST ASIAN AMERICANS

While I'm not a supporter of current affirmative action policies, it's interesting to find out how staunch opponents would view the policies of some institutions preventing Asian Americans from being admitted based on their ethnicity. Here's a recent article in the NY Times, "Little Asia on the Hill," discussing the dominance of Asian Americans in California's public university system. And a older but more relevant article from the WSJ:

Is Admissions Bar Higher for Asians At Elite Schools?
School Standards Are Probed Even as Enrollment Increases; A Bias Claim at Princeton

By Daniel Golden
November 11, 2006

Though Asian-Americans constitute only about 4.5% of the U.S. population, they typically account for anywhere from 10% to 30% of students at many of the nation's elite colleges.

Even so, based on their outstanding grades and test scores, Asian-Americans increasingly say their enrollment should be much higher -- a contention backed by a growing body of evidence.

Whether elite colleges give Asian-American students a fair shake is becoming a big concern in college-admissions offices. Federal civil-rights officials are investigating charges by a top Chinese-American student that he was rejected by Princeton University last spring because of his race and national origin. (full article)