OPINION
Asians have bad personalities?
The fight over Affirmative Action and the college process for Asians, explained.
By Phillip | 5/19/20
Do Asians have bad personalities? When a new research paper was released concluding that either Asians have worse personalities than other races or are discriminated against in this metric, I was intrigued. After grappling with the nuanced issues and consulting with several thoughtful Asians, I came to the same conclusion that I started with: although stereotypes may be holding Asians back in the college process, Affirmative Action is a completely different issue in which some Asians are being used as puppets by white people.
Nearly all elite colleges talk about holistic admissions, or considering all parts of a student. Affirmative action as part of holistic admissions is logical: race is a crucial part of identity in America. Colleges should take into account historical hardships and racism that makes it harder for certain students to go to college, just as they should take into account income levels. In addition, taking into account race usually creates diversity, which is valuable for both the student body and the college. For the community, diversity means different perspectives, which allows all students to expand their horizons. For the college, diversity produces alumni and attracts applicants in all fields of study and spaces of life.
Harvard University is at the center of the fight in favor of Affirmative Action because of what it represents: privilege, intellectual elites, 1600’s, ivy and red brick, and a golden ticket to success. At Harvard, 25.3% of the last class was Asian, while the US population is only 5% Asian. If only academic performance was considered, the percentage of Asians would nearly double to 43%.
Harvard uses numbers to rank candidates in several categories, and “despite boasting higher test scores, better grades, and stronger extracurricular resumes than applicants of any other racial group, Asian American applicants consistently received lower rankings on those personality traits”(The Atlantic). Either Asians have bad personalities or there are negative stereotypes or discrimination from admissions officers and counselors/teachers writing letters of recommendation.
So why do Asians do so well in all areas other than “personality”? Asians do have higher incomes than all other races and are generally seen as a success story in America. There is evidence that Asians are more likely to believe that academic achievement is caused through hard work, not skill (which is beneficial and known as a growth mindset). However, the assumption that most or all will be successful is called the model minority myth. In addition, Asian American achievement has been used as a cudgel to say that other minorities aren’t working hard enough, but one of the reasons why Asians have been able to outperform whites is because they have slowly gained pay equality with whites (even while controlling for education). In this aspect, white people got less racist toward Asians. Of course, Asians still face problems of discrimination in the workplace, the “bamboo ceiling” (lack of leadership opportunities) due to stereotypes about being subservient, and xenophobia during the Coronavirus. Finally, many of the above statements are only generally true about East Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Korean), but there are a great variety of outcomes and opportunities within the race.
In a piece about the whitening of Asians, Iris Kuo of the Atlantic writes that “much of the push to align whites and Asians as similar racial groups, both injured by employment and educational policies that consider race as a factor, ignores the vast diversity that exists among Asian-Americans.” There is an idea that as income goes up, a group assimilates more with the dominant group which in America is white, rich people. Although Asians have the highest median income, we also have the most wealth inequality. White people assuming that I, an East Asian, am good at math probably helps my job prospects. White people thinking my friend, who is Indian, is dangerous when he grows out his beard probably hurts his job prospects (among other things).
The problem is not Affirmative Action, but rather a lack of nuance and the unconscious bias of admissions officers. Colleges should consider race, while keeping in mind the huge diversity of opportunity/outcomes within races. All minorities have different histories of racism in America, which vary in scope, scale, and longevity. Colleges should also work on their unconscious biases and stop stereotyping Asians as having “worse” personalities. If some types of Asians are overrepresented at elite colleges, Affirmative Action should no longer help them because the program is created to remedy underrepresentation due to racism.
Nearly all elite colleges talk about holistic admissions, or considering all parts of a student. Affirmative action as part of holistic admissions is logical: race is a crucial part of identity in America. Colleges should take into account historical hardships and racism that makes it harder for certain students to go to college, just as they should take into account income levels. In addition, taking into account race usually creates diversity, which is valuable for both the student body and the college. For the community, diversity means different perspectives, which allows all students to expand their horizons. For the college, diversity produces alumni and attracts applicants in all fields of study and spaces of life.
Harvard University is at the center of the fight in favor of Affirmative Action because of what it represents: privilege, intellectual elites, 1600’s, ivy and red brick, and a golden ticket to success. At Harvard, 25.3% of the last class was Asian, while the US population is only 5% Asian. If only academic performance was considered, the percentage of Asians would nearly double to 43%.
Harvard uses numbers to rank candidates in several categories, and “despite boasting higher test scores, better grades, and stronger extracurricular resumes than applicants of any other racial group, Asian American applicants consistently received lower rankings on those personality traits”(The Atlantic). Either Asians have bad personalities or there are negative stereotypes or discrimination from admissions officers and counselors/teachers writing letters of recommendation.
So why do Asians do so well in all areas other than “personality”? Asians do have higher incomes than all other races and are generally seen as a success story in America. There is evidence that Asians are more likely to believe that academic achievement is caused through hard work, not skill (which is beneficial and known as a growth mindset). However, the assumption that most or all will be successful is called the model minority myth. In addition, Asian American achievement has been used as a cudgel to say that other minorities aren’t working hard enough, but one of the reasons why Asians have been able to outperform whites is because they have slowly gained pay equality with whites (even while controlling for education). In this aspect, white people got less racist toward Asians. Of course, Asians still face problems of discrimination in the workplace, the “bamboo ceiling” (lack of leadership opportunities) due to stereotypes about being subservient, and xenophobia during the Coronavirus. Finally, many of the above statements are only generally true about East Asians (Chinese, Japanese, Korean), but there are a great variety of outcomes and opportunities within the race.
In a piece about the whitening of Asians, Iris Kuo of the Atlantic writes that “much of the push to align whites and Asians as similar racial groups, both injured by employment and educational policies that consider race as a factor, ignores the vast diversity that exists among Asian-Americans.” There is an idea that as income goes up, a group assimilates more with the dominant group which in America is white, rich people. Although Asians have the highest median income, we also have the most wealth inequality. White people assuming that I, an East Asian, am good at math probably helps my job prospects. White people thinking my friend, who is Indian, is dangerous when he grows out his beard probably hurts his job prospects (among other things).
The problem is not Affirmative Action, but rather a lack of nuance and the unconscious bias of admissions officers. Colleges should consider race, while keeping in mind the huge diversity of opportunity/outcomes within races. All minorities have different histories of racism in America, which vary in scope, scale, and longevity. Colleges should also work on their unconscious biases and stop stereotyping Asians as having “worse” personalities. If some types of Asians are overrepresented at elite colleges, Affirmative Action should no longer help them because the program is created to remedy underrepresentation due to racism.