Calvin Yang, 21, joined the advocacy group Students for Fair Admissions in suing Harvard, alleging that the school’s race-conscious admissions practices systemically disadvantage Asian applicants. (The group also filed a complaint against the University of North Carolina.) After the US Supreme Court found in the group’s favor Thursday, Yang tells Rikki Schlott why the fight was worth it.
I had a 3.9 GPA, a 1550 SAT score, two varsity sports, my own political policy startup and a spot on Canada’s 30 Under 30 list when I applied to Harvard.
It was my dream school. And, when I was rejected, I couldn’t help but wonder whether my skin color was the reason why.
That’s why I joined Students for Fair Admissions in their case against Harvard University, seeking to overturn race-conscious admissions practices that I believe disadvantage Asian college applicants like me.
Finally, two years later, we just emerged victorious in the Supreme Court.
While I was thrilled when I got the news that the court had ruled that the Harvard and University of North Carolina’s affirmative action programs were in violation of the Fourteenth Amendment and federal civil rights law, I’m not all that surprised.
The court has sided with us and affirmed that Asian Americans are routinely being penalized because their last name is Kim or Lee.
I believe affirmative action is a well-intentioned idea that is poorly executed in reality. I appreciate the desire to incubate a diverse generation of America’s future leaders, but, at the same time, the current system hurts Asian applicants. And that is just a fact.
When I was applying to college in 2020, I did everything I could to appear “less Asian” on my applications. I even glossed over the fact that I was a very talented piano player because I was afraid it might strike an admissions officer as too stereotypical.
The fact that our skin color is a disadvantage in the application process is just an open secret in the Asian American community. I constantly hear from high-school students who reach out to me concerned about their admissions prospects because of their ethnicity.
Every online forum or parent group chat for families in the college application process is filled with tips on how to make your application seem less Asian. That’s just so sad.
But all of that is going to change now, thanks to the Supreme Court.
We still don’t know exactly how the colleges are going to change their admissions practices in response to this ruling, but there’s no question in my mind that it will bring about more equity.
Going forward, Asian students are going to be able to focus more on who they are as people rather than trying to appear less Asian for an admissions officer.
I definitely think I would have emphasized different aspects of my application and not played down my race had affirmative action been struck down before I applied to colleges.
I can only speculate, but I think my chances of getting into Harvard would have been higher. It’s definitely possible that race-conscious admissions were what stood between me and my dream school.
And, even if I still didn’t get in, I wouldn’t be left to wonder if it was because I’m Chinese-Canadian.
But, that said, I’m not at all resentful. I don’t have some personal vendetta against Harvard. I’m a rising junior focused on legal studies and political economics at the University of California, Berkeley, and I absolutely love my school.
I’m not fighting for myself; I’m fighting for my community at large.
I prefer to look forward, not backwards. One day I hope to have kids, and I’m glad they’ll grow up in a society that judges them based on their character rather than their last name or the color of their skin.
The Supreme Court’s ruling marks a pretty monumental step in the history of Asians in this country.
For so long we have been the model minority that doesn’t stand up and fight for our own rights. But today we’re stepping up.
I hope that Asians will continue to fight for our rightful place in this country and to be acknowledged for our contributions to society.
This story originally appeared on NYPost
