Stereotyping Asian-Americans: Harvard Calls It ‘Diversity’ But It’s More Like Racial Balancing

24 Jul Stereotyping Asian-Americans: Harvard Calls It ‘Diversity’ But It’s More Like Racial Balancing

Two sad truths about the state of education in the United States: Our K-12 students are trailing those of other nations, and there aren’t enough homegrown pupils focused on STEM.

With this in mind, one would think our leading universities would welcome exceptional applicants who demonstrated strength in subjects like science and math. Sadly, this isn’t the case for all Americans.

Each year, many Asian-American students with top SAT scores and GPAs who demonstrate excellent leadership skills (plus countless awards) are unjustifiably rejected by Harvard and other Ivy League schools. Asian-American admission rates at these universities have remained around 14-18% for the past 20 years, while during that same time period, the percentage of Asian-Americans between the ages of 18 and 21 almost doubled.

Stereotypes faced by Asian-Americans

Several studies have pointed out the possible root causes of this discrimination; Daniel Golden and Thomas Espenshade say Asian-Americans are held to a higher standard than other races, and Ron Unz suggests a de facto quota system is in place.

Another important factor is the widespread social stereotypes against Asian-Americans: They aren’t creative enough, lack leadership skills, and don’t take risks. In a recent CNN article, these students were even labeled as “test robots.”

But these stereotypes (like most) are exaggerations based on outdated observations. A complete view of the facts offers a different conclusion.

Let’s start with creativity. Today, many Asian-Americans have become leading engineers and scientists, developing a large number of our technical innovations. According to Thomson Reuters, Asian-Americans account for 11 of the world’s top 20 material scientists, or 55%. In MIT Technology Review’s list of “35 Innovators Under 35” last year, 12 were Asian-Americans, or 34%. Asian-Americans have also demonstrated their creativity in other areas: Witness world-class cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Oscar-winning director Ang Lee and fashion designer Vera Wang.

A 2012 study released by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation even said although Asian-Americans comprise less than 6% of our total population, they founded (or cofounded) more than 42% of engineering and technology startups from 2006-2012.

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