Asian American & Pacific Islander groups support affirmative action in brief to the U.S. Supreme Court

ONCE AGAIN, that old model minority myth about Asian Americans is being used against other minority groups by a Euro/American. The old divide-and-conquer ploy.

But this time, it appears to be a unifying theme and an opportunity for Asian community to express their solidarity with other racial/ethnic groups

In friends-of-the-court briefs filed with the U.S. Supreme Court, over 160 Asian American and Pacific Islander groups -- representing almost all of the ethnicities and racial groups coming from the Asia and Pacific region -- have demonstrated their support for affirmative action that benefits people of color.

"Such broad support for race conscious admissions policies sends a clear message that AAPIs overwhelmingly support these policies and will not be used as a racial wedge to disenfranchise other communities of color," said Laboni Hoq, litigation director at Advancing Justice - Los Angeles.

The briefs were filed today (Nov.3) in a case, Fisher v. University of Texas, that claims discrimination against a white student because of the university's admission policies that attempts to have a diversified student body. Rather than rule on the case, the Supreme Court returned it to the lower court. Abigail Fisher, a Caucasian student, was rejected when she applied to UT-Austin.

Fisher and Rachel Michalewicz, who were denied admission to University of Texas at Austin in 2008, originally filed the case in 2009. Michalewicz withdrew form the case in 2011.

The women alleged the university improperly used race as a factor in admissions. A United States District Court decided in favor of the university in 2009, but the Supreme Court vacated the decision and sent the case back down the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in 2013, saying that the court failed to apply “strict scrutiny” in its review of the university system’s admissions policy.

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals then ruled in favor of the university and dismissed Fisher’s case in July 2014. In June, the Supreme Court announced it would reconsider the case it initially heard in 2013.

In 2013, ProPublica published what became one of the most provocative analyses of the Fisher case. It highlighted an overlooked, deeply ironic fact about the case: when one actually looked at Fisher’s arguments, she actually had not been denied admission because of her race, but rather because of her inadequate academic achievements. 

What the article revealed was that there were dozens of white students who scored lower than Fisher but were admitted to the university; and there were a few African American students who scored higher than Fisher but denied admission. What it seems to show is that Fisher was denied admission because of other reasons other than race and certainly not because of the university's affirmative action plan.

ANALYSIS: Originally published March 18, 2013, by clicking here.

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A closer look at disaggregated data reveals large disparities in educational attainment among Asian American ethnic groups. Based on U.S. Census Bureau data, the educational attainment of Hmong, Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese Americans is the lowest among Asian American ethnic groups and similar to those of Latinos and African Americans. Only 61 percent of Hmong Americans hold a high school diploma, while only 12 percent of Laotian Americans have graduated from college.

"Supporters of Fisher have mischaracterized UT-Austin's race-conscious admissions policy. It can benefit Asian Americans through an individualized review of applicants that avoids harmful stereotypes based on the 'model minority' myth," says AALDEF Executive Director Margaret Fung.

The largest institution of higher learning in the country with perhaps the largest Asian/American student body in the country, the University of California, filed a similar friend of the court brief today in support of affirmative action. University of California President Janet Napolitano and all 10 UC chancellors announced their support for affirmative action in admissions decisions

The amicus brief detailed the UC’s efforts to increase diversity through race-neutral initiatives.

Despite the efforts, UC enrollment figures do not reflect California’s racial demographics, particularly at its most selective campuses, according to the brief. According to the brief, the proportion of minority applicants at UCLA dropped from 22 percent to 18 percent between 1995 and 1998. The admission rate of minority applicants also fell from 52 percent to 24 percent.

"We recognize that Asian Pacific Americans, like other groups, have endured cases of discrimination and lack of opportunities which continue to impact us today. The low numbers of minority groups in the legal profession, government, and corporate leadership underscore the need to remove barriers to higher education and increase diversity," says George C. Chen, president of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. "Courtrooms, law firms, and law schools must be filled with people of different backgrounds so that we can better understand and respect the diversity of the American public."

The three AAPI legal organizations that filed amicus briefs are:

• The Asian American Advancing Justice (Advancing Justice). For a copy, visit www.advancingjustice-la.org.
• The Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) For a copy, visit http://aaldef.org.
• The National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) amicus brief, filed by the Coalition of Bar Associations of Color (CBAC), consisting of NAPABA, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), the National Bar Association (NBA), and the National Native American Bar Association (NNABA), . For a copy, visit, www.napaba.org.