Harvard on Trial:Students tell their stories - and talk about race

THANG DIEP

Thang Diep was one of the eight students to testify at the trail questioning Harvaard's admission practices.

EIGHT STUDENTS offered moving testimony about the benefits of diversity and the need to consider a student's race when applying to Harvard.

“I personally benefited from affirmative action,” said Harvard senior Thang Q. Diep. “It allows my immigration history to be taken into account, my own experiences taken into account.”

The trial examining if there is an anti-Asian bias built into the Harvard admission process entered its third week with the much-anticipated testimonies from the students.

The eight current and former Harvard students took the witness stand Monday (Oct. 29) to argue for race-conscious admissions — and against a race-blind process. Speakers included:

• Sally Chen 
• Margaret M. Chin
• Sarah F. Cole
• Thang Q. Diep
• Catherine H. Ho
• Cecilia A. J. Nuñez
• Madison A. Trice
• Itzel L. Vasquez-Rodriguez

U.S. District Court Judge Allison Burroughs offered plaintifffs who accused Harvard of discrimination a chance to describe their experiences but they apparently opted not to testify and remain anonymous out of fear of harassment and retaliation, according to their lawyers.

After Diep's 40-minutes on the witness stand during which the bspectacled senior told his life story, the audience broke into applause.

The eight students and alumni of color drew on personal experiences — including tales of childhood bullying, fears over Harvard's whiteness, and comfort found in College affinity groups — to defend the need for diversity on campus.

Many said their racial or ethnic identity shaped their early life and that the Harvard application process allowed them to take pride in their heritage. Some said they would not have applied to Harvard if the College did not consider race as a factor when evaluating applicants, according to the Harvard Crimson.

Sarah Cole, who graduated in 2016, said  that she faced “casual racism” from classmates at the prestigious and majority-white high school she attended. She said she could not possibly have applied to Harvard without writing about her race and the way it shaped her early life.

“Race-blind admissions is an act of erasure,” said Cole, who is African American. “To not see my race is to not see me.”

Margaret M. Chin, a sociologist at Hunter College and the City University of New York Graduate Center, testified that she felt the same way as an undergraduate in the 1980s.

“I never had met so many rich, white people in my life,” Chin said. “I was intimidated, especially in the classroom.”

The current admission process under attack has provided a modicum of diversity. Admission officers are instructed to evaluate applcants holistically with racebeing  just one of the factors, but not the main factor. A Crimson survey of the Class of 2022 found that respondents are roughly 46 percent white, 18 percent Asian, 11 percent black or African American, and 7 percent Hispanic or Latino.

The trial is expected to conclude on Friday. No matter whatever ruling is handed down by Burroughs, the decision would probably be appealed -- either by the university or by Students for Fair Admissions, a conservative, anti-affirmative action nonprofit which represents the Asian American plaintiffs -- all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Through the first two weeks of the trial, Harvard has continued to take a public relations beating over some of its admission policies, particularly those that favor alumni children and children of rich donors. The plaintiffs have focused on affirmative action as the reason more Asian Americans are not admitted. Although widely believed to be practiced, Harvard's admission of giving preference to applicants on the "special list," was still a surprise.

New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, who opposes the anti-affirmative action lawsuit, wrote this weekend of his anger over legacy preferences. "We progressives hail opportunity, egalitarianism and diversity. Yet here’s our dirty little secret: some of our most liberal bastions in America rely on a system of inherited privilege that benefits rich whites at the expense of almost everyone else," he wrote.

___________________________________________________________________________