Intelligence is based on the scale of your race

Esther Ho

Section A02
Reading Reflection #3
In response to: "A Quota on Excellence? The Asian American Admissions Debate"

One thing that stood out to me in Nakanishi’s article, “A Quota on Excellence? The Asian American Admissions Debate,” was the question as to whether the goals of the admission process of colleges and Ivy Leagues are to promote a diverse student body or whether it is to pick the best of the best. I think these two goals overlap one another on the concept of race. Obviously, if the “higher education institutions” wanted to promote a diverse student body, they would consider the applicants’ race. But even with the goal of picking the best of the best, race would still play a role as our level of intelligence is ranked on a different scale, depending on race. This is shown in the article when it mention how even though Asian/Pacific Americans represent a considerable amount of academically eligible individuals, they do not have the highest admission rate.  This shows me that race is not behind us; it is a factor that still plays a pertinent role in our lives, determining what is attainable.

It is even more shocking that some university administrators put the blame of the disparity of Asian American admission rates on their (Asians’) homogenous major/career pursuits. This disregards the idea of relative functionalism, where Asian Americans tend to pursue careers that have a seemingly “guaranteed” career pathway in a society where THEY (majority group) have imposed an “invisible” boundary on Asian Americans’ options in what areas they can remotely attain success in.

Asian Americans just want a fair chance and equal treatment in the admission process. Why is race such an important factor? What makes it such pivotal role?