猖獗的论文买卖# Biology - 生物学
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http://paw.princeton.edu/issues/2012/03/21/pages/3061/index.xml
Questions about race, admissions linger for Asian-American students
By Angela Wu ’12
When the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) confirmed
last month that an Asian-American applicant had filed a complaint alleging
discrimination in the admission processes at Princeton and Harvard, students
on campus largely shrugged.
After all, this had happened before. The rejected applicant’s complaint
against Princeton, which was withdrawn in mid-February, had been folded into
an ongoing official review of University admissions that began in 2008
after a similar claim by another student, Jian Li. Both complaints reflected
a common concern among many Asian-American students, who make up 17.7
percent of the undergraduate student body — that they may face a higher bar
when it comes to getting into top schools.
Race is one of the factors considered in the admission process, University
spokesman Martin Mbugua told The Daily Princetonian last month. But in an
email, he emphasized that each application is considered in a “holistic
manner.”
“Princeton University seeks to assemble a class whose composition, in the
University’s judgment, would enrich the educational experience for all of
our students and further the University’s mission,” Mbugua said. “We
treat each application individually, and we don’t discriminate on the basis
of race or national origin.”
Some evidence suggests Asian-American applicants to selective universities
do appear to be at a disadvantage. According to No Longer Separate, Not Yet
Equal, a 2009 book by Princeton sociology professor Thomas Espenshade *72
and Alexandria Radford *09, an otherwise identical Asian-American applicant
with the same test scores and GPA as a white applicant is less likely to
gain admission to an elite college. Like most studies on college admission,
these results are based on measurable data such as GPA, test scores, and
legacy status, but not “softer” factors like extracurricular activities
and personal statements.
“Whether or not there is a disadvantage in the admission process, the
perception definitely exists,” said Sungwoo Chon ’13. For some Asian-
American students, that has meant feeling the need to work harder to excel
in school and extracurricular activities. Others, like Brian Chen ’13, who
quit violin and picked up swimming in high school, said that the perceived
bias encouraged them to pursue passions that, while enjoyable, were also
conscious efforts to break conventional stereotypes.
Avoiding the Asian stereotype — quiet, book-smart, focused on science and
math — is an ever-present concern, many Asian-American students said.
Leo Shaw ’12, for example, suggested that for some, “it can be a bigger
issue that causes a subtle and maybe unconscious sense of deficiency, as if
there’s something wrong with being Asian-American.”
For high school seniors already anxious about standing out in a sea of
applications, the concern that admission officers won’t see past an Asian
surname — despite schools’ assurances to the contrary — adds to the
anxiety.
“It constrains you. It puts pressure on you to try and make yourself
different,” said Charles Du ’13, who along with Tara Ohrtman ’13 has
picked up the baton in the Asian-American Students Association’s decades-
long effort to establish an Asian-American studies certificate program. The
association hopes to create a forum for discussion of issues including
discrimination, said co-president James Chang ’14.
The discussion is sure to return, and perhaps perceptions of bias — warrant
ed or not — will always linger in students’ minds. But as long as
admission to elite universities remains so competitive, as Grace Pak ’13
put it with a shrug, “How can you really know that your race was the one
thing?”
Questions about race, admissions linger for Asian-American students
By Angela Wu ’12
When the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) confirmed
last month that an Asian-American applicant had filed a complaint alleging
discrimination in the admission processes at Princeton and Harvard, students
on campus largely shrugged.
After all, this had happened before. The rejected applicant’s complaint
against Princeton, which was withdrawn in mid-February, had been folded into
an ongoing official review of University admissions that began in 2008
after a similar claim by another student, Jian Li. Both complaints reflected
a common concern among many Asian-American students, who make up 17.7
percent of the undergraduate student body — that they may face a higher bar
when it comes to getting into top schools.
Race is one of the factors considered in the admission process, University
spokesman Martin Mbugua told The Daily Princetonian last month. But in an
email, he emphasized that each application is considered in a “holistic
manner.”
“Princeton University seeks to assemble a class whose composition, in the
University’s judgment, would enrich the educational experience for all of
our students and further the University’s mission,” Mbugua said. “We
treat each application individually, and we don’t discriminate on the basis
of race or national origin.”
Some evidence suggests Asian-American applicants to selective universities
do appear to be at a disadvantage. According to No Longer Separate, Not Yet
Equal, a 2009 book by Princeton sociology professor Thomas Espenshade *72
and Alexandria Radford *09, an otherwise identical Asian-American applicant
with the same test scores and GPA as a white applicant is less likely to
gain admission to an elite college. Like most studies on college admission,
these results are based on measurable data such as GPA, test scores, and
legacy status, but not “softer” factors like extracurricular activities
and personal statements.
“Whether or not there is a disadvantage in the admission process, the
perception definitely exists,” said Sungwoo Chon ’13. For some Asian-
American students, that has meant feeling the need to work harder to excel
in school and extracurricular activities. Others, like Brian Chen ’13, who
quit violin and picked up swimming in high school, said that the perceived
bias encouraged them to pursue passions that, while enjoyable, were also
conscious efforts to break conventional stereotypes.
Avoiding the Asian stereotype — quiet, book-smart, focused on science and
math — is an ever-present concern, many Asian-American students said.
Leo Shaw ’12, for example, suggested that for some, “it can be a bigger
issue that causes a subtle and maybe unconscious sense of deficiency, as if
there’s something wrong with being Asian-American.”
For high school seniors already anxious about standing out in a sea of
applications, the concern that admission officers won’t see past an Asian
surname — despite schools’ assurances to the contrary — adds to the
anxiety.
“It constrains you. It puts pressure on you to try and make yourself
different,” said Charles Du ’13, who along with Tara Ohrtman ’13 has
picked up the baton in the Asian-American Students Association’s decades-
long effort to establish an Asian-American studies certificate program. The
association hopes to create a forum for discussion of issues including
discrimination, said co-president James Chang ’14.
The discussion is sure to return, and perhaps perceptions of bias — warrant
ed or not — will always linger in students’ minds. But as long as
admission to elite universities remains so competitive, as Grace Pak ’13
put it with a shrug, “How can you really know that your race was the one
thing?”
