While applying to college, students are asked to whittle down 18-odd years of growing into their appearance and identity to the tick of a box. Indicating race on a college application is likely a student’s first introduction to university affirmative action policies.

Initially intended to help execute the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Affirmative Action today refers to the effort to diversify educational and professional spaces, as well as to support minorities facing systemic barriers to success. For universities, this translates to considering race and ethnicity in admissions and admitting minority students at a rate higher than suggested by their applicant pool.

On Oct. 31, the United States Supreme Court began hearing Oral Arguments on two potentially landmark cases between Students for Fair Admissions and two universities. The organization, which represents thousands of students and parents alleging racial discrimination in their college application process, has called into question the constitutionality of considering race when deciding a student’s acceptance to a university.

SFFA is arguing that affirmative action practices violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment, while the universities, Harvard College and the University of North Carolina, maintain that these practices support their goal of a more diverse campus and enriching student experience. These cases are unique among others addressing affirmative action, as the plaintiffs are largely Asian American. The primary complaint is that universities discriminate against Asian Americans in their admissions processes, and requiring students to declare their race only adds to this.

As an Asian American university student, I feel that abandoning decades of precedent in considering applicants’ race is dangerously idealistic and would hurt other minority groups as well as my own community.

For decades, the issue of affirmative action has pitted those with a more ‘brutal’ view of equality against others who understand how American history has never sown a level-playing field. The fact of the matter is that this country is not, and certainly never has been, post-racial. Whether through the political menace of redlining, the disproportionate surveillance of people of color or the healthcare implications of treating “Asian” as a single ethnicity, race is a factor that continues to pervade countless areas of American life.

In terms of pre-college education, racial disparities in SAT scores and after-school activity participation show how minority students are frequently unable to beef up their college applications in the same way as white people. This is not exclusive to Black or Latino populations, many Asian-Americans, especially new immigrants and students from low-income families experience it as well. An applicants’ race never affects their intelligence or merit, but in many cases it affects the caliber of their application. Colleges can not make a fair assessment on an applicant, then, without at least considering race.

This is not to say applicants should be admitted solely on the basis of race, and those in support of upholding Affirmative Action don’t suggest that either. The newest member of the Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reminded the court during oral arguments that “no one is automatically getting in” because of their minority identity.

Similarly, it is important to note that financial circumstances play a major part in the degree to which race sets minorities back. Access to private schools, tutors and club sports can bolster a student of color’s application when family finances allow for it. I went through the college application process and met rejection. If I were to discover that my race was the determining factor in my acceptance or denial from a school, I would be upset. But the system is more holistic than that.

Sure, I ticked a box to indicate my South Asian identity. However, FAFSA forms help a university gauge an applicant’s economic standing. In asking for the name of your high school, universities are made aware of whether you received a public or private education. By asking for information on your family, a school understands whether you grew up with both parents in the home and what those parents did for a living.

Privilege has many faces, and race is but one. The unfortunate fact of our society is that race is regularly a predictor of socioeconomic standing and family situation because of systemic barriers to success for minorities in America. The necessity for affirmative action is not based solely on race, but the way race intertwines with socioeconomic standing.

The disadvantages minority groups face continue to make it more difficult for them to climb the social ladder. Universities should consider the disparities in privilege that stem from race. When these universities consider an applicant’s race, they don’t regard it solely in the abstract or as an accident of birth, but as intimately related to the applicant’s life experience.

It is important to remember that multiple other factors influence privilege and stand to reason why colleges cannot judge applicants in the abstract. An inner-city minority applicant from a working class background cannot be held to the same standard as a white, affluent boarding school alumnus who grew up with an abundance of resources and opportunities.

Academic institutions should view privilege as a function of an applicant’s identities, whether that be racial, sexual or ethnic, while also considering their financial situation. Only then can a college make a prudent judgment of the ways in which the applicant has been set back and deserves special consideration when deciding their admission. Universities must be able to practice affirmative action if they are to make their admissions cycles equitable.

Neil Vijayan is a Freshman English and Textual Studies major. His column appears bi-weekly, and he can be reached at nvijayan@syr.edu.

Published on November 2, 2022 at 10:02 pm