Look Within Groups

While the general tenor of the staff editorial is sound, it overlooks a subtle but important point in its analysis of under-represented groups at Harvard. Despite a 20 percent Asian-American presence on campus, the population does not reflect the diversity of the Asian-Americans across the U.S. In its efforts to diversity the campus, the admissions office must continue its efforts to attract and recruit low-income and under-represented immigrant and working-class Asian-American students.

The category "Asian-American" (as with "Hispanic" and "black") is not a homogeneous mask. It is a term used for convenience that ought not displace the diversity in the group. While often it is easy to look at our peers and see a representation of a "model minority," Asian-Americans are far from a monolithic block. Filipino-Americans, the second largest Asian American population in the U.S. after those of Chinese descent, are under-represented at Harvard. Hmong-Americans, which constitute the fastest growing Asian-American group in the U.S., have a poverty rate of 64.5 percent--greater than any other racial or ethnic minority.

Given that the admissions office has come under federal and student scrutiny in the past for its admissions and recruitment policy toward Asian-American students, it should recognize the diversity within the group as much as it claims.