On every kind of application or form, whether for a doctor’s office or a job, you will often find six familiar, confining checkmark boxes that list the following: white, black or African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Asian or Pacific Islander, Native American and other.
As students, we’ve had to deal with this borderline insulting question on all sorts of academic paperwork, as if all achievements relied on our choice of broad categorization of the human race. Sometimes we can’t help but wonder if it’s a matter of acceptance or denial.
What’s most unfortunate is how the race game has created disadvantages for Asian-American students.
Studies have found that Asian students are held to an unfair stereotype of outstanding SAT math scores and skyrocketing GPAs, and the competition is dense.
Asian-Americans score higher on standardized tests than any other ethnic group, including whites. The pool of overqualified Asian candidates for college admission is brimming.
Because of these positive statistics, the Asian category has become toxic. The cookie-cutter label of the computer-brained, math-inclined nerd is something human beings cannot always live up to.
Some of mixed race are opting just to check the “white” box. Others, feeling as though they couldn’t limit themselves to just one box choose the “multiracial” option.
Props to those who leave the boxes blank. Your name will be the only clue for your admissions officer — as it should be.
Some brave and confident souls would be damned if they denied their race for the sake of a school, job or internship. Many honestly identify themselves, aware of the chance of being unfairly discriminated.
What message do universities and academic institutions give to Asian-American students? Conversely, what message does it send to students who identify themselves as African American or Hispanic — ethnic groups that tend to have lower test scores?
As a child of an American father and a Cuban mother, I’ll admit I’m guilty of marking “Hispanic” because I thought it would give me a leg-up on the competition.
College is a time of knowledge and self-discovery. It is not the time for an identity crisis.
The practice of considering race as a factor of admission fosters stereotypes, and these universities are hypocritically retrograding to prejudice instead of progressing forward toward universal acceptance.
UF has a very diverse student body, an asset so many other schools crave. Diversity says a lot about the university: It’s appealing to a large variety of students who choose to bring their talents here.
I’m not accusing UF of filling quotas and playing the race card, I just think the university — and all others, too — should ditch the race questions altogether. Using quotas is like fighting racism with racism: Someone always remains stunted in his or her check box.
The affirmative action practices, once meant to combat racial discrimination, have morphed into reverse discrimination. Do away with the racial boxes, and the competition will decrease for Asians, but fairly raise the bar for everyone else. California has a law that prohibits state institutions from considering race in admissions. Bravo.
Instead of playing the race card, universities should follow California’s lead of an equal admission process and focus on creating a diverse student body on the basis of accepting well-rounded students. Test scores and GPA should, of course, be a priority in the selection process, but admissions officers should look into the skills, talents and community involvement of applicants.
That’s true diversity.
Colleen Wright is a journalism freshman at UF. Her column appears on Tuesdays.
