Asian Americans Fight for Equal Access to Education - Essay Sample

How the concept of Affirmative Action related to the Asian American community's campaign to support the new CCSF Chinatown/North college campus

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Since 1997 the Asian American community was subjected to the discriminatory admission policies among the top colleges and universities across the nation. Considering that the higher education in the United States is segmented highly by gender, class, and race, the immigrants and the minorities were allowed to only attend the bottom public community colleges and private vocational schools. "At the bottom are about three-thousand two-year public community colleges and private vocational schools attended by millions of immigrants and minorities" (Wang, 4). In the United States, these public community colleges do not offer the opportunity for transfer to a four-year institution, and if they are available, then the chances are limited. Therefore, considering that the immigrants and minority community including the Asian Americans are discriminated against their admission to the top colleges and universities, the group has been fighting for increased opportunities in higher education. "Focusing mostly on the period since 1997 when the community was slowly politicized and mobilized to fight for their educational rights." (Wang, 3). The first affirmative action was taken by the seven-member selected board of trustees of CCSF who have voted on establishing branches of the community college across the city including the Chinatown North College campus. Since this initiative in 1977, the project had not been initiated until despite the increasing number of Asian American Community admission in CCFT until October 18, 2007, when the trustees voted for the projected to start. "Asian American increased 370n percent in the CCFT" (Wang, 4). Before this happened, there was a lot of lobbying to support the project of constructing the Chinatown North College campus. The lobby was behind the need to have the college accessed to the minority group including the Asian American Community who were the majority living and working in the city of Chinatown. This considers the fact that the Asian American community and other immigrants groups who were perceived minority were subjected to discrimination when it comes to accessing quality education in top universities and colleges. Therefore, affirmative action is taken to ensure that the community gets increased access to a college education. Despite the various setback from Hilton Hotel and Justice Investors to halt the process to have the budget for the project reduced thus decreasing the expected large size, there was increased support from FEOC among other lobbies. The intensified campaign to establish the institution was part of the highly politicized and mobilized struggle to ensure that all the communities including the minority group of Asian American Community to have the right to education like the majority groups. "It was in fighting against these powerful external interests encircling Chinatown since 1997 that people of Chinatown waged the uphill war to win the right to build the campus within its neighborhood. " (Wang, 2). This marks part if the affirmative action to liberate the minority groups in the United States from the subjection of discrimination.

How the concept of the Model Minority related to the Asian American community's campaign to support the new CCSF Chinatown/ North Beach campus

In the 1960s, discrimination against the Asian American Community as the minority group was already happening in the United States. By then, the Model Minority was created to silence the rights movement that could fight for the rights of the Asian Americans especially against their educational discrimination. The model minority created a myth that Asian Americans were smart and assimilated and could get what they wanted including education without the help of anybody. The writer supports this by quoting the decreasing research that focuses on Asian Americans as one of the needy group. The author says, "Asian American most select research universities and elite private liberal art college, has caused Asian Americans and the public at large to divert the public's attention from the neediest and the poorest among them." (Wang, 3). From this concept, it was true since Asian Americans, and other millions of immigrants and minority group were admitted in the public community colleges and private vocational schools to access education. Evidence from the text, the author says, "at the bottom is about three-thousand two-year public community colleges and private vocational schools attended by millions of immigrants and minorities" (Wang, 4). The subjects and courses that are taught in these institutions prove that indeed the model minority was a myth and fallacy which could not reflect the facts about the Asian American Community. The author provides evidence indicating that the quality of education offered was low when he says, " Asian American immigrants are enrolled in the Chinatown-North Beach campus in English as a Second Language classes, others in Citizenship Classes and occupational training classes including culinary training, home healthcare, multimedia technology, trade skills, and janitorial service" (Wang, 5). Upon realizing that the education offered in these colleges to Asian Americans are not quality, the campaign to support the new CCSF Chinatown/ North Beach campus will address the so-called model minority. "The importance of political mobilization in the community struggle for racial equality and economic justice need to pay more scholarly and political attention to the educational needs and interests of Asian immigrant and working adults at the community college level in major metropolitan areas across the United States." (Wang, 3). This campaign opposes the idea that Asian Americans are smart and doing well on their own yet are subjected to unworthy courses and low-quality education. The new campus will ensure that Asian Americans are viewed as smart and assimilated only if they receive the right quality of education and allowed admission into top universities and colleges.

How the concept of Social Justice related to the Asian American community's campaign to support the new CCSF Chinatown/North Beach college campus

Due to the high level of discrimination against the Asian American Community, the push for social justice is the main engine behind the intensified campaigns to support the new CCSF Chinatown/ North Beach campus. Even after the board of trustees had made the decision, the entire process was flawed with a lot of injustice again the immigrants and other minority groups. For instance, the author notes that "The proposed campus could 'not (be built) in your backyard" the failure of CCFT to involve the Chinese community for which the campus was to be built left the trustee and administration politically alone and vulnerable without a viable defense against the legal, financial, and political assaults led by the determined outsiders, driven by greed, self -inter-test, racism, and political opportunism" (Wang, 6). This was all indicated that there was no social justice as the board of trustees wanted to frustrate the entire process were it not for the campaign to ensure that the process was a success to give all races the quality of education they needed. From the author's point of view, "when completed, the $140 million, fourteen story campus with four-story satellite building halfway down the block will serve educational needs of 6,500 immigrants and working-class adults living and working in and around Chinatown each year"(Wang, 2). Therefore the author believes that such efforts through the campaigns to have the new campus built is what will ensure social justice is achieved to the people of Asian American community and other communities.

Work Cited

Wang. Ling-Chi: Not In Your Back Yard. A community struggle for the rights of immigrant adult education in San Francisco's Chinatown. aapi nexus Vol. 7 No. 2 (2009) pg1-32.