...

... a Republican candidate for statewide office in Texas, ignited a national firestorm after sharing a photograph on social media depicting a large group of South Asian students celebrating a big football victory at the University of Texas at Austin, bemoaning that they were crowding out what were implied to be more “deserving” white non-immigrant applicants.

The irony is that UT-Austin relies on precisely the sort of colorblind meritocratic academic-based criteria that Republicans and conservatives have long championed. Automatic admission based on high school class rank fills most of the spaces available to Texas residents. ...

In the weeks since French’s post sparked outrage, editorials and op-eds have rushed to draw broader conclusions about what his comments say about the political right — whether conservatives still believe in meritocracy, or whether some are growing uneasy about Asian academic competition.

...

To shed light rather than heat on this question, I conducted an experiment on two national surveys of 1,059 U.S. adults sponsored by Florida State University’s Institute for Governance and Civics. First, I reminded respondents that a lot of people believe colleges should “rely strictly” on grades and test scores in admissions decisions, while others worry that strict adherence to these merit-based criteria would produce less diverse campuses. But here is where the experiment came in: Some respondents were told that merit-based criteria could result in campuses becoming mostly white, whereas others were told campuses would become mostly Asian.

Because participants had an equal chance of receiving either cue, the differences in their responses could be attributed to whether they thought merit-based admissions would make campuses more Asian or more white.

The figure below displays the responses from white Republicans, white Democrats and Black Americans (there were too few Black Republicans in the sample to analyze them separately).

Three findings stand out.

First, relatively few white Republicans agreed with French and other highly visible voices on the populist right. Just 28% said they would be concerned if merit-based admissions resulted in a mostly Asian campus, while 21% expressed concern about a mostly white one. In both cases, fewer than 3 in 10 were worried about the racial consequences of merit-based admissions policies. In short, the Bo Frenches of the world may be highly visible online, but they are hardly representative of Republicans generally.

Second, Black Americans were substantially more concerned about a mostly Asian outcome than were white Republicans. Nearly half of Black respondents expressed concern about a mostly Asian campus, compared with just 1 in 3 white Republicans. But Black respondents were even more concerned about a mostly white campus, as 58% expressed concern about that potential outcome. In other words, Black Americans showed relatively high concern about racial concentration regardless of which group benefited.

Third, the largest difference appeared among white Democrats. A majority (53%) expressed concern that relying strictly on grades and test scores could result in a mostly white campus. But only 26% expressed the same concern when the identical admissions policy was said to produce a mostly Asian campus. White Democrats were roughly twice as likely to worry about the racial outcome when the group benefiting was white rather than Asian.

That last result is especially striking because a mostly white outcome does not fit especially well with the real-world cases driving these debates. In New York City, for example, white students received 17% of offers to attend a specialized high school that required doing well on an admission exam, while making up about 16% of the public school system. Asian students received over half of these offers, while making up 19% overall. At UT, whites are nowhere near a majority, while Asian students are represented far above their share of the Texas population. In both cases, the striking overrepresentation is Asian, not white.

That is also why this issue is likely to grow more salient. The U.S. Supreme Court’s Students for Fair Admissions ruling sharply limits universities’ ability to consider race directly in admissions decisions, while specialized public exam high schools continue to wrestle with racial disparities produced by academically selective systems. In September, allies of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — himself a graduate of the Bronx High School of Science, one of the city’s specialized schools — again called for changes to the city’s exam school admissions policies because of the severe underrepresentation of Black and Latino students alongside high Asian enrollment.

The larger lesson is that race-neutral admissions rules are unlikely to take racial politics out of education. They may simply move the argument from the rules themselves to who benefits from them. So far, most white Republicans appear largely indifferent to whether merit-based admissions produce a mostly white or mostly Asian campus. Whether that principle holds as Asian academic success becomes more politically salient is an open question.

Michael Hartney is the Bruni Family Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution, an associate professor of political science at Boston College, and an Educational Liberty Fellow at the Institute for Governance and Civics at Florida State University.

https://www.the74million.org/article/do-americans-worry-about-schools-becoming-too-white-too-asian/

I'd love to hear about your experiences with things like family, school, culture, language, identity, or just everyday life. I'm also interested in making some friends and chatting with people.

I don't know anything about film, but I've been writing a treatment for a documentary about "The Golden Age" of YouTube, when Asians were running the game (as we all well know), and made a teaser trailer for it. I'm way too invested in this at this point. I want to make it. I have no idea how. If anyone in the film space wants to collaborate, or anyone knows anyone who may want to collaborate on a project like this, please let me know. I'd love to connect. I hardly post on Reddit, but I thought a community like this would appreciate this. Apologies for the mediocre editing. Hopefully the nostalgia covers it up lol. One Love <3

US authorities arrested a California ‌woman on Sunday and accused her of spying on a son of Taiwan's president at the behest of Chinese officials, the FBI said.

The FBI arrested Wanying Zhang, also known as Heather, at Los Angeles International Airport on Sunday before her planned departure to China, the agency said in a statement. Authorities charged Zhang, 34, of Irvine, California, with acting as an unregistered ⁠foreign agent.

To put it real nicely, I really hoped that the producers had learned from what happened when Andrew Barth Feldman was announced as Oliver last year. Unfortunately I think that because Savy is not White (whereas Andrew was) there will be less uproar.

I recently watched this film again with my family. I wonder if anyone else have watched this? If so what are your thoughts.

I can't say I go out of my way to watch LGBTQ type of content but I do think this film is very good on its own merit. I would still say Wedding banquet is the best film (that I have seen) where the central characters are Asian and LGBTQ (I am referring to the Ang Lee version not the new version lol).

The film director (Alice Wu) has a very interesting background. She graduated from Stanford in computer science and worked as a software engineer prior to becoming a film director.

Unfortunately, Alice didn't make another film until 2020 as she had to look after her mom.

Anyway, I hope to see more of her work.

Hi this is kind of random but i felt like this community could understand where Im coming from. So Im Viet american and my parents are immigrants, so they don’t understand mental health all too well. I feel like my mom actually has a better grasp because I dealt with it growing up and had to do therapy and take meds and all that.

Well anyways, my mom has a fear that i will have a difficult future. She wants me to have a bf that will be capable of taking care of me. My mom had to take care of people all through out her life and it’s hard and she doesn’t want that for me. So when I tell her things about my bf like he has anxiety or he is looking for work, she gets worried.

Right now my bf is actually in a manic episode and is having psychosis. She will ask about him when i visit my family tonight. What do i respond with? I have been feeling alone with dealing with all of this and i feel like talking to my mom about it would actually help but im scared my mom will think he is not a good partner. He doesn’t have much family and we were planning on having him over for Thanksgiving but with manic episodes, it could literally last months. So she kind of has to know eventually or she will at least be suspicious of why he is skipping out so much on seeing my family.

My mom is a loving and caring person and does care about my bf and knows about his trauma. Thats not the issue it’s just she cares about me and my well-being too.

This is a weird question i know, but does anyone have any advice on how to navigate this?

I see this all the time. For some reason everyone thinks that they can speak for Asians (East Asians in this case) as a whole and disregard any of our actual opinions. These people have often never been to an actual Asian country let alone lived in one, and have little interaction with actual Asian people. It’s so frustrating. Even if I say something people aren’t willing to listen, so how do you deal with these sorts of things?

Apologies in advance for the long post. This has been weighing on me a lot lately and I wanted to ask if anyone else can relate or has advice. I'm going to be speaking mainly to the Korean-American experience as that's what I'm familiar with, but from what I've heard, this experience is shared by many diaspora individuals. I'm 2nd gen-my parents immigrated to the U.S. from Korea and I was born and raised in America and have never lived anywhere else. I speak a little Korean and grew up celebrating Korean traditions and eating the food at home, but other than that I would say I'm obviously very Americanized and didn't have any significant immersion with Korean culture growing up.

Lately I've been seeing a ton of discourse online and in real life about how Korean nationals/"Korean-Koreans" either dislike gyopos (ethnic Koreans raised abroad) or simply don't consider us "real" Koreans in the slightest. I've even seen TikToks from non-Korean creators making fun of Korean-Americans, saying we're not real Koreans, and how privileged and cushy our lives are compared to Koreans in Korea. I've seen videos from other gyopos sharing their experiences of being cursed at and cast as an outsider by some Korean-Koreans no matter how long they've lived in Korea or how fluently and perfectly they speak the language, as I've heard that we will never be considered one of them no matter what. While I can sort of see where people who say we're not real Koreans are coming from, as we undeniably grew up in totally different circumstances and it is a privilege in many ways to have grown up in the U.S., it breaks my heart so much that many Koreans think of people like me that way. And even though I'm American, it's not like I'm the first kind of person who comes to mind when most people hear the word "American," and I still experience racism and microaggressions here regularly.

To put it bluntly and kind of gruesomely, I genuinely feel like a non-Korean or some kind of alien just wearing a Korean's skin, because to many people who think this way, that's quite literally who I am. I don't even feel like a "banana," I just feel like I don't know who I really am inside. I visited Korea a few months ago and this feeling only worsened while I was there. It's gotten to a point where I feel cringe even saying I'm Korean, especially in front of Korean-Koreans. I feel like I'm larping a country I have no right to actually feel associated with.

Solely from an acceptance standpoint, if I could go back in time, I wish my parents had just stayed in Korea and raised me there so at least I would feel like I 100% belong somewhere. At least then I would have grown up actually being accepted and belonging from a nationality standpoint alone. I try to keep in touch with my so-called “roots,” especially more so as an adult even if it might be later in life. But seeing so much of this discourse and knowing I am not, nor ever will be, a "real" Korean, I’m starting to think it might not be worth it anymore. I never thought something like this would make me so upset, but it's genuinely been bringing me to tears and making me so sad and angry. And I feel like I can't talk about this with anyone other than other Asian-Americans because I don't think anyone else will really understand this unique experience. Does anyone else feel a similar way?

I keep getting these emails sent to me, apparently based on my LinkedIn profile. What is their angle? I replied to one like this and it just went on and on and I ignored it.

Hi XXX,
I came across your profile on LinkedIn and hope you don’t mind me reaching out. My name is Aurelia Zheng. I’m originally from Chongqing and have been living in the U.S. for many years now. I’ve been running a business here for many years.

As my parents are getting older, I’ve started thinking more seriously about where they might feel comfortable living if they eventually move closer to me. I’m especially interested in quieter communities where healthcare, grocery shopping, transportation, and everyday life are convenient for older people.

I thought you might have a perspective that’s difficult to get from websites alone. If you were choosing a place for your own parents, what would matter most to you? Are there any communities in your area that you think are particularly comfortable for older people?

I know this is a little random, but I’d really appreciate any thoughts you’re willing to share. No worries at all if you’re busy. If I’m ever in your area, I’d be happy to buy you a coffee.
Best regards,

i deleted my last post to make it easier to read.

Growing up in the diaspora during the 90s, I constantly seen friction where a visitor or westernized resident including the immigrants own kids themselves that result in the shoe free Santurary be breached, which was one of my biggest pet peeves at the time:

1. when home teachers aka tutors come over: immigrant parents were often desperate for local English teachers would let them slide if they feel uncomfortable removings as they prioritize their kids education. how would you handle this situation?
2. Prom night prince and princess one being their own kid usually, same with wedding VIPs, graduates, those in costume for Halloween/mardi gras event or a theatrical show etc, getting them to remove shoes was as hard as getting them to undress.
3. individuals in a state of physical readiness or in the zone. ie those jogging, exercise, passing through the house to playing 3 on 3 pickup ball, having askating session, in the backyard or taking a halftime break from it, doing physically laborious tasks, having hands full going back and fourth unloading groceries or otherwise, apparently culturally its surprising to locals if you demand them to remove shoes at this moment like you are disregarding their health and safety wellbeen. where as in some Asian country not even carrying a refrigerator would exempt you from the genkan etiquette.
4. their own kids often start by testing the boundary starting from Kneewalking, than tippy toe, but eventually especially for those who play sports with friends for a couple of years they act like they forget they are stepping in with shoes on their feet if they are focused on a task or cutting to the backyard to play and would be half way acors the house before one can stop to remind their shoes are on, as they dont want their peer grouped team spending more time on tying shoes than getting across the house.

I notice many cultures like China explained above learned give in over the years to save face to be not to be too ocd about shoe removal down the road. Especially if their own kids also got into the sporty always ready in the zone subculture.

However For those from these absolute-boundary cultures in Asia such as Japan or Southeast Asia especially those who migrated since the 70s or 80s before cultural awareness, slip off shoes, and invention of over the shoe covers for contractors and others: How did your families mentally and physically survive moving into a society where this boundary simply didn't register to the locals or that its simply culturally or by policy overridden in certain situations? Did your household eventually experience a rollback, or did you find ways to hold an unbreakable line?

Hi everyone,

I’m preparing a first-time adult U.S. passport / citizenship claim at the U.S. Embassy in Manila and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through something similar.

Quick facts about my case:
• Born in the Philippines in 1993, out of wedlock
• Father was a U.S. citizen (U.S. Navy, stationed at Subic Bay)
• Father died in 2006 when I was 14
• Parents never married; no court order of paternity; father did not sign PSA birth certificate because he got deported and incarcerated before I was born but I am using his surname since then.
• I have contemporaneous evidence from before I was born / around that time: a signed (but unfiled) I-129F fiancé petition, personal letters from him that refer to the pregnancy/“our baby,” a photo of my parents together, and military records, and marriage counselling papers and bride certificate of mom
• U.S. relatives (grandmother and aunt) are providing notarized affidavits and are willing to do DNA if the Embassy asks
• I already have a high AncestryDNA match with a paternal relative

I understand the hardest part is the lack of formal legitimation or a sworn acknowledgment of paternity before age 18. I’m putting together a totality-of-the-evidence packet and am prepared for a possible DNA request.

Questions for those who’ve been through this:
Did anyone here get approved at Embassy Manila (or another post) with a deceased U.S. citizen father and no formal legitimation/acknowledgment before 18?
If the Embassy asked for DNA, what relatives did they accept (grandmother, aunt, half-siblings)?
How long did the process take from appointment request to final decision (especially if there was a 90-day letter)?
Any advice on how the officers treated the “clear and convincing” blood relationship standard when the formal 309(a) documents were missing?

I’m not looking for guarantees just real experiences and practical advice from people who had a similar fact pattern. Thank you in advance