Recent articles printed in the Daily regarding representation of Asian American students at Tufts have sparked debate over university policies in admissions. As a group of concerned students from the Asian Community at Tufts and Asian American Curriculum Transformation, we would like to voice to the Tufts community our concerns that still stand after reading "Need Blind Admissions: Setting the Record Straight" (March 7) by President Bacow and Dean Coffin.
We are writing in support of the continued push by both students and administrators towards need-blind admissions. Tufts University takes pride in the diversity of its student body by creating and ensuring a space in which students from varying backgrounds (e.g. socioeconomic, racial, ethnic and religious) are able to learn from each other. A need-blind admissions policy would allow an equal chance for students, regardless of financial need, to be a part of this conversation.
Because the University has yet to achieve need-blind admissions, we would like to stress the importance of recognizing lessons learned from the discourse regarding last year's admissions outcomes.
While we appreciate that the administration shares our disappointment in the considerable loss of incoming Asian Americans for the Class of 2008, we seek stronger evidence of commitment from the administration that thorough examination and effort has been, and will continue to be made to ensure that this does not happen again. We are also concerned that in their Viewpoint, Dean Coffin and President Bacow did not acknowledge the importance of recognizing the diversity that exists within the Asian American racial category.
Coffin and Bacow stated in their Viewpoint that four million dollars of the $10 million anonymous donation has been allocated toward undergraduate financial aid. However, the administration has not been clear about how the funds will be further divided for incoming students to ensure that no one particular racial group will have to witness a relatively alarming drop in numbers again.
In addition, assuming that a 40 percent yield of the 46 percent Asian American "pullbacks" would negate any strong effect of admissions decisions in denying the neediest Asian American applicants begs the question of how we can be sure that the estimated 40 percent yield is an accurate prediction. Where did the assumed 40 percent yield come from?
Moreover, even though the administration may consider that difference of 18 additional Asian American students to be insignificant, we would like to point out that 18 is in fact a highly significant number for the Asian American student population, especially if those 18 are from already underrepresented ethnic backgrounds.
We would like to consider how the term "Asian-American" had been treated. In Coffin and Bacow's Viewpoint, they wrote that "Asian Americans are the second largest racial group in Tufts' applicant pool and sustained the second-highest level of pullbacks." Yet, looking deeper, one can (and should) note that there are divisions among socioeconomic and ethnic lines within Asian Americans. In America, it can be seen that (first and second generation) Southeast Asians (Vietnamese, Cambodians and Laotians) and first generation East and South Asians are of lower socioeconomic class. Therefore it may be suggested that applicants within these populations would have a high demand for financial aid.
"Asian American" is not a monolithic label, something that Coffin recognized in the original Daily article ("University admissions policy leads to under representation of Asian Americans," March 3). Therefore, with this knowledge, we need to look at who the "pullbacks" of Asian Americans for the Class of 2008 were. Can we, as students, assume that the needy Asian American students "cut" were not from these ethnic groups?
As previously stated, Tufts prides itself on its diverse student body. As students who live and grow in the diversity that the University purports, we would like to reinforce this vision within the Asian American population to not assume a blanketed Asian American group, but to assure that all cultures and ethnicities are represented.
We are asking the administration to recognize the need for a truly diverse student body and to be transparent in their admissions process. We want students to be privy to the numbers and statistics that have been alluded to.
The drop in Asian American students for the Class of 2008 should not be treated as an insignificant statistic, nor should it be the responsibility of students to raise these crucial points. The administration needs to continue working towards achieving diversity in its truest forms so that we, the students, can continue to benefit from the plurality of life experiences that we find so invaluable to our time here at Tufts.
Lin is a junior majoring in engineering psychology. Chan is a sophomore majoring in international relations.
