Also, the way I was taught, the “model minority” was harmful to Asian-Americans because it lumped lesser-achieving Southeast Asians with affluent East Asians, thereby being disadvantageous in securing funding and support for the Southeast Asians.

And I have definitely seen cases where studious Asian-Americans are being denied admission to top universities despite having 4.0+, high SAT scores, numerous high school activities, volunteer work, etc. This could be solved by simply abolishing Affirmative-Action and replacing it with a plan that provides a chance to socio-economical disadvantaged [in other words, inner-city] students regardless of race.

Also, the way I was taught, the “model minority” was harmful to Asian-Americans because it lumped lesser-achieving Southeast Asians with affluent East Asians, thereby being disadvantageous in securing funding and support for the Southeast Asians.

And I have definitely seen cases where studious Asian-Americans are being denied admission to top universities despite having 4.0+, high SAT scores, numerous high school activities, volunteer work, etc. This could be solved by simply abolishing Affirmative-Action and replacing it with a plan that provides a chance to socio-economical disadvantaged [in other words, inner-city] students regardless of race.

Even though I did really well in high school and got a scholarship that potentially gave me a full ride at where I did my undergrad and benefited from affirmative action, I struggled as an undergrad partly because I was thrown into a whole new world that my family didn’t know of since I was the first in my family to go to a 4 year American university and my parents couldn’t understand why my grades were relatively slipping compared to the success I had in high school. Thankfully I got my shit together and finished a double in 4 years, partly because I was able to make a strong support network from other Filipinos and Fil-Ams who were in similar situations, and finding other queer people of color in the sciences who understood that I had the constant pressure of doing well but also being forced to hide my sexuality for fear of being disowned. Unfortunately, a lot of other people aren’t so lucky.

Teaching at SFSU Asian American studies was an eyeopener since I finally got to see firsthand how my Filipino students were doing. Unlike the other high-level universities that I had gone to (UC system), most were barely scraping by in their classes, with a number of them on academic probation. I remember how one girl who I saw had enormous potential but got caught up in family drama, drugs and alcohol and ended up getting kicked out of her house and having to sleep on her friend’s couches, and had to drop my class, even though she was acing it. It was very encouraging to see her a couple years later, seeing her get her act together and studying to become a nurse.

It’s nice to see that some people in Asian American academia are finally coming up with numbers and facts that back up all these anecdotes that most of us know about, and that hopefully it will begin some sort of change in how the needs of Asian and Asian American college students are addressed.

Even though I did really well in high school and got a scholarship that potentially gave me a full ride at where I did my undergrad and benefited from affirmative action, I struggled as an undergrad partly because I was thrown into a whole new world that my family didn’t know of since I was the first in my family to go to a 4 year American university and my parents couldn’t understand why my grades were relatively slipping compared to the success I had in high school. Thankfully I got my shit together and finished a double in 4 years, partly because I was able to make a strong support network from other Filipinos and Fil-Ams who were in similar situations, and finding other queer people of color in the sciences who understood that I had the constant pressure of doing well but also being forced to hide my sexuality for fear of being disowned. Unfortunately, a lot of other people aren’t so lucky.

Teaching at SFSU Asian American studies was an eyeopener since I finally got to see firsthand how my Filipino students were doing. Unlike the other high-level universities that I had gone to (UC system), most were barely scraping by in their classes, with a number of them on academic probation. I remember how one girl who I saw had enormous potential but got caught up in family drama, drugs and alcohol and ended up getting kicked out of her house and having to sleep on her friend’s couches, and had to drop my class, even though she was acing it. It was very encouraging to see her a couple years later, seeing her get her act together and studying to become a nurse.

It’s nice to see that some people in Asian American academia are finally coming up with numbers and facts that back up all these anecdotes that most of us know about, and that hopefully it will begin some sort of change in how the needs of Asian and Asian American college students are addressed.