BBC Report Insinuates Asian Americans Aren’t Minorities
The BBC insinuated that Asian Americans are no longer considered “minorities” by elite media institutions in an article that claims racially diverse individuals have seen a “slump” in admissions since affirmative action was deemed illegal by the Supreme Court.
The article claims that the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) saw a “slump” in diverse students being accepted. According to MIT data, just 16% of new students identify as a minority, down 10 points from 2023.
Enrollment and acceptance rates among black students decreased from 15% to 5% and Hispanic and Latino students dropped from 16% to 11%, according to the article.
The MIT Dean of Admissions said that around 35% of enrolling undergraduate students have “identified as Black, Hispanic, and/or Native American and Pacific Islander.” But the university and the BBC both seem to be leaving out an important racial minority — Asian American students.
According to the MIT data, white students make up 37% of the new class, compared to 38% in the previous year. It’s Asian American students who saw an increase in enrollment following the removal of affirmative action. The percentage of Asian-American students admitted to MIT rose from 40% last year to 47% this year.
MIT appears far more diverse than the US population, if “diverse” means the proportion of the student body that is non-white. The university seems to be a majority-minority campus. But that status disappears if the university omits Asian Americans from the racial minority category.
The Supreme Court struck down affirmative action in the college admissions process thanks to a lawsuit filed by the organization Students for Fair Admissions.
Edward Blum, who runs Students for Fair Admissions, said that now “every student admitted … will know that they were accepted only based upon their outstanding academic and extracurricular achievements, not the color of their skin.”
