As an Asian American, I Say DEI Must Go
https://intellectualtakeout.org/2024/07/...ay-dei-must-go/
In Culture, Education
July 12, 2024
Stephanie Samsel


As someone who was involuntarily used as a poster child for Asian American and Pacific Islander month by my university, yet listened to some classmates rant that Asian Americans “would be nowhere without black people,” take it from me: Diversity, equity, and inclusion offices make racism worse, not better.

Nobody should wonder whether circling their race on an application form would harm his or her chances of being accepted, yet I would be lying if I said that was not my first thought every time I reached the dreaded racial question.

What else can you expect when your racial identity—an immutable trait that is literally skin-deep—signals to a university or workplace that you are “too privileged” or less deserving to have a seat at the table?

Conversely, how could one’s race alone fairly make someone more deserving of admittance?

I will never forget my senior year of high school, when I consulted a pro-DEI teacher about my essay topic for the Common App to colleges.

She squinted at my face before asking, “Have you given much thought to writing about your race in your college essay? I mean … ’cause you’re clearly not white.”

My heart sank. Suddenly, I went from being an impressive writer to another non-white person whose race needed to be exploited for sympathy.

Little did my teacher know that I am half white and half Asian, two of the DEI scorecard’s least favorable boxes to check.

To this day, classrooms preach inclusivity in the same breath that they write white people off as privileged and cultureless. The more an individual is “white-passing,” the less interesting they become.-- excerpt, rest at link above --