Dear Harvard Admissions Officer,

You must know that high school isn't a bed of roses. It certainly isn't over here at Mission High. Everyone I know is caught up in a twisted race to the top, clambering over each other and backstabbing friends to succeed in grades and extracurriculars. It might be useful to mention that I am Asian American; does that instantly change how you perceive me? If you read my obviously Chinese name on an application, do you immediately scrutinize my test scores for the slightest flaw or reason to toss me out? I bet the answers are all "yes." While you might not like to admit it, I'm very sure the entire process is biased. Yes, we generally have better test scores and are applying in large numbers. But does that mean you need to treat our applications from the get-go with a higher expectation of academic achievement? Stereotypes are just that: stereotypes. They never represent the whole truth. By buying into the narrative of Asian academic superiority, you are unfairly treating all Asian Americans with learning disabilities, overwhelming family responsibilities, or other conditions beyond their control. Think about the people behind the name and stop putting such a heavy emphasis on grades. You'll only make the stress worse.

Sincerely,
Cassie Zhang

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Muslim Arab American to Professor of American Identities at Emory University

Muslim Arab American to Professor of American Identities at Emory University After September 11, 2001, my life was turned up-side-down. I was the victim of hate crimes, name-calling, and cruel Transportation Security Administration interrogations. I found myself associated with people who Muslim and non-muslim Americans alike despise. The reality is that the Arab American narrative is far from terrorism and extremism. Because western culture perpetuates portrayals of Muslim women as oppressed and without free will, Arab American Feminists are forced to focus their attention on addressing and correcting this misinformation. Similarly, when Bush’s infamous plan “The War on Terror” is used as an excuse to discriminate against Muslims, members of both the Arab and Muslim community become pressured to assimilate or remain compliant. More than my religion, I have been oppressed by white representations of Arab-Americans. I ask that in your classes, you emphasize Arab-Americans as individ...
Read more

Open letter to the Mexican Immigrant

To the "Illegal Alien," the Mexican immigrant You come to America, ripped from your homes, searching for some semblance of acceptance. However, America denies you not only the right to dream but even the right to humanity. America degrades you. America has used you for its own gain—plugged holes in its agricultural economy—then thrown you to the side like trash. This is not the America I believe in. This is America at its worst. I wish we could send the aid necessary to help you.  Anonymous Citizen
Read more

A letter to American Feminists

To American Feminists, The notion of our veil is a poorly constructed one in American society, especially after the disastrous strike in Sep.11 th , 2001, reflecting the mass misrepresentation of women’s lives in Arab. The media’s popular portrayal of us as universally helpless and dominated by the the patriarchy that continues to exist in Arab culture (as if any society is free of it) has reinforced American perceptions that Arabs and Muslims are degenerate and twisted, thus worthy of domination and bombing. While the lives of some Arab women may fit this stereotype (just as “barefoot and pregnant” rings true for some American women), the experiences of so many cannot be perfectly labeled. Historical visions of Arab women have been dominated by the Western-generated frenzy over the odalisque, which perpetuated the misconceptions through your ignorance. Rather than making those waging these struggles invisible under a pervasive stereotype, it is our job to inform ...
Read more