OiYan Poon - Facts NOT Fiction: Affirmative Action, College Access & Diversity

Event time: 
Wednesday, February 27, 2019 - 5:30pm to 7:00pm
Location: 
William L. Harkness Hall (WLH) 208 See map
100 Wall St.
New Haven, CT 06511
Event description: 

The contentious Harvard trial on race-conscious admissions thrust questions of Asian American identity, racialization, and political alignment into the national spotlight. The trial is over, but questions remain about the fairness of admissions policies, the climate on college campuses for students of color and how to address the growing divide within the Asian American community about access to higher education.

This event will begin with an interactive workshop on college admissions and holistic review. In the workshop, participants experience aspects of the “holistic review” process first-hand. Groups will review applications, develop guidelines and criteria for admissions, and make choices about who receives an offer of admission in a simulated admissions committee experience. In this way, many pressing questions about how race and other factors play into college admissions will be addressed directly. In particular, participants will be able to answer the question of how and to what extent racial identities are considered in college admissions through the admissions committee exercise. A dialogue will follow the activity to further consider the implications of selective admissions, affirmative action, and racial inequalities.

Dr. OiYan Poon is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Leadership in the School of Education and Director of the Center for Racial Justice in Education & Research at Colorado State University. Her research focuses on the racial politics and discourses of college access, higher education organization and policy, affirmative action, and Asian Americans.

Co-sponsored by the Asian American Cultural Center at Yale, La Casa Cultural, and RITM.