As my junior year came to a close, talking about college apps led to complicated conversations about the role of race in college admissions. Then, the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action.
Before the summer, some of my Asian classmates were joking about pretending to be white on their college apps, which is ironic following the Harvard Admissions Lawsuit decision.
Because my school is primarily white and Asian, the affirmative action debate is brought up often. But these conversations usually don’t acknowledge other factors and issues. The same Harvard case states that three-quarters of white legacy admits would have been rejected if they didn’t have their legacy status.
At my very privileged school, it’s frustrating when my peers with long family histories in prestigious universities, cry “affirmative action” when students of color — especially Black and brown students — are admitted to those universities.
Now that I’m starting applications, the Harvard decision seems pointless to me, and the legacy status checkbox is almost taunting. Colleges can’t be race-blind with the types of questions and essays they ask for. For many, like me, race is inseparable from life experience.
Audrey La Jeunesse (she/her) is a high school senior from the Bay Area.
Edited by Amber Ly and shaylyn martos