Weep For Beverly Hills High: Too Many Good (Asian) Students

The search for “diversity” in Beverly HIlls used to work the way it usually does: recruiting blacks and Hispanics. Proposition 209 put an end to that, however, and now Beverly Hills High School has too many good Asian students.

In 1969, when nearly every student at Beverly Hills High School was white, school officials went looking for some help diversifying the campus. They found it in the polyglot Los Angeles school system that surrounds the tony, iconic city.

Under a system of “diversity permits,” the high school began enrolling scores of minority students from Los Angeles each year. For decades, the permit program aimed to bring in a deliberate mix of black, Latino and Asian students from outside the city limits.

Today, however, the vast majority of the students enrolled with diversity permits at Beverly Hills High are high-performing Asian students.

The dramatic shift stems from California’s stringent anti-affirmative action law, approved by voters in 1996. Concerned with running afoul of the sweeping ban, Beverly Hills school officials have followed what amounts to a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on the diversity permits. Students who apply are not allowed to identify their race or ethnicity.

The program has become as competitive as the Ivy League, with about 8% of the students who applied last year being accepted. Critics say the program has shifted by default from a program aimed at increasing racial and ethnic diversity to one that simply brings smart, well-rounded students into the district.

Of course, If BHHS doesn’t want so many high-performing, smart, well-rounded students, nothing is stopping it from changing its admissions criteria. It could easily look for less high-performing, smart, well rounded students. It could, for example, set a low threshold and choose by lottery from all those who meet the minimum requirement.

But wait. If Asian students apply in highly disproportionate numbers, that might not help. Oh well, I’m sure some of the surplus high-performing, smart, well-rounded students they have now could help the hapless administrators figure out a way to select fewer high-performing, smart, well-rounded students from Los Angeles.

UPDATE [9 April]

In an editorial the Los Angeles Times laments that “108 of the 159 Los Angeles students attending Beverly Hills High on this program are Asian, while 19 are black and 16 are Latino.”

Those Asians presumably don’t provide the white students at Beverly Hills High with enough “diversity,” the poor, deprived dears. You may think I exaggerate when I suggest that the LAT’s view of civil rights makes victims out of the rich, white students at BHHS, but if so you’re behind the times, or at least the LA Times, which asks, in response to those lamentable numbers:

“So what?” one might ask. Wasn’t the purpose of Proposition 209 to force the state and public schools to operate in a “color-blind” fashion? The problem, of course, is that in a racially polarized society, color-blindness can have the effect of perpetuating racial isolation, not breaking it down.

The LAT doesn’t deign to explain why or how, in “a racially polarized society,” rewarding some and punishing others because of their race alone won’t inevitably and predictably exacerbate racial conflict, but leave that aside. What’s really interesting here is the idea that the touchstone of civil rights is eliminating “racial isolation.”

The LAT also doesn’t say, of course, what “racial isolation” is or how much of it is too much. Would the “racial isolation” of BHHS, with over 2300 students, be cured if all 159 “diversity permit” transferees had been black and Hispanic? But wait! What if 100 had been black and only 59 Hispanic? And what if 56 of the 59 Hispanics were of Mexican descent, and only 3 from Latin American backgrounds? And don’t forget the Hmong; there are no doubt some Hmong among the students now enrolled in Los Angeles Unified schools who would dearly love to provide some diversity somewhere. Finally, who should decide these issues? Do the editors of the Los Angeles Times really have the time (leave aside the ability) to make these decisions for schools in Los Angeles or Beverly Hills?

But why should the principle of eradicating “racial isolation” stop at the schoolhouse door? Surely there are many residential communities in the Los Angeles area (Beverly Hills no doubt being one of them) suffering from the same kind of “racial isolation” that so offends the LAT editors, not to mention workers injured every day by being part of “racially isolated” work forces. True, civil rights policy as traditionally understood requires only an absence of discrimination; it does not command, or at least has not commanded, that the state regulate all racial markets to produce a desired racial/ethnic mix.

If the LAT in its wisdom is convinced that the colorblind racial equality required by Prop. 209 has done so much “damage” to California, it should have the courage of its convictions and recommend that “racial isolation” be remedied by state-imposed “race-conscious” solutions everywhere it appears.

UPDATE II [13 April]

In my original post I wrote:

Of course, if BHHS doesn’t want so many high-performing, smart, well-rounded students, nothing is stopping it from changing its admissions criteria. It could easily look for less high-performing, smart, well rounded students. It could, for example, set a low threshold and choose by lottery from all those who meet the minimum requirement.

But now look: after criticism from minority activists, Beverly Hills Unified School District Supt. Kari McVeigh has announced a change in how “diversity permits” will be awarded:

Until this year, selections had been based on, among other factors, test scores, grades and writing samples. Going forward, however, McVeigh said school officials will choose randomly from students who complete applications.

Assuming a sufficient number of students other than high-performing, smart, well-rounded Asians can be persuaded to apply, the new random selection policy should work to reduce the number of unwanted high-performing, smart, well-rounded Asians who are allowed to transfer to BHHS.

Say What? (25)

  1. Laura(southernxyl) April 3, 2007 at 1:31 pm | | Reply

    “It could, for example, set a low threshold and choose by lottery from all those who meet the minimum requirement.”

    Not a bad idea, actually.

    Or they could do what the magnet school my daughter attended did: set forth the minimum requirements, and find a way to make room for all the kids who applied and qualified. They were scrunched together, and spilled over into the elementary school next door, but no one who met the requirements was turned away.

    I’m imagining what it would be like to be a white kid in those schools, having to hear about diversity permits all the time, and knowing that those are not for them. But as we are constantly reminded, slavery, Jim Crow, blah blah, so I’m sure those kids understand. Even though they were born in 1989 or later.

  2. FreeMan April 3, 2007 at 8:11 pm | | Reply

    Dear Laura (southernxyl) They still can not compare to People of Color – We are taught that Everything good in Society is White European-American – The Greeks gave birth to the Renaissance era in Europe & not the Black Afrikan Ancient Egyptians – The Great Founding Fathers ( a bunch of Slavers – Sexists & Rapists) – Racism still exists today in 2007 – it didn’t end in 1989 – The question is what will You do to eliminate White European-American Supremacy? If you do nothing then you are part of the problem

  3. Laura(southernxyl) April 3, 2007 at 9:22 pm | | Reply

    “Racism still exists today in 2007 – it didn’t end in 1989”

    Yes, you’re right, it does. Diversity permits are a prime example.

    What do you suggest I do to eliminate White European-American Supremacy? Other than drop dead, that is.

  4. Richard Nieporent April 4, 2007 at 9:59 am | | Reply

    & not the Black Afrikan Ancient Egyptians – The Great Founding Fathers ( a bunch of Slavers – Sexists & Rapists)

    It is not often that one sees someone extol a practice in one breath and revile it in the next. Why would anyone who hates slavery praise a society (the ancient Egyptians) that was built on the backs of slaves?

  5. Anita April 4, 2007 at 10:05 am | | Reply

    to freeman, I am black and I don’t agree that we are taught everything white is good. those days are long gone.

    if your aim is to reduce racism (if that is your aim and you don’t just want to replace it with your own racism) one way to start is by acknowledging the universality of racism and bigotry and the fact that only in the west have there existed any attempts to correct those things. what I find is that people who say they are against racism are only against white racism aimed at non whites. they are in favor of the racism of non whites against whites, jews, other non whites. they are in favor of the bigotry of muslims against non muslims. the message has to be that racism is wrong no matter who practices it. This is becoming more crucial because more and more liberals and blacks people are justifying inhumane nonwestern practices and thus undermining the basis of liberlism and human rights everywhere.

    I also think that there is no point in telling white children that they, their entire history, religion and culture are nothing, that there is nothing for them to be proud of, while everyone else has lots to be proud of. for one thing, people just don’t believe it. it is counterproductive if the aim is to reduce racism. there are no group of “founding fathers” anywhere that you can point to and say they were free of racism, sexism etc. that is the history of all peoples.

    the problem is not just racism. it is also the fate of every minority not to have its viewpoint attended to, no matter where you are. even if there is no racism, the majority naturally dominates, simply by virtue of being the majority. the only way to overcome this is by having a system like apartheid in south africa that unnaturally allows the minority to dominate. the other way to overcome it is to go where you are the majority. so to expect white people to say that africans invented the renaissance does not make sense (apart from not being true).

  6. Richard Nieporent April 4, 2007 at 12:53 pm | | Reply

    Critics say the program has shifted by default from a program aimed at increasing racial and ethnic diversity to one that simply brings smart, well-rounded students into the district.

    So according to “critics”, Asians don’t increase racial and ethnic diversity. Or did the reporter mean not in the right way. It really is a problem when we attempt to use a word that has one meaning to mean something else. I guess if we want to get the “correct” meaning of the word we will have to check the reporter’s newspeak dictionary. Ah there it is. Use diversity to mean Blacks and Hispanics. Do not use it to mean Asians because they are too successful.

  7. FreeMan April 4, 2007 at 5:19 pm | | Reply

    Diversity is not Racism – Racism is a world system of control based upon the Genetic Superiority of White Europeans over the world

    Diversity programs simply recognize the historic & current social injustice inflicted on Women & People of Color – by giving Women & People of Color an opportunity to receive Social benefits that are denied to them because of sexism & racism

    I know White European-Americans who are actively fighting against White European-American Supremacy – you can join their ranks too – because it is just & moral – a White European-American discovered Grand Rapids, MI Courts illegally removed all People of Color from their jury pool

    The slave system in Black Afrika Ancient Egypt was not as dehumanizing & brutal as US slavery against Black Afrikans

    Anita – we are taught that Black Afrikan women with dark skin & curly hair are not as beautiful as White European-American women with Blond hair – We are taught that the most brutal criminal is a Black Afrikan male – EVERYDAY – Stop lying to the people that read this blog. You don’t understand History – Why is Alexandria, in Egypt, Afrika? Greek Conqueror Alexander the Great – dominated Black Afika Ancient Egypt & took the knowledge from there & claimed it as his own

    Last point in Respect to the Ancestors when referring to Black Afrikans as a people or group or ethnicity you should capitalize B in Black

  8. Laura(southernxyl) April 4, 2007 at 8:09 pm | | Reply

    “it is counterproductive if the aim is to reduce racism.”

    Anita, you are so right. I’ve seen the good will of white folks squandered when they got tired of feeling like they were blamed for all the ills of the world.

    Actually, for those of us who aren’t racist one way or the other, we can’t please the FreeMan. I look back at my years in the workplace and realize that the vast majority of people I have hired have been black, and almost all of the people I have pushed forward or brought along or recommended for advancement outside my group have been black. But I will get no credit for that, and do not want any, because I didn’t do it to strike a blow against the White European-American Supremacy, I did it because in each case it was the appropriate thing to do.

  9. FreeMan April 4, 2007 at 9:48 pm | | Reply

    That is nice & fine & good but the Ku Klux Klan supports Bans on Affirmative Action your support of Bans on Affirmative Action helps the Klan – Do you believe that the Klan is morally correct to support bans on Affirmative Action? & if so then explain why?

  10. Richard Nieporent April 4, 2007 at 11:44 pm | | Reply

    Stop lying to the people that read this blog. You don’t understand History – Why is Alexandria, in Egypt, Afrika? Greek Conqueror Alexander the Great – dominated Black Afika Ancient Egypt & took the knowledge from there & claimed it as his own

    Really now FreeMan that was quite remarkable. The Classical Age of Greece was from 500 to 350 BCE. Alexander ruled from 336 to 323 BCE. Did he have a time machine to pass the information that he took from Egypt to Greece?

    By the way Alexander was not a Greek but a Macedonian. He was the son of Philip II of Macedon. But you knew that right?

  11. David Nieporent April 5, 2007 at 1:11 am | | Reply

    Freeman, is spelling part of the white plot to keep the black man down?

    Or is there some other reason you keep saying “Afrikan”?

  12. FreeMan April 5, 2007 at 8:05 am | | Reply

    Linguistically speaking to original Native Afrikans the “C” is a Colonial imposition – to get back to our Black Afrikan origins people should use “K” when spelling Afrika

  13. Laura(southernxyl) April 5, 2007 at 8:16 am | | Reply

    My support of a clean environment helps the Klan too. My support of low taxes helps the Klan too. Because these things help everybody. I don’t pick and choose my principles according to whether they happen to suit the Klan, or you, or anybody else.

  14. Richard Nieporent April 5, 2007 at 12:16 pm | | Reply

    Laura, unless you are the type of person that enjoys hitting your head against a stone wall, it is useless to argue with FreeMan. Given his knowledge of history, one should either pity him or make fun of him. Actually, I am not quite sure that he actually believes what he says. His behavior is consistent with that of a troll. However, if he does in fact believe what he says then his ignorance is appalling. It appears that he got his “facts” from one of the more radical Black History professors. As I have commented before, why would any rational individual want to claim a slave holding society as their heritage while simultaneously claiming to deplore the practice of slavery? This cognitive dissidence can not lead to any logical thought on his part.

  15. FreeMan April 5, 2007 at 12:24 pm | | Reply

    Bans on Affirmative Action only help the Socially Powerful – Bans on Affirmative Action are Morally Wrong – The Sexist & Racist US can not with justice treat all people equally because of current sexism against Women & racism against People of Color

  16. John Rosenberg April 5, 2007 at 1:46 pm | | Reply

    Bans on Affirmative Action only help the Socially Powerful

    Sure. That’s why the number of Asians entering Berkeley and UCLA shot up significantly and the number of whites declined significantly after racial preferences were eliminated there.

    But then, everybody knows that in California the Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Hmong, etc., are the true “Socially Powerful,” right?

    If you ever get tired of railing against the White Devil, you might consider substituting the Yellow Peril from time to time. It’s been used in the past with some success by some of your fellow anti-egalitarians.

  17. FreeMan April 5, 2007 at 5:41 pm | | Reply

    AntiEgalitarians in favor of the oppressed Women & People of Color in a Sexist & Racist System is what is necessary – Social Justice or Equity is needed with Affirmative Action to help make the US a more Just society – for Women suffering under Sexism & People of Color under Racism

  18. Tony April 6, 2007 at 1:52 pm | | Reply

    The solution is simple. What we need to do is bring more people like the Yale flag burners of Yale to replace these pesky hard-working family-oriented Asians.

    http://spraygraphic.com/sprayblog/flagburning-arrests-on-yale-campus/

    Doesn’t it make you feel good to know that this is what is considered prime material to take the slot of more qualified white (eeeek!) candidates.

  19. Cobra April 7, 2007 at 1:30 pm | | Reply

    (Sigh)

    Here we go again with the “We-only-care-about discrimination-in education,-and-not-in- employment,-lending, -housing-and-government contracts” argument.

    This time, the focus is on Asian-Americans, a familiar ploy by anti-affirmative action types to present a theoretical non-white victim.

    Why oh why do I have to be the ONLY one to bring up the “bamboo ceiling?”

    >>>”Asian Americans in business report a glass or “bamboo ceiling” where they cannot aspire to higher positions of management. They have been accused of various things, including being too aggressive, having poor communications skills, and suffering from a megalomania that they can do anything given the model minority myth. They are pigeonholed in technology jobs, and are not deemed to have many non-technical abilities.”

    http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/soc/355lect10.htm

    Why, oh why do I have to be the ONLY one to bring up discrimination against Asian-Americans in hiring?

    >>>” A recent report by the Discrimination Research Center focusing on the temporary or “temp” employment market found that in California – the most ethnically diverse state in the nation –

    “South Asian job applicants received significantly fewer responses from temporary employment agencies throughout California than comparably qualified individuals of any other race or ethnicity.”

    In this study of approximately 6,200 resumes from individuals with identifiable ethnic names, South Asian men and women received fewer responses from temp agencies than whites, African Americans and Latinos. Temporary employment has exploded in the wake of corporate belt-tightening and a desire to “outsource” many functions that previously were filled by fully salaried positions. Today over 10 million Americans find employment through temp agencies, often in positions that will lead to permanent employment.

    So this study documenting serious discrimination in the temp market against Asian Americans is a telling indicator of broader and more troubling issues facing Indian Americans in the workplace.”

    http://www.kavitachhibber.com/main/main.jsp?id=legal-Jan2006

    Come on folks. You have to have a better argument than the “put ’em on the team but let ’em ride the bench” argument you’re espousing here.

    You just don’t seem to get that the more you vigorously you claim Asian-American student “superiority” to be, the stronger my indictment of the white corporate power structure of America sounds.

    The katana cuts both ways, people.

    –Cobra

  20. Tony April 7, 2007 at 2:09 pm | | Reply

    Hey Cobra, you should go work for a while at Microsoft and see the plight of the Indians and other Asians in America and how they are mistreated by The Big Bad White Corporate Man. And since most of them are married and both people in the couple work at Microsoft, they are doing very well thank you very much.

    Having worked for Indian and Chinese bosses–all of them recent immigrants–for several years now, and as one of the very few whites, I’d say that the Hindus are the most grateful to America: at least they appreciate what they have been given by coming here. The rest of them, from Irish to Pakistanis and everything in between have nothing good to say about America. Makes you wonder why they came here hey?

    By the way, I’m an immigrant myself…

  21. Michelle Dulak Thomson April 7, 2007 at 3:53 pm | | Reply

    Cobra,

    In this study of approximately 6,200 resumes from individuals with identifiable ethnic names, South Asian men and women received fewer responses from temp agencies than whites, African Americans and Latinos. Temporary employment has exploded in the wake of corporate belt-tightening and a desire to “outsource” many functions that previously were filled by fully salaried positions. Today over 10 million Americans find employment through temp agencies, often in positions that will lead to permanent employment.

    That, to me, sounds like a good argument (on your own terms, where racial preferences are OK) for giving South Asians preferences in college admissions. Can you explain (again, on your own terms) why we shouldn’t?

  22. Cobra April 7, 2007 at 7:47 pm | | Reply

    Tony writes:

    >>>”Hey Cobra, you should go work for a while at Microsoft and see the plight of the Indians and other Asians in America and how they are mistreated by The Big Bad White Corporate Man. And since most of them are married and both people in the couple work at Microsoft, they are doing very well thank you very much.”

    Umm…I didn’t make up the term “bamboo ceiling”, Tony. I didn’t make up the studies that show discrimination against Asian-Americans.

    If you believe, that knowing some Asian-Americans are doing well means there’s no discrimination, then I’ve checkmated every anti-affirmative action type on this blog for years based on the irrefutable success of many whites in America.

    Michelle writes:

    >>>”That, to me, sounds like a good argument (on your own terms, where racial preferences are OK) for giving South Asians preferences in college admissions. Can you explain (again, on your own terms) why we shouldn’t?”

    Clever, but you still miss the point that some of the discrimination against Asian-Americans I describe comes post-college. Why would you propose preferences for ONLY college admissions in this instance?

    –Cobra

  23. Richard Nieporent April 7, 2007 at 11:13 pm | | Reply

    Yes, Cobra you always have studies that “prove” minorities and women are being discriminated against.

    A recent report by the Discrimination Research Center focusing on the temporary or “temp” employment market found that in California – the most ethnically diverse state in the nation – “South Asian job applicants received significantly fewer responses from temporary employment agencies throughout California than comparably qualified individuals of any other race or ethnicity.” In this study of approximately 6,200 resumes from individuals with identifiable ethnic names, South Asian men and women received fewer responses from temp agencies than whites, African Americans and Latinos.

    Wow, what a surprise! The Discrimination Research Center found that there was discrimination. Shall we say that they are not a disinterested party in the results. Isn’t it interesting that studies done by advocacy groups always find results that support what they advocate. In fact, I would sooner believe Kavita Chhibber’s astrology pagesthan this study she references.

  24. Cobra April 8, 2007 at 11:50 am | | Reply

    Richard writes:

    >>>”Yes, Cobra you always have studies that “prove” minorities and women are being discriminated against.”

    You see, Richard? We CAN agree on a topic here at Discriminations. We’re making progress, if you ask me. Pretty soon, we’ll get along like peas and carrots.

    –Cobra

  25. David Nieporent April 9, 2007 at 4:28 am | | Reply

    Linguistically speaking to original Native Afrikans the “C” is a Colonial imposition – to get back to our Black Afrikan origins people should use “K” when spelling Afrika

    I don’t know what an “original Native African” is, but I’m pretty sure that neither the “C” nor the “K” — nor English — is native to Africa, so if you really want to “get back to your Black African origins,” you probably ought to stop speaking English entirely, rather than misspelling English words.

    As for Cobra’s argument: if you take a great baseball player (say, Albert Pujols), and divide his performance up into minute fragments — batting average on Thursdays under a full moon, stolen bases against pitchers whose names begin with R, triples with runners on second base in road games — you’ll find some in which Pujols’s stats are weak. Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a superstar; that just means that this is a poor methodology for evaluating players.

    That’s Cobra’s methodology with Asians. His arguments are clearly bankrupt, since by every real measure Asians are doing well — better than whites, in fact. So he digs up obscure studies about the troubles Burmese people with odd numbered letters in their middle names are having in the pizza business, and claims this “proves” that there’s discrimination against Asians.

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