Defending Harvard in Asian-American Bias Case: Asian-Americans
- Eight current, former minority students testify for college
- Attacked in slavery comparison; affirmative action under fire
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When Sally Chen and Thang Diep, seniors at Harvard, decided to support the college’s affirmative-action policy in the face of a lawsuit seeking to dismantle it, they didn’t know what was in store for them.
Diep, who had come to the U.S. from Vietnam at 8, placed his admissions records on the court’s public docket. His test scores, class ranking and even sexual orientation were broadcast to the world. Both he and Chen, whose parents immigrated before she was born, gave interviews to international news media in which they defended Harvard’s consideration of race in admissions, saying the college’s holistic review saw them as people and not just scores.