By Matt SpectorThe Daily Northwestern
An article published in the Princeton University student newspaper that lampooned Asian stereotypes and affirmative action has incensed students across the nation, including some at Northwestern.
The Jan. 17 article, published in the annual joke issue of The Daily Princetonian, brought the student newspaper and its editors negative attention for its use of broken English and phrases such as “yellow people” and “Engrish class.”
The article was a response to the federal civil rights complaint filed against Princeton last fall for alleged discrimination against Asians in its admissions process. The student newspaper wrote its story under the pseudonym Lian Ji, referencing Jian Li, the student who filed the complaint.
In response, NU students have taken a closer look at racial stereotypes and admissions policies. McCormick senior Albert Leung, the former president of the Chinese Students Association, called the article “outrageously inappropriate.”
Some said they were surprised that students at a respected university such as Princeton made such “racist” and “inflammatory” comments.
“Racism has been around for a long time and it’s not going to go away,” said McCormick junior Kevin Lee. “Something should definitely be done about this.”
Lee called the humor “unnecessary” and said that it wasn’t helping ease tensions over affirmative action.
But Communication junior Michelle Tsao said she was able to see the humor in the article. She said she was not personally offended by the article’s content but that the author of the article “hasn’t tried to accept other cultures.”
“It really goes to show that even if you have the best grades it doesn’t mean you have an open mind,” she said.
NU students had conflicting opinions on whether the Yale student should have filed the complaint in the first place. Leung approved of the complaint and said the admissions process is not fair for Asian Americans.
“It’s a flawed system, but not addressing the problem would be worse than addressing it the way it is now,” he said.
McCormick senior Eric Chen disagreed.
“He’s using his own race as a tool and an outlet,” he said. “I’m pretty torn up about it.”
Students at other universities have echoed Li’s sentiments. A Brown University student will work with Li to create a group against universities’ allegedly biased admissions practices.
But NU students said NU’s admissions process has created a diverse environment on campus. They said they do not think the process needs to be reevaluated in light of the complaint against Princeton.
“Leave it in the hands of the college, they’re a private university,” Chen said.
Leung said he supports NU’s affirmative action policies. He said he would not have been accepted to NU if the school was not committed to diversity and to accepting all racial groups. Leung said diversity at NU has “made him a better person as a whole.”
“Every racial group faces discrimination,” Leung said. “What a lot of those groups go through is much worse than anything I’ve had to go through.”
Reach Matt Spector at [email protected].
