Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. President and Fellows of Harvard College et al

Filing 230

MOTION for Leave to File to Participate as Amici Curiae by M. B., K. C., Sarah Cole, Y. D., G. E., A. G., I. G., R. H., J. L., Fadhal Moore, Arjini Kumari Nawal, R. S., Itzel Vasquez-Rodriguez, Keyanna Wigglesworth. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit, # 2 Exhibit)(Culleen, Lawrence)

EXHIBIT 2

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR
THE DISTRICT COURT OF MASSACHUSETTS
BOSTON DIVISION
STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC,
Plaintiff,
v.
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF HARVARD
COLLEGE (HARVARD CORPORATION),
Defendants.

Civil Action No. 1:14-cv-14176-DJC

DECLARATION OF M.A.

M.A., pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1746, declares the following:
1. My name is M.A., I am under 18 years of age and I am fully competent to make
this Declaration.
2. I am half Pacific Islander, one-quarter black, and one-quarter white.
3. I am in the 10th grade at a public high school in the Inland Empire area of
Southern California. More than two-thirds of the students at my school qualify for
a free or reduced lunch. The majority of the students at my school are Latino, but
we have significant racial diversity. One of the things that bothers me about my

school is the frequent use of the n**** word. I also do not like the frequent
fighting that happens at my school.
4. I often feel like people at my school do not understand what it means to be Pacific
Islander. For example, we have a Polynesian dance club at our school, but it is
not even taught by a Polynesian teacher, the participants wear Tahitian (not
Polynesian) outfits, and the music is not even Polynesian music. I feel like it is
offensive to call the club a “Polynesian Dance Club,” when there is nothing
Polynesian about it. In addition, people at my school also often assume that I am
related to the Tongan football players that used to go to my school, even though I
am not even Tongan; they do not even realize that Samoans have vastly different
culture and experiences than Tongans or Native Hawaiians. We are not all
related.
5. I am currently taking one AP class: AP Euro History. I could not take any AP
classes as a freshman because none were offered. I intend to also take AP
Biology, AP US History, AP Government, AP Economics, AP Spanish, AP
Statistics, AP Calculus, AP English Language Composition, AP English
Literature and Composition, and AP Psychology.
6. I love to play soccer. As a freshman, I started on the varsity soccer team every
year. I also play Club Soccer and serve as the Captain of my team.
7. In addition to soccer, I am a staff writer for our school newspaper, a member of
the Make-A-Wish club and a member of the Gay Straight Alliance.
8. I am not entirely sure, but I think I would like to eventually become either a
lawyer, a forensic psychologist, or a cultural anthropologist.