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

Filing 471

AMICUS BRIEF filed by Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, First Generation Harvard Alumni, Fuerza Latina of Harvard, Harvard Asian American Brotherhood, Harvard Islamic Society, Harvard Japan Society, Harvard Korean Association, Harvard Latino Alumni Alliance, Harvard Minority Association of Pre-Medical Students, Harvard Phillips Brooks House Association, Harvard South Asian Association, Harvard University Muslim Alumni, Harvard Vietnamese Association, Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Association, Harvard-Radcliffe Asian American Women's Association, Harvard-Radcliffe Black Students Association, Harvard-Radcliffe Chinese Students Association, Kuumba Singers of Harvard College, Native American Alumni of Harvard University, Native Americans At Harvard College, Task Force on Asian and Pacific American Studies at Harvard College in Support of Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment. (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit 2 Declaration, # 2 Exhibit 3 Declaration, # 3 Exhibit 4 Declaration, # 4 Exhibit 5 Declaration, # 5 Exhibit 6 Declaration, # 6 Exhibit 7 Declaration, # 7 Exhibit 8 Declaration, # 8 Exhibit 9 Declaration, # 9 Exhibit 10 Declaration, # 10 Exhibit 11 Declaration, # 11 Exhibit 12 Declaration, # 12 Exhibit 13 Declaration, # 13 Exhibit 14 Declaration, # 14 Exhibit 15 Declaration, # 15 Exhibit 16 Declaration, # 16 Exhibit 17 Declaration)(Thayer, Kenneth)

EXHIBIT 6

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT MASSACHUSETTS
BOSTON DIVISION

STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS, INC,
Plaintiff,
v.
PRESIDENT AND FELLOWS OF
HARVARD COLLEGE (HARVARD
CORPORATION),

Civil Action No. 1:14-cv-14176-ADB
Leave to file granted on July 31, 2018

Defendant.

DECLARATION OF ALBERT CHOI
(ASIAN AMERICAN BROTHERHOOD)
Albert Choi, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. Section 1746, declares the following:
1.

My name is Albert Choi. I am a rising senior at Harvard and expect to earn my

bachelor’s degree in 2019. I am writing this declaration individually and on behalf of the Asian
American Brotherhood in support of race consciousness in Harvard College’s admissions policy.
2.

I am President of the Asian American Brotherhood (“AAB”). After consulting with

AAB’s board members, I have been given authority to submit this declaration on behalf of AAB.
3.

AAB seeks to forge a stronger sense of unity among Asian Americans in our

community and to foster solidarity without coercion. In promoting understanding and bonds across
ethnic lines, the Asian American Brotherhood seeks to empower both our members and the
communities that we serve.
4.

AAB has elected to become involved in this lawsuit due to our commitment to all

forms of diversity on campus. We believe that diversity within Harvard’s campus is crucial to the

development of a student body focused not solely on academic or extracurricular excellence, but
more importantly focused on personal development as thoughtful and considerate constituents of
a diverse society.
5.

Accordingly, AAB welcomes as members all students who care about Asian

American issues, action and service at Harvard and in Boston. The diversity of our membership is
indicative of how strongly we feel about elevating differences of opinion and background. We
believe that a diverse set of beliefs and upbringings within a group only serve to provide more
fruitful dialogue and opportunities for growth and maturation.
6.

We do not believe that Edward Blum or SFFA represent the interests of Asian-

American students or other students at Harvard. The practice of using the Asian American
experience as a front for attack on Affirmative Action continues to be a troubling historical slight
on our community. After centuries of systematic pressures placing minorities at apparent odds, we
as the Asian American Brotherhood refuse to submit to this practice any longer.
7.

To the extent there is a problem with the way Harvard approaches Asian and Asian-

American applicants, the problem does not lie with race-conscious admissions or affirmative
action. Though we admit that the implementation of affirmative action at Harvard is not perfect,
the solution to the problem cannot lie in the disruption and destruction of the program. It is
irrefutable that we as Asian American individuals have all benefitted in some regard from
affirmative action and we cannot stand to attack one of the underpinnings of diversity and progress
within the United States.
8.

Removing Harvard’s ability to consider race as one of many factors in admissions

will adversely affect AAB members and the Harvard community at large. Removing a mechanism

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designed to improve racial diversity at our university would only result in furthering the dense
bubble of privilege that comes inherent with our education.
9.

The moment I stepped on Harvard’s campus I was forewarned of the dangers of the

“Harvard Bubble” — a 210-acre campus that few students rarely venture out of. Though the term
conventionally refers to a geographical limit that students enjoy referring to with an ironic sense
of self-imposed imprisonment, I have come to understand that the term extends far beyond its
colloquial definition. The reality is that as Harvard students, we exist in an environment of
immense privilege.
10.

Witnessing Mr. Blum’s attempt to actively destabilize the very programs that seek

to disrupt this bubble of privilege and increase diversity, is personally frustrating.. I have benefitted
immensely from having my personal beliefs and understandings challenged by those with differing
upbringings and outlooks to my own. I have experienced the feelings of pride and solidarity which
come from standing with other minority groups who seek to challenge the status quo. It is these
unique and formative experiences that I seek to protect by signing on to this document.
11.

I have studied the historical use of Asian Americans as tools to combat affirmative

action including the report issued under the Reagan administration titled “Discrimination against
Asian-Americans in Higher Education: Evidence, Causes and Cures”. I have grown weary of
minorities being pitted against one another and the utilization of the model minority narrative to
serve the interests of groups outside our own.
12.

If there is reform to be done to the current system of academic admissions it cannot

take the form of destabilizing affirmative action. Asian Americans continue to face quietly
pervasive discrimination in the workplace, in media and entertainment, and in simple everyday

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interactions. These are issues that must be addressed, but we cannot submit to taking one step
backwards if we hope to make any progress forward.

I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct.
Executed on this day, July 26, 2018

/s/ Albert Choi
Albert Choi

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