Two opposing sides of the contentious debate around racial discrimination of Harvard University rallies October 15 — with each group on opposite sides of Charles River.
SFFA (Student for Fair Admissions) has filed a lawsuit against Harvard for racial discrimination towards Asian applicants in its admission process. The trial is set to begin tomorrow in the United States District Court in Boston. One of the groups, Coalition for a Diverse Harvard, rallied in Harvard Square with alumni, current students, and community groups to “defend diversity and show support for equity at this critical moment.” Two more groups, Asian American Coalition for Education and Chinese Americans Association rallied in Copley Square.
At the rally in Harvard square, protestors held purple signs that read “#DefendDiveristy” above an illustration of a fist in the air. Protestors here listened to speeches and musical performances before marching to Cambridge Common, a nearby park.
Thang Diep, a Vietnamese immigrant who came to the U.S. when he was 8, spoke at the rally. Classmates made fun of Diep’s accent when he first came here, he said, and in an effort to fit in, he tried to erase his Vietnamese identity by not participating in any cultural events.
“My Vietnamese isn’t as good as it used to be. That’s part of what I had lost.” Diep said.
“My aunts and uncles came here fleeing from the war,” he said.
He said his experience was different than those who come to the country under skilled labor laws, such as H1B.
His story is also presented by Student Amici in opening statements of the Harvard Trial to illustrate erasing someone’s racial identity is not beneficial for the student.
Diep said he supports Affirmative Action because it is important to question if meritocracy is really race blind.
Affirmative Action is defined as “An action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination, especially in relation to employment or education; positive discrimination.” Many people considered Students for Fair Admissions’ agenda of erasing race in the admission process as a way to ultimately abolish Affirmative Action. Students at the rally held signs that read “Asian Americans will not be used as tools of white supremacy” and “Stop investing in the WHITENESS that has always called you YELLOW.”
Lisa Bailey, who graduated with a Master’s degree of Liberal Arts in 2016, said Affirmative Action should not be abolished because it helps minorities like herself in the application process. Bailey said she has encountered discrimination since elementary school.
“People think I’m not smart enough simply based on how I look,” she said.
Across the Charles River, organizers prepared chairs for participants to sit in Copley Square.
Demonstrator held sign as a current student from Harvard supporting SFFA speaks on stage.
Some were surprised to see banners stating Chinese Americans ❤ Trump. Rebecca Zhang, a volunteer from CAA was also surprised — to see Trump banners at the rally. Zhang unsuccessfully tried to get them to leave.
“We are not together — we didn’t invite them,” she said. “They are just here to mess with us.”
Rebecca Zhang trying to call the Fire Department to get CAFT (Chinese Americans For Trump) to leave.
Kathy Zhu, spokesperson for Chinese Americans for Trump and college student from Florida, said they were there to support the same cause. Zhu, who has 50,000 followers on Twitter hang two banners in Copley Square because “this is a partisan issue” and “the Dems started it all.”
Zhang disagreed. After several futile attempts to ask Trump supporters to leave, she said she gave up because she did not want to cause a scene and steal focus from the rally.
Lily Bao, an immigrant from China and a mother of four, flew to Boston from Plano, Texas for this rally because “it is the right thing to do.” Two of her children are in college, both attending college on the east coast.
“I love this country,” she said." “Liberty — that is what USA stands for.”
Bao said, she thought the gathering would help raise awareness. In order to have justice, she said, the public needs to be aware of this topic and know the facts.
“This society looks for an equal outcome when we should be really demanding equal opportunities.”