8 in 10 Asian Americans Who Oppose Affirmative Action Believe It’s Racist

A majority of Asian Americans who oppose affirmative action do so because they believe it is racist, according to a new survey.

Intelligent.com, an online resource focused on higher education planning and online degree rankings, polled 1,250 Asian Americans on Nov. 9 and found that roughly half (49%) of them oppose race-based admissions in colleges and universities.

The detractors cited several reasons for their positions. A whopping 81% said they oppose the policy because it is racist; 32% said it increases racism against Asian Americans; 30% said it hurts their odds of getting into their chosen schools and 25% said it perpetuates stereotypes against the community.

In terms of age, older Asian Americans were more likely to oppose affirmative action, with 61% of those aged 54 and above saying they “somewhat” or “strongly oppose” the policy. Meanwhile, 45% of those aged 18 to 24 and aged 25 to 34 expressed opposition to the policy.

The survey came on the heels of the Supreme Court’s hearing of oral arguments for affirmative action cases involving Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. When asked for their opinions on the court cases, 53% of the respondents expressed support for a ban on affirmative action policies.

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