亞裔美國學生應得到哈佛公平對待

To the Editor:

致編輯：

Re “Is Harvard Unfair to Asian-Americans?” (Op-Ed, Nov. 25):

本文是對《哈佛大學是否歧視亞裔學生》一文的迴應。

I wholeheartedly support Yascha Mounk’s article, especially in its delinking of affirmative action for underrepresented minorities from the capping of Asian-American admissions. But by capping Asian-American admissions, if it is doing that, Harvard does more than recapitulate its own sorry history of anti-Semitism.

我完全贊同雅斯查·蒙克的觀點文章，尤其是他把針對弱勢族裔的平權運動和限制亞裔美國學生錄取兩件事分開來看的說法。但限制亞裔美國學生錄取這件事，如果哈佛真的在這麼做的話，此事更甚於重演那段反猶主義的恥辱校史。

It also recapitulates a sorry United States history of discrimination against Asians, from the Asian Exclusion Act of 1882 on. Right through the repeal of the Magnuson Act in 1965, the word “quota” has been featured.

此事也是美國另一端恥辱歷史的重演：1882年的排華法案(Asian Exclusion Act)就開啓了美國歧視亞裔的歷史。

GISH JEN Cambridge, Mass., Nov. 25, 2014

GISHE JEN 馬薩諸塞州坎布里奇，2014年11月25日

The writer, a Harvard alumna, is a novelist.

作者是一名小說家，哈佛校友。

To the Editor:

致編輯：

As the father of a son who graduated from Harvard (and who might not have been able to do so in the heyday of the restrictions on Jewish admissions that A. Lawrence Lowell, Harvard’s president nearly a century ago, put into place), and the son of a father who once led the New York chapter of the Japanese-American Citizens League, I can’t help but feel discomfort in reading about the continuing discrimination against Asian-Americans at Harvard.

作爲一名父親，我的兒子從哈佛畢業（若是生活在哈佛校長A·勞倫斯·洛厄爾[A. Lawrence Lowell]限制猶太學生錄取的時期，我的兒子可能就無法做到這點了），作爲一名父親，我的兒子還曾是日裔美國公民聯盟紐約分社的領導人，所以當我讀到這篇關於哈佛一直歧視亞裔美國學生的文章時，真的感覺很難受。

The prestigious institutions wishing to better represent underserved populations run the risk of accepting applicants whose admissions may be undeserved, at the expense of those (arguably) better qualified.

這家久負盛名的學校因爲希望更多地照顧弱勢羣體，卻因此冒着錄取很多未達標的學生的風險，也犧牲了那些更達標的（有爭議）學生。

While I’m not suggesting that Harvard accept only applicants with perfect SAT scores (which it could), discounting merit sends a terrible message to Asian-Americans, whose forebears suffered from significant historical discrimination (internment camps and job and property rights restrictions).

儘管我不是在提議哈佛只錄取那些有着完美SAT成績的學生（它本可以這麼做），但把擇優錄取的標準打折扣，卻給亞裔美國學生傳遞了一個很糟糕的訊息，他們的先輩在歷史上經受了嚴重的歧視（集中營，就業、財產權受限）。

As for the “slightly less strong on extracurricular criteria” argument (put forward by a Harvard admission dean in 1988), I would recommend that the admission committee members visit the next music recital their children participate in and look for the (disproportionately large) number of Asian-American faces. Slightly less strong indeed!

至於“課餘標準上的表現稍差”的說法（這是1988年哈佛大學一個招生主任提出的），我建議招生委員會的成員們到他們孩子參演的音樂會上看看，數一數裏面有多少亞裔美國學生。還真是“表現稍差”啊！

JOHN B. SPRUNG New York, Nov. 25, 2014

JOHN B. SPRUNG 紐約，2014年11月25日

To the Editor:

致編輯：

When I was a student at Harvard nearly 50 years ago, it was accepted as an article of faith that if admission were simply a matter of grade point averages and standardized test scores, Harvard could fill an entire class without venturing outside the greater New York area.

在50年前我還是哈佛學生的時候，大家都一致認同，如果學校的招生只是看平均績點和統一考試成績那麼簡單的話，哈佛不用在紐約大區以外招生就可以招滿一個班級。

But that is not and has never been the mission of Harvard College, which these days rejects nearly 95 percent of a self-selected group of high achievers, nearly all of whom could be academically successful there.

但這個標準不是，也從來不是哈佛大學的錄取標準，哈佛今天依然拒絕了95%自認爲都是極爲優秀的學生，這些人裏幾乎所有人都能在哈佛取得好成績。

That mission, I believe, is to put together interesting, diverse young people who can teach and learn from one another in the training of the hearts and minds of future leaders.

我認爲，哈佛的錄取旨在把有趣、多元的年輕人聚集在一起，讓他們可以相互學習，以培養未來領袖的心靈與智慧。

Nobody is entitled to a seat at Harvard. And any unsuccessful applicant who presumes to attack the integrity of the world’s greatest educational institution only proves by his or her self-esteeming behavior that Harvard made the right decision.

沒有人可以憑白在哈佛獲得一席之位。任何申請失敗的人對這一世界上最偉大的教育機構的公平公正發起的攻擊，都只會因這種他/她這種自我的行爲，證明哈佛做了正確的選擇。

Elite education is not a zero-sum game; an outstanding education can be achieved at any number of state and private institutions.

精英教育不是零和博弈；出色的教育在很多學校，在私立學校都能實現。

VAUGHN A. CARNEY Stowe, Vt., Nov. 25, 2014

VAUGHAN A. CARNEY 佛蒙特州斯托，2014年11月25日

To the Editor:

致編輯：

Yascha Mounk points out that Harvard allots 13 percent of its admission slots to recruited athletes. With this revelation one wonders why Harvard spends its educational capital on entertainment of alumni rather than on preparing a new generation of talented, knowledgeable, serious students as well as giving Harvard College the opportunity to increase diversity.

雅斯查·蒙克指出了哈佛將13%的錄取名額分配於招收體育生。這樣一個現象被揭示不免讓人疑問，爲什麼哈佛要把教育資本花在娛樂師生上，而不是用在培養有天賦、有知識、嚴肅的學生上，或是用於提高哈佛多元化上。

A. JO PROCTER Chevy Chase, Md., Nov. 25, 2014

A. JO PROCTER 馬里蘭州切維塞斯，2014年11月25日