By Louis Chan
AsAmNews National Correspondent
The same divide that exists among Asian groups over affirmative action in higher education is surfacing again–this time in California over a bill that would disaggregate data among Asian Americans.
The social media activist group 18 Million Rising is urging people to call their legislators to urge passage of AB1726 from Assemblyperson Rob Bonta (D-Alameda).
The idea is to ensure all Asian groups receive the support and services they need. AB1726 would require state agencies to add more AAPI subgroups to their forms, including Thai, Tongan, Taiwanese, Malaysian, Indonesian, Hmong, and Bangladeshi.
The concept is known as disaggregation.
However some in the Asian community, mostly 1st generation immigrants, see data collection as a threat to their children’s chances to get into a University of California campus or other prestigious school.
“Asian groups go to college and need to meet much higher standards,” Sue Xue said to KXTV. “It doesn’t talk about how we work hard.”
Xue lead a protest of a couple hundred people outside the State Capitol to voice their opposition to AB 1726.
“The model minority myth would have us believe that AAPIs are all rich and highly educated,” wrote 18 Million Rising on its website. “But those racist stereotypes erase the disparities within our communities. AB 1726 would finally show the economic, health, and educational disparities within our communities. It would require public colleges and universities and the Departments of Public Health and Health Care Services in CA to collect disaggregated demographic data. It would also increase transparency and access as these institutions and departments will have to publish their data annually.”