An Asian-American teenager who could help end affirmative action has been pictured for the first time, as he spoke out against racist discrimination he says he suffered.
Jon Wang, 18, got a 1590 on his SAT and a 4.65 high school grade point average but was rejected by six top schools.
He is one of the plaintiffs in a Supreme Court case seeking to end the practice over claims it unfairly discriminates against high-performing Asian Americans.
In January, the high court said it will take up lawsuits from anti-affirmative action group Students For Fair Admission claiming that Harvard University, a private institution, and the University of North Carolina, a state school, discriminate against Asian American applicants.
The suits claim that affirmative action – policies meant to favor members of historically disadvantaged groups – gives an edge to African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans over Asian students.
A decision against the schools could mean the end of that practice and disregard race altogether in college admissions. Wang has sued a public and private college in the hopes of having the practice struck down at all universities nationwide.
He said despite his terrific scores – and a perfect score on his math SAT – he was rejected by Harvard, as well as MIT, CalTech, Princeton, Carnegie-Mellon and UC Berkeley.
Wang, who has come forward to speak for the first time alleges he was warned in advance that it’s ‘gospel’ that it’s ‘tougher to get in, especially as an Asian American’ by friends and guidance counselors.
