Natasha K. Warikoo Books

We've heard plenty from politicians and experts on affirmative action and higher education, about how universities should intervene if at all to ensure a diverse but deserving student population. But what about those for whom these issues matter the most? In this book, Natasha K. Warikoo deeply explores how students themselves think about merit and race at a uniquely pivotal moment: after they have just won the most competitive game of their lives and gained admittance to one of the world's top universities. What Warikoo uncovers talking with both white students and students of color at Harvard, Brown, and Oxford is absolutely illuminating; and some of it is positively shocking. As she shows, many elite white students understand the value of diversity abstractly, but they ignore the real problems that racial inequality causes and that diversity programs are meant to solve. They stand in fear of being labeled a racist, but they are quick to call foul should a diversity program appear at all to hamper their own chances for advancement. The most troubling result of this ambivalence is what she calls the "diversity bargain," in which white students reluctantly agree with affirmative action as long as it benefits them by providing a diverse learning environment racial diversity, in this way, is a commodity, a selling point on a brochure.

"The suburbs hold a privileged place in our cultural landscape not just for their wide, manicured lawns and quiet streets, but often for their high-quality schools. These elite enclaves are also historically white, and they have allowed many white Americans to safeguard their privilege by using their kids' public school educations to secure places at top colleges. But nonwhite parents also see the advantages to be had by sending their kids to those excellent suburban schools, and, increasingly, those that can afford to are finding ways to move in, all in hopes of helping their kids get a leg up as they apply to college and prepare for careers. In Getting Ahead, Staying Ahead, Natasha Warikoo takes us into an elite suburban high school in the Northeast she calls Collegiate High, examining the ways that white parents react when Asian American kids start beating their children at the meritocracy game. Asian American kids whose parents have moved into the Collegiate school district are pushed to succeed in the school's top-notch academics, and they often wind up taking spots at the top of the class previously held exclusively by white students. After generations of privilege and success, white parents don't just take this lying down. Instead, they go to the school with complaints that the academic environment has become too rigorous, petitioning the principle to mandate less homework. The academic climate, they declare, is bad for kids' mental health. Above all, they find new ways of gaining advantages, pushing their kids to excel in extracurriculars like sports and theater and diminishing the importance of top academic performance at the school. Even when they are bested, white families in Collegiate work hard to change the rules in their favor so they can still remain the winners in the meritocracy game."-- Provided by publisher

Affirmative action in college admissions – considering whether an applicant is part of an underrepresented group when making selection decisions – has long been a topic of heated public debate. Some argue that it undermines racial equity. Others advocate for its ability to promote equal opportunity in a racially unequal society. Who is right? In this thought-provoking book, Natasha Warikoo dives into the arguments for and against a policy that has made it to the US Supreme Court multiple times. Along the way, she digs into the purposes of higher education and the selection process itself to argue that it is a mistake to equate college admissions with personal merit and reward for individual accomplishment. Rather, college admissions should be based on furthering the mission of higher education: contributing to our shared democracy and to the human condition. Ultimately, Warikoo concludes that affirmative action is fair in an inherently unfair system, given the vast inequality in American society. No matter what their perspective, readers of this book will find themselves thinking anew and asking the deeper questions that underlie this emotive debate.