Checking the Box

Students review during a study jam organized by Berkeley’s Asian Pacific Islander Recruitment and Retention Center, or REACH!

Last month, Governor Jerry Brown signed the AHEAD Act. The law orders state agencies to record and analyze differences between Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. This means Pakistanis won’t get lumped together with Thais, and Fijians and Tongans will get new boxes to check. The original version would have required UC campuses and community colleges to also record specific ethnic data, but legislators deleted that section. Anna Sturla discovers why educational distinctions between Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders really are important.

UC Berkeley’s Asian Pacific American Student Development
Asian Pacific Islander Recruitment and Retention Center

Music: “Volunteers” by Jefferson Airplane