Three thousand miles away, Asian-American students at Harvard say they are upset but unsurprised by the numbers.

"The Harvard community is just as split as the community at large," says Laura S. Kang '99, education and political co-chair of the Asian American Association (AAA).

Irene C. Cheng '97, former president of AAA, says she is disappointed by the support for ending affirmative action among Asians.

"A lot of Asian-Americans don't realize that affirmative action in a lot of ways has benefited Asian-Americans and women," Cheng says. "A lot of Asians buy into the status of being nearly white when in reality there is discrimination against Asian-Americans."

According to Vikaas S. Sohal '97, former president of the South Asian Association, affirmative action has helped Asian-Americans, if only indirectly.

"Progress on the civil rights front created a climate where it was possible to increase immigration," he says, calling current Asian-American opposition to affirmative action "fear without acknowledgement of past help."

But other students say they oppose affirmative action programs.

"I don't believe any sort of boost should be necessary," Kao says. "Affirmative action is inherently racist [and] it breeds a sense of self-doubt. You have to wonder, 'Am I where I am because of who I am or what I look like?'"

"Intellectual diversity is more important than ethnic diversity," Kao adds.

According to Davis J. Wang '97, a self-described conservative who says he believes affirmative action programs need reform, many Asian voters may also have been reacting on a personal level.

"It's very understandable that at times they feel victimized, since in fact they have been victimized," Wang says. "A program that is ostensibly trying to promote the interests of minorities is in fact being used to thwart the interests and dreams of Asian-Americans."

Wang says many Asian-Americans view affirmative action as restitution for discrimination against African-Americans in which they had no part. Supporters of affirmative action, he says, "haven't really shown to Asian-Americans why they should be the victim of a wrong that Caucasians have done to an African-American minority."

Sammy C. Lai '97 says he can sympathize with Asian-American students who oppose affirmative action.

"Harvard's pretty liberal but a lot of the minorities who have gotten here have worked really hard to get here," he says.

But Lai says he considers special efforts to recruit and admit minorities "a necessary evil."