Ferguson said political advocacy is important if ethnic groups want their interests represented and protected.
The Asian Americans who disagree with the current affirmative action policy “have to persuade everyone it is unfair,” he said at the panel.
The students in the audience had differing views on the issue.
“Personally I support affirmative action,” said Christopher R. Suen ’08, “but there is a disadvantage being Asian American compared to being Mexican American or African American.”
However, William A. Pastor ’05 disagreed.
“The idea of affirmative action for Asian Americans struck me as being pretty weird,” he said. “It should exist for groups that are very underrepresented.”
—Staff writer David Zhou can be reached at dzhou@fas.harvard.edu.