Shadows of the Super Minority: Korean-Americans and the True Picture of the Myth

by Won A Koo

Koreans are one of the most rapidly increasing immigrant groups in the U.S. The 1970 Census found about 70,000 Korean residents in the U.S, but since then the number has risen very rapidly, with approximately 30,000 Koreans being admitted into the U.S. annually. According to the 1990 U.S. Census, about 800,000 Koreans were living in the U.S. These new immigrants from Korea are geographically more dispersed than other recent Asian immigrants, but the majority of them are concentrated in metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Washington, DC. The heaviest concentration of Koreans occurred in the Los Angeles area where the estimates of Korean population vary between 180,000 and 350,000 in recent times. In the early 1970s, the Koreans were an invisible minority in the Los Angeles Area; however, the rapidly increasing number of new Korean immigrants and geographic mobility have affected the fabric of interethnic relations in the Los Angeles area. Especially, the emergence of Korean Town in Los Angeles seems to represent a new pattern of ecological succession and a new case of middle-man minority. Since Korean Town emerged around Olympic Boulevard and 8th street, new Korean immigrants could face fewer problems in their American culture adoption process. Since Korea town expanded its size every year, many Korean immigrants persist with Korean values rather than Americanizing their values. Especially, many Korean immigrants believe in education, and they are highly affected by the traditional Korean education value. Traditionally in Korea, parents used to sell their paddy fields and dry fields, or even houses for their children education. According to The Korea Central Daily's research in Sep - 21, 98, for example, forty three point five percent of Korean people responded that the children's education expenditure is the biggest burden in their lives. After the Korean War, Korean interest in education became bigger than ever because the Korean people realized that a high education is the way to throw off their poverty. In the 1960s, Korea was one of the thirty poorest nations in the world, but now Korea is the 11th biggest nation in GDP, and the Korean people believe, without a doubt, that it is the result of high education. Education became like a faith and a key of national and individual prosperity in Korea, and this culture value resulted the Korean excessive interest in education. In Korea, education is the most basic barometer that individuals have to be measured in society; therefore, the college education is considered as individuals' standard, not an option, for his or her social life and marriage. Moreover, Korean society is highly dominated by elitism, and often for individuals, college education is discounted if he or she has not graduated from one of the top colleges. Since the Korean immigrants call Los Angeles Nasung Goo, which refers to LA as a district in Seoul, this social phenomenon has directly influenced the Korean-Americans in Los Angeles, and this mistaken notion has brought them a kind of epidemic mental illness called "At Least UCLA." According to The Insider's Guide to the Colleges, Asian Americans comprise at Harvard University more than 18%; at Yale University more than 17%; at Stanford University more than 27%; at the University of California at Berkeley, more than 43%; and at the University of California at Los Angeles, more than 40% of the undergraduates. Statistics such as these are misleading many Asian-Americans, including Koreans, into believing that they are super minorities in the U.S. Especially, the Korean-Americans are very sensitive with those statistics that show the number of Korean-American students or the ranking of the Korean-American students in the top universities. Many Korean people are proud that the Korean student' population in Harvard University is number one among Asian-American students, and many Korean-Americans believe that they are the super of super minorities. In Sep - 23, 98, for example, the two biggest Korean newspapers in Los Angeles, The Korea Times and The Korea Central Daily, covered their first page with the articles saying that about twenty three percent of students admitted in UCLA for 98 - 99 admission were Korean students, about 800 out of 3,800. Thus Korean media also takes a great role in encouraging Korean people to believing that their educational achievement is the highest among the ethnic groups in the U.S. Los Angeles City College is a great place to study students of many different communities since the college neighbors African-American, Armenian, Chinese, Latino, Japanese, Korean, and many other communities. According to LACC's "Annual Information Digest," African-Americans comprise about 17%, Asians 21%, Latinos 29%, Whites 31% ( including Armenian and Russian ). Since LACC is the nearest community college to Korean Town, about 800 Korean students attend, about 6% of its total number, and Korean students are well known by other ethnic groups in LACC. Since LACC is such a fit place to study Korean students and compare them with other groups, this essay will focus on perceptions of Korean students' college achievement, as represented by a small sample population at LACC. This essay will reveal what Korean students think about their academic achievement themselves, what other ethnic groups think about Korean students' academic achievement, and what professors of LACC think about Korean students' academic achievement. Ultimately, this essay will examine why Korean students are really not the super minority and will examine how the myth of the super or model minority has really affected to Korean community. Seventy five percent of twenty accidentally selected Korean students in LACC claimed that Korean students have high or very high academic achievement compared to other ethnic groups, according to a survey conducted at LACC in November of 1998. They offered several types of evidence to support the position that Korean students are at the top level among the ethnic groups in academic achievement. The evidence provided by Korean students largely relied upon statistical data reported by the media. Most of the students were very proud of media praises portraying Koreans as America's Super Minority, and none of them raised a doubt about the true reality behind the number. Korean students seemed like people blinded by media's propaganda, and they have failed to look at the true picture of super or model minority. Many facts that prove Korean students are not a super or model minority are found in LACC. In April - 24, 1998, Los Angeles Collegian newspaper, announced the list of students who have been named to the President's Distinguished Honor List and the Dean's Honor List for Spring and Fall 1997 semesters. On the President's Distinguished Honor List, an award for students who have been on the Dean's Honor List for three consecutive semesters, thirty seven Korean students out of three hundred eighty five students were named, roughly nine point six percent. On the Dean's Honor List, an award for students who have a minimum grade point average of three point five or better, for Spring 1997 - Full time, fifty seven Korean students out of six hundred fifty four students were named, roughly eight point six percent. On the Dean's Honor List for Fall 1997 - Full time, fifty eight Korean students out of six hundred thirty eight students were named, roughly nine point one percent. Since the Korean student population in LACC is roughly six percent, the number of Korean students on the Honor Lists, eight to nine percent, is not brilliant like their claim in academic achievement. Moreover, the number, fifty seven and fifty eight Korean Dean's Honor students out of eight hundred sixty five Korean students in each semester in 1997, is too scanty for the title of super or model minority. An interesting fact found from Korean students is " Jokbo," the Korean name for a collection of previous tests from certain classes gathered and shared from semester to semester. Surprisingly, eighty percent of the Korean sample population ( twenty accidentally selected Korean students in LACC ) have used Jokbo for one up to four classes. According to those Jokbo users, Jokbos, usually, contain about eighty percent of the questions of present tests, and some of them are exactly same as the tests. Seventy percent of the Jokbo users admitted that Jokbo has influenced their grade. Many of them claimed that other ethnic groups also have their Jokbos, and they also named certain ethnic groups which they think are the most Jokbo Holders. According to a survey answered by thirty accidentally selected LACC non-Korean students, however, only about twenty percent of them admitted that they cheat. In other words, eighty percent of Korean students cheat while eighty percent of other ethnic group students do not. Although these surveys represent small samples populations of Korean students and other ethnic groups, the gap between them is wide. Therefore, Korean students are again disqualified from the status of the super or model minority. Of course, Korean students' purpose of using Jokbo is for better grades. A professor of history of LACC says "cheating in college is trivial." "A survey shows sixty two percent of the U.S. junior and senior college students admitted that they have cheatŠ they answered that they cheat to get better grades and to get a better job after graduate." The Professor of history also defines cheating in a simple sentence, "cheating is result of living in capitalist society." Korean students in LACC, however, have an extra trick to keep their title of the super or model minority in statistical numbers of the media. In a personal interview after the survey, fifty five percent of the Korean sample population, surprisingly, said that they have chosen their current major just because their major is less competitive and easier to transfer to good four year university compared to other popular and competitive majors. The above example is confirmed as a popular method used by many Korean students in order to easily transfer to UC schools. H. K., for example, is a Japanese major Korean student in LACC, and he desires to transfer to UCLA or UCB in Fall of 1999. Actually, H. K. wants to major in economics, and he says that he will not be accepted by UCLA or UCB as an economics major with his grade point average, which is barely three point two. H. K., Fortunately, saw some Korean seniors who successfully transferred from LACC to UCLA and UCB as Japanese majors with approximately his grade point average and changed their major after their transfer. H. K., then, decided to take the same route in order to study his preferred field in a reputable school. H. K. claims that he can count more than ten Japanese major Korean students so conveniently accommodating their transfer to UCLA OR UCB. H. K. frankly says "none of them is really a Japanese major studentŠ we are not that much crazy to study Japanese in an English speaking country." Also, many Korean students from Central and South America major in Spanish for the same purpose as Japanese major Korean students. Art History, Asian American Studies, Latin American Studies, Liberal Art, Linguistics, and Sociology are the majors confirmed as popular among Korean students for their easier transfer to UC schools. Thus, the media has failed to show the true realities behind the statistics. Such assertions demonstrate the truth of the aphorism "Statistics are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." The fallacious myth of the super or model minority has been widely and greatly spread among other ethnic groups in LACC. According to the survey of November 1998, more than eighty percent of thirty accidentally selected LACC students, African-Americans, Asian-Americans, not including Koreans, Latinos, and Whites, amazingly responded that Korean students are a hard or very hard working group, and the same percentage of them confirmed their belief by saying that Korean students are one of the greatest or top achieving groups compared to other ethnic groups. They believed that Korean students are great in academic achievement because they believed that Korean-Americans have already received higher education in Korea. In November - 4, 1998, professor F J. Rodriguez, a professor of sociology of LACC, asked students, "which ethnic group has the highest rate in higher education in America?" Many students, then, responded Korean-Americans are the one while a few responded Japanese-Americans and other European-Americans. Thus, the distorted image of Korean-Americans and Korean students as a privileged minority enjoying a different status than other minorities is universally perceived by many people in Los Angeles. Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America comes with the definition of Korean-Americans and the myth of the Super minority, "the view of Korean-Americans as super immigrants caused discord." "Korean-American success stories in business and education have led to resentment from outside groups." "these stories are often exaggerated." ( Vecoli, p. 846 ). The analysis offered here is that the image of the intellectual minority was the result of pre-1976 Korean immigrants. They came from already well-educated and upper class backgrounds because the U.S. Immigration Department only accepted skilled workers from Korea at that time. Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America clearly explains the situation of pre-1976, "In 1965, the U.S. Congress passed the Immigration and Naturalization Act. The quota system was replaced with a preference system that gave priority to immigration applications from professionals with skills needed by the U.S. thousands of doctors and nurses took advantage of new law, and Koreans with science and technological backgrounds also were encouraged to immigrate. These new immigrants came from middle-class and upper-class families." ( Velcoli, p. 843 ). This fact, however, does not reflect the reality in recent immigration, which, in the past, includes those not skilled and generally from lower and less educated backgrounds. The Official Guide to Racial and Ethnic Diversity shows the true educational status of Korean-Americans in higher education with specific statistic data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census report of 1990. Korean- American men's high school graduation rate, eighty nine point one percent, is ranked in third place among the Asian-Americans, after Japanese-American men, eighty nine point nine percent, and Indian-American men, eighty nine point four percent. Korean-American women's high school graduation rate, seventy four point one percent, is ranked in fourth place, after Japanese-American women, eighty five point four percent, Filipino-American women, eighty one point four percent, and Indian-American women, seventy nine percent. Korean-American men's college graduation rate, forty six point nine percent, is ranked in the second place among the Asian-Americans, after Indian-American men, sixty five point seven percent. Korean women's college graduation rate, twenty five point nine percent, is ranked in the fifth place, and it is much lower than the mean rate, thirty one point eight percent, of the Asian-American women. Since both the total of Korean-Americans high school graduation rate and the total of Korean-Americans college graduation rate are just in average among the Asian-Americans, the fallacious myth is again discredited. A Latino student seriously claimed that Korean students are a less greater academically achieving group than Latinos. He emphasizes, "there are a lot of Latinos that have academically achieved greatly and are now in political offices." The student means that many Latino politicians and government agents represent their educational achievement compared to almost no Koreans in those positions. Although a direct relationship between education and politics is hard to measure, the above example clearly means that Korean-Americans' social participation is invisible in our society. Similar to the Latino student's claim, LACC professors of economics, English, history, law, mathematics, political science, And sociology, also claim that Korean students are too quiet in their classes. Professors comment the negative points of Korean students as the following: too shy, need to adopt American ways, need to improve English, and lack class participation. As mirror of this perception, eighty percent of the Korean sample population responded that English classes were or are the hardest subjects to them. K. L., one of the Korean sample population, says that he has got a D for English 28 class and a C for English 101 class, and he admits that he has still not overcome English difficulties and desperately looks for an easy English professor. Also, more than fifty percent of them have asked professors for a chance to make a second draft of an essay in order to pass their English classes. Obviously, Korean students are not born meticulous or shy; simply, they do not participate in their classes because they do not speak English well. Again, the title of the super or model minority is too much for those Korean students who cannot assert their academic opinions in their classes in English. Perhaps it is the most common stereotype that Korean students excel in math and science. This classic stereotype of Korean students, again, is the best seen when we examine the first Model Minority story, which appeared in the mid-1960s. Until 1976, the U.S. Immigration Department only admitted Korean immigrants that were termed skilled workers. Skilled generally meant college educated, usually in the sciences where poor English would not be a handicap. The result was that the vast majority of pre-1976 Korean immigrants came from already well educated, upper - class backgrounds, "the classic brain drain syndrome" ( Hirschman and Wong, p. 507 ). The post-1976 Korean immigrants, however, come generally from the lower and less educated classes ( Choy, p. 217 - 228 ). Therefore, this historical fact does not reflect the reality of recent time. K. H., for example, came to the U.S. when she was five years old. She says, "I believe that the myth existsŠ people often express disbelief that I am not a science or engineering student." K. H. is an English major student in UCLA now, and she believes there are not many pure science or engineering major Korean students compared to letters, arts, and social science Korean student majors, there. According to the Korean sample population interviewed, only four Korean students, one of Biology, one of Chemistry, one of Computer Science, and one Mathematics, were pure science and engineering concentrated while sixteen Korean students, four of Spanish, three of Japanese, two of Art History, two of Liberal Art, two of Sociology, one of Asian American Studies, one of Criminal Justice, and one of Religious Studies, were letters, arts, and social science concentrated. Interestingly, all four pure science and engineering major students said that they have graduated high schools in Korea, and three of them, except the biology major student, said that their major preparation classes are easier compared to general education classes because they have already covered many parts of the current classes in their high school. Each of the pure science and engineering students firmly says that there are almost always fewer than five Korean students in their major preparation classes. These facts clearly contradict the classic myth of Korean students, and the classic stereotype, again, is a simply widespread generalization that perpetuates the myth of the super or model minority. On a much more practical level, both Korean-Americans and other minorities are the victims of the fallacious myth of super or model minority, a manipulative discrimination policy, a manipulative discrimination policy created by the racist dominant group, whites. First, it distorts the Korean students true status; then, it ignores the existence of incredibly disadvantaged Korean students by the crucial assumption. Furthermore, the Model Minority ideology attempts to justify the existing system of racial inequality by blaming the victims rather than the system itself. Throughout the distortion of Korean student status, Korean students are lumped into one monolithic, homogeneous, educationally excelled mass. This absurd fixed perception toward Korean students often dazzles Korean parents, and some statistic data reported by the media makes Korean parents even more confused. So Y. Kim, a vice director of the special edition division of Korean Central Daily, states, "in Korean parents' consciousness, UC schools place like regular neighboring public schools, and they expect their children to go to 'at least UCLA'" ( The Korea Central Daily, Nov - 16, 1998 ). This expectation toward their children is well taken, but the burden produced from their expectation, obviously, is borne by their children. N. K., a Nepalese student of LACC who has a Korean wife, claims that Korean students suffer too much due to their parents' expectation. He presented with an article that he saw a couple of years ago, in The Korea Times English version. "A Korean father was very angry at his son because his son was accepted to UC Berkeley. The father yelled at his son, 'Your friends are going to Harvard and Yale. Why can you not go to Harvard or Yale?'" Susie Oh, an educational councilor and columnist of The Korea Times, claims that Korean parents tend often to force their children excessively to attend top universities, and this often hurts the mental health of their children. Susie Oh says, "A couple of years ago, a Korean student crying came to me and told me, 'Please tell my mom that UC Irvine is a good school as UCLA.'" ( Korean Times, Mar - 9, 1998 ). These examples directly show the picture of Korean students damaged by their parents' wrong educational estimation, which is caused by the fallacious myth. Specifically, the perceived super or model minority students are the most harmed by their crown of thorns, Model Minority. The most dangerous misconception of the super or model minority stereotype occurs among Korean students themselves. Seventy percent of the Korean sample population interviewed regarded the myth of the super or model minority as a "positive stereotype." They, however, did not know the origin of the Model Minority, and they did not have any specific knowledge of what the Model Minority actually means to them in American society. A Korean students says, "I don't feel bad when other ethnic group people say Korean students are very smart." Another Korean Student, moreover, says "I think that stereotypes are based on things that are trueŠ I think it, over-achieving in college education, is a typical characteristic of Korean students." Thus, the problem is that Korean students do not understand the essence of Model Minority or its purpose. The problem is that Korean students do not perceive that the dominant group, whites, did not make an artificial title for yellow people's benefit. Since Korean students have a different image unlike other minorities, Korean students are a perfect example of Model Minority ideology. Any elementary school class, for example, has a teacher's pet who is selected as the model in order to set an example for other students to follow. The dominant group set up a model minority in order to communicate to the other students, African-American and Hispanics, "why can you not be like that?" In other words, the Model Minority image only provides the dominant group a shield for their quarrel of racial inequality issues. The dominant group also can counterattack, for example, "It is not our fault those African-Americans and Hispanics cannot make it. They are too lazy. After all, look at the Korean students." Consequently, American society never confronts the systemic racial and educational factors underlying such inequality. The victims instead bear the blame. The Model Minority ideology is not always designated to attack African- Americas and Hispanics. The Model Minority ideology is like a doubled edged sword; therefore, its clever discriminative policy often aims both disadvantaged and model minorities. The best example is Proposition 209. Since the racial quota of the UC schools had emerged as the main issue of Proposition 209, the vast majority of Asian-American communities, including the Korean community, declared their standpoint as anti-affirmative action. They, again, were blinded by the media propaganda which labeled Asian-American as the second most beneficiaries after whites by Proposition 209. For example, Howard Kwon, an educational councilor and columnist of The Korea Times, comments affirmative action as an injustice ( The Korea Times, April - 9, 1998 ). He claims that many excellent white and Asian-American students lost their opportunity of admission to UC schools because affirmative action discriminated their admission on the basis of skin color. Howard Kwon's claim focuses especially on Korean students being one of the main groups benefiting by Proposition 209. Such an egocentric Korean community standpoint, however, has flurried in the few months following Kwon's article. The Korean media reported a so-called boomerang effect of Proposition 209 with titles such as "209 Billow on the Shore" and "Abolition of Affirmative Action of the state government Construction is settled" ( The Korea Times, December - 2, 1998 ). The Korea Times comments that liquidation of many affirmative action programs with several billions dollar of the state budget toward minority communities will bring a long wave, and the Korean community will be seriously affected by the wave. Obviously, many of Koreans who raised their voice for anti-affirmative action, equal opportunity for admission to UC schools, would lose their job, income, and competitiveness by Proposition 209. Now, a little more Korean students have earned the protection of law to go to UC schools, but many more Korean students have lost the protection of law in the labor market after their graduation. Therefore, Korean students may enjoy their status as Super or Model in the educational field, but they will suffer their status as Minority in the mainstream society. The Model Minority ideology again is simply a disservice to Korean-Americans because the myth suggest they do not need the benefits of affirmative action. Perhaps the most cancerous side effect of the myth is the stratification among the ethnic groups. As Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America defines, the view of Korean-Americans as super minority caused discord, and it has led to resentment from outside groups. Not surprisingly, negatively stereotyped African-Americans and Hispanics resent Korean-Americans who are arrogated to the Model Minority's deceptive and racist ideology. In April - 29, 1992, for example, many African-Americans and Hispanics wrathful of the segregative and discriminative decision of the court on the Rodney King case expressed their repressed resentment to the Korean community. Many optimistic Korean people still believe that Korean community was the largest attacked place by the rioters because the Korean community is simply located in the closest place neighboring to African-American and Hispanic communities. The truth is that African-Americans and Hispanics could not rush in to the white communities well protected by over seventy percent of the police force, and they made the Korean community their scapegoat. To African-Americans and Hispanics, Korean-Americans were not a minority group which shares the same identities as they do. In their eyes, Korean-Americans were a "white-washed" group and a "well behaved" white dominant group's pet. Looking back on white's concerns toward the Korean community during and after the Los Angeles Riot, on the other hand, Korean-Americans were simply an indifferent yellow skinned minority group which is whiter than blacks but not quite white enough. Clearly, Korean-Americans are charged with the role as a praised super or model minority which identifies with the white dominant group or at least comes closer than others only when the white dominant group needs an insidious operation for their racially discriminative policy. Therefore, Korean-Americans have obviously failed to assert their identity because of the fallacious myth. The above examples are not meant to attack, depreciate, or slander Korean-Americans. Korean-Americans, in good earnest, are a hard working and striving group trying to achieve the American dream in their lives, as farmers waiting for the fruits of their labor. The super or model minority, however, is not a fit dress for Korean-Americans. Of course, such a fallacious title is not fit for any ethnic group in this equality desiring society. Therefore, Korean-Americans should realize their true status as a middle-man minority group in this multicultural society as soon as possible, and Korean-Americans should try their best to harmonize with other ethnic groups rather than differentiating themselves from others. Also, Korean-Americans must remember how other minority groups have greatly worked in America. Looking back on the U.S. history, how many beautiful and wonderful African-Americans marched, sweated, bled, and died for the equal right after the American Civil War? How many Korean-Americans and other minority groups' people could gain equal protection the fourteenth amendment and the right to vote from the fifteenth amendment and the 1964 Civil Rights Act? Who can say a thousand Korean-American students sitting in Harvard University's lecture rooms is greater than an African-American woman's, Rosa Parks, asserting her seat in the front of a bus? Who can say a thousand Korean-American multimillionaire businessmen's success speeches are greater than an African- American man's, Martin Luther King. Jr, dream speech? The above examples are the original minority stories that someone sat around moaning for. In recent times, Hispanics have greatly emerged as a new super minority group in the U.S. In November - 5, 1998, two days after the last election, Los Angeles Times allowed its two pages celebrating Latino power with these titles, "Latinos: Historic Gains Made at Polls" and "Latinos: Spanish-Language Media Key." Los Angeles Times comments that Latinos played a big role to close a chapter in California political history that began when rhetoric anti-immigrants helped propel Wilson to reelection in 1994. Moreover, The Korea Times, on the same day, came with the title of "In Their Taste." The Korea Times expresses Latinos as the ultimate bargaining group of the U.S. politics. The Korea Times comments that Latinos were the ultimate power for the democrats' great victory in California, and Latinos also led some Republicans into the office on the basis of their taste, the Bush brothers, for example. The Korea Times predicts that Latinos, by the year 2015, will be the determiner group of the biggest states' elections: California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Texas. Since these states hold more than half of the electoral votes for the presidential election, Latinos are obviously the reserved super minority in the U.S. Thus, African-Americans and Hispanics have the right and capacity to be called the super minority. They, however, devote their power to dissolve the skin color based on an unequal system rather than a caste among the minority groups. Maybe, they know that the title of the super minority is an insult to them because they simply desire to become Americans rather than the discriminated super minority. So, Korean-Americans should keep their pace with other minority groups in order to make an impartial super society rather than adhere to the isolated status from the both white dominant group and other minority groups. Fortunately, more than ninety percent of the sample population, other than Korean, answered that they like Korean-Americans, and many of them commented on the merits of Korean-Americans. They, however, would have not answered they like Korean-Americans if the question were, "Do you like the super or model minority pretended Korean-Americas?" Korean-Americans stand at the crossroads. If Korean-Americans pretend to be the super or model minority over other minority groups, they will continue to be treated as second-class Americans and praised as a super or model minority at the same time. But, if Korean-Americans convert themselves as a member of minority groups, this will be an opportunity to unify the power of minority groups in order to prevent the white dominant group's racial policies such as the Propositions 187 and 209. Then, Korean-Americans with other minority groups together will enjoy their equally protected right to the white dominant group someday. Work Cited Choy, Bong Youn, Koreans in America, Nelson - Hall Inc., Publisher, 111 North Canal Street, Chicago, Illinois 60606. 1979. p. 217 - 218. Hirschman, Charles and Wong, Morrison, " Trend in Socioeconomic Achievement Among Immigrant and Native - Born Asian - Americans." The Sociological Quarterly ( Autumn, 1981 ). p. 507. Los Angeles City College Annual Information Digest, " LACC Fall 1997 Student Characteristics." ( Aug 6, 1998 ). p. 1 - 8. Los Angeles Collegian, " Dean's and President's Lists of 1997 " ( Apr 24, 1998 ) p. 3 - 5. 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