I know there's a wide perception that all Asians have no problem excelling and making it into to college. And there's no question, there is definitely a large population of Asian Americans in higher education, particularly at the University of California... but Asian and Pacific Islanders Americans are a large, diverse demographic, and not all groups within this umbrella "APIA" label are well represented. Not by a long shot. It's one of the major fallacies and dangers of the model minority myth.

Frustrated by the assumption that all Asian American youths are well represented at UC schools, a coalition of Pacific Islander and Asian students at UCLA is pushing for the university to expand its demographic categories to highlight low numbers in some of those communities in hopes of boosting enrollment and outreach programs: More specific listing of ethnicity at UC urged. Advocates for the "Count Me In" campaign are collecting signatures to petition legislators and the Board of Regents this fall to change how the university system collects admissions data. They believe more information about students from smaller ethnic groups would focus increased attention on the educational barriers facing certain Asian populations.

Meanwhile, speaking of Asian Americans at UCLA trying to make change, check out my pal Oi-Yan Poon, newly appointed president of the University of California Students Association: New UCSA president unanimously elected. In her new position, she plans to work on issues of racial equality, university accessibility and lower education costs. Awwwww yeah. Represent, Oi Yan. You rock.