Andrew Yang
- See also Wikipedia's article about "Andrew Yang".
Andrew Yang LAW '99 is an American entrepeneur and business executive who was one of four prominent Columbians running for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
Early Life and Education
At Columbia Law School, Yang learned to love law so much that he immediately dropped out of corporate law a year after leaving Columbia. He later founded a non-profit designed to drive ivy undergraduates away from MBB and into a role that actually helps people(unsurprisingly, there were few takers).
Personal Life
Andrew Yang is married to Evelyn Yang, whom he met at Columbia. In January of 2020, Evelyn revealed that she had been sexually assaulted by Columbia Affiliate Dr. Robert Hadden, a serial abuser who would later face charges from dozens of women relating to his misconduct as an OB/GYN.
Presidential Campaign
A dark-horse candidate, he gained traction by proposing a 'Freedom Dividend', a form of Universal Basic Income where qualifying Americans would receive $1,000 monthly. Given American contempt for the poor, he did not receive the nomination. If he found any political success, he would be the first Columbia Law Alumnus to do so since FDR. Shortly after ending his presidential campaign, he wrote an op-ed that was published in the Washington Post in which he suggested that Asian-Americans could overcome racism by proving their 'American-ness' through civic involvement. This article was met with deep criticism in a later piece by Canwen Xu CC '20, who asserted that Yang was too inoffensive in his opposition to Anti-Asian racism.
