It's a factor, but not a big one, and will usually make you have a bigger chance at getting in, but rarely will it decrease your chances. Harvard accepted ~17% Asian people, while the people who are suing them say it should be closer to 40%, like the UC system, which is race blind. They dont consider that more asians live in California, and thus more apply to the UCs. Yes, being black, Hispanic, or native American can often give you a boost in the admissions process, but I think it's a good thing, colleges are trying to correct how tough it was historically for certain ethnic groups. I would say that college admissions are for the most part pretty fair. Of course theres a couple kids who get in because of donors, connections, etc., but these are very small minorities.
Hm I think your argument of considering historic context isn’t that great. When Asians first started coming to the US, lots of them were railroad workers treated like slaves, even now days Asians face a lot of racial discrimination (ever seen how they portrait an asian man on TV?). America is the land of opportunities, people should work for what they get. Handout will only make people look bad in the long term (how do minorities feel knowing that they might have been less qualified when getting in?)