During this frantic admissions season, it is easy for our applicants to think that the most important moment in their college career is when they rip open the mail to find out where they got in and where they didn’t.
But we in higher education understand that the admissions process has less to do with rewarding each student’s past performance â?? although high performance is clearly essential â?? than it does with building a community of diverse learners who will thrive together and teach one another.
When it comes to creating the kinds of diversity we sorely need in this country, however, disturbing trends and setbacks are making it difficult for many public schools and universities to succeed. The reality is that as much as we may want to believe that racial prejudice is a relic of history, conscience and experience tell us better.