The Diversity Dilemma

"HOW MANY Hispanic professors are there at Harvard anyway?" a skeptical junior at a New Mexico high school asked me three weeks ago.

I was there recruiting for Harvard, and I answered that there are some Latin American professors, but no Mexican-American or Puerto Rican faculty and added that there are some Black professors. But the question disarmed me; I didn't expect such perception and bluntness from a high school student. Later I realized how inadequate my response had been.

The students with whom I spoke were concentrated in low-in-come, predominantly non-white, and often rural schools. Those who plan to continue their education generally consider attending one of the five state colleges which offer affordable tuitions, familiar environments, and Chicano studies departments as well as Chicano faculty.

Each year, Harvard receives fewer than 40 applications from New Mexico. Most qualified high scholars who decide not to apply to Harvard base their decision on considerations of distance and cost. More significantly, they simply do not realize that Harvard is a possibility for them.

The minority recruitment efforts of the admissions office focus on bridging this communication gap through the use of students who generally return home to recruit. My presentations consisted of showing a short film (made with the particular goal of de-mystifying the College and its student body), providing general information on applying to college, giving a specific explanation of Harvard's financial aid and admissions process, and commenting on Harvard's academic, social, and cultural climate.

The students, most of whom were Chicano or Native American, seemed impressed with the film. They were glad to know that everyone at Harvard was not a "nerd" and that we did not study constantly. I think I even overcame some fears about leaving home and paying for college.

But I cannot help feeling as though I did not tell the whole story. Did I unfairly raise their expectations of getting accepted? How many of them could make it through the competitive selection process? Since most Midwestern and Western colleges accept the American College Test (ACT), many of them had not even heard of the SAT, ("What are the Achievement Tests?" was not an infrequent question.)

Besides, I did not discuss last spring's Third World activities at the Law School or with the Freshman Dean's Office. When I discussed campus minority organizations, I did not mention the lack of institutional support--monetary or verbal--for these groups.

And I did not answer the obvious question of low minority representation in the Faculty. Aside from spouting rhetoric on the subject (including an October report of the University's dismal percentages of tenured and minority faculty), this institution has done little to alter the alarmingly low numbers.

I have finally resolved my ambiguous feelings about recruiting students for Harvard. While most of the 200 students I spoke to will not come here, all of them had the right to know that Harvard is an option. Furthermore, the visit was woth it if even one student is convinced to come to Cambridge for four years.

But this doesn't keep minority recruitment from being somewhat of a catch 22. It is difficult to attract students without a significant minority presence in the administration and faculty. Yet at the same time, it may be those students who will successfully move the University towards greater minority representation.

The Admissions Office is moving in the right direction with its recruitment program. But the FDO, Faculty, and President Bok must join it in efforts to increase Harvard's minority presence.