Freshman Minorities Praise Weekend Achievement Seminar

More than 50 freshmen participated in a workshop given his weaken to encourage academic and extracurricular achievement among minority students.

The two-day seminar--consisting primarily of discussion groups--attempted to motivate minority students whose performance may suffer because the community expects less of them, organizers said this week.

Students interviewed at the end of the workshop were enthusiastic about the program, describing it as "inspirational" and "very strengthening." More than half the Blacks in the freshman class turned out for the seminar, which was targeted chiefly at Black students.

The participants said on going debates about affirmative action and the ability of minorities to perform well on standardized tests had adversely affected their motivation and self-esteem.

"I didn't know why I was at Harvard." Allysunn Walker '86 said yesterday. Another freshman participant added." A lot of us were feeling the same thing--we got some answers and a lot of hope."

Organizers said yesterday that they were "very pleased" with the turnout and response to the workshop Jeffrey P. Howard '69, who organized the "Efficacy Committee" that ran the seminar, said yesterday he aimed to bring the minority students together for positive reasons rather than in opposition to some thing.

The Efficacy Committee, working with the College, which pays its operating expenses, also offers a six-day seminar in the spring and fall for minority upperclassmen.

This is the second year that the Committee has offered the freshman workshop.