Blacks: U. should increase recruiting

With enrollment at black colleges and universities at an all-time high, black students on campus said yesterday they think the University must increase its efforts to recruit and retain qualified black students. "The University cannot use the success of black colleges as an excuse to relieve the pressures to recruit," Black Student League President Martin Dias said. "The University is not off the hook just because more black people are choosing black colleges." Some students said they think the University is not currently doing all that it can to maintain and support its black applicant pool. Wharton senior Shareese DeVose cited her experience as a worker at West Philadelphia high schools. Many students said the University directs its efforts towards recruiting black students at private rather than public schools, thereby limiting its potential applicant pool. "They've got to look at high schools that don't necessarily have the Andover or Exeter name . . . they have to try and not be haughty and snobbish about recruiting," College sophomore and BSL Vice President Kaplan Mobray said. "In public schools, they assume that only the top percent of the class is qualified, and that could be a problem," Wharton freshman Mesha Jackson said. Many students said they think Scholars Weekend, when the University directly invites prospective minority students to campus to see the University, is an essential recruiting device. "Scholars Weekend is the biggest tool in making the University visible to black students," Mobray said, adding that the weekend was a turning point for many people he knows at the University. College freshman Gisela Gaulden said more programs like Scholars Weekend are necessary to make sure the University maintains its black applicant pool. "I think that they could do more . . . the numbers here aren't that great," Gaulden said. Harold Ford, College senior and editor of The Vision, the University's black student publication, said that the dearth of black students on campus is indicative of a recruiting problem. "They do make an effort, but there's definitely room for more work, without a question, or we'd have more black students at Penn," Ford said. Students said that while the University's position in the Ivy League may give it a competitive edge in vying for talented black applicants, the sheer cost of the University could nullify that appeal. "What black colleges do is say, 'Listen - you can still make it, and you don't necessarily have to pay $26,000,' " Mobray said. Dias added that the price of a University education can be enough to prevent a student from applying. "For a lot of black people, the name compensation [of an Ivy League school] isn't good enough to cover the financial issue, so you have a problem," Dias said. "Scholarships are not always forthcoming." Students said that in order for the University to appeal to black candidates, the presence of blacks must be supported and presented by admissions staff to prospective students. In addition, students said that a greater presence of black faculty is necessary to insure black students' comfort at the University. "When you don't see a role model ahead of you, that can make the journey seem that much longer," College sophomore Raqiba Sealy said.