Weekend draws minorities to U.

Columbia, Emory, Boston University and the University of Pennsylvania. These are the colleges atop high school senior Tara Bedeau's list of perspective schools. She has applied to all of them and only awaits responses. What elements of each will help her make an educated decision on where she will spend the next four years? The Minority Scholars Invitational Weekend, which took place last weekend, attempted to give prospective students, like Bedeau, a feeling of what the University is all about. The weekend involved many activities ranging from a student panel discussion, allowing the group to hear about the University experience first-hand from students, to attending fraternity parties. Each prospective student is matched up with a host or hostess, who among other things, is intended to give the student a feeling for actual University life. Bedeau said her experiences this weekend have helped in her decision to choose a college, but not greatly. She has been partial to the University since the beginning of the admissions process. But, still, she said she will not know the complete University experience until she is a student here. Bedeau had some problems applying to the University because she could not pay for the application fee, but once the fee was waived, she had an easy time deciding to apply. "I had a wonderful interview with Dean Stetson," Bedeau said. "Because of him my process has been cool." Bedeau says the main reason she is interested in the University is because of the "aura" of diversity. Citing the Daily Pennsylvanian confiscation as an example of the University "belonging to everyone," Bedeau said, "the fact that people could do that" and not be reprimanded is truly indicative of a multi-cultural institution. On the discussion of diversity, Bedeau said she was not interested in living in W.E.B. Dubois College House. She said she would prefer a single dorm room in the Quadrangle. Bedeau said she is considering majoring in English and would like to try her hand at theatre. As far as the weekend is concerned, both Wharton sophomore Kendrick Cox and College junior Jeanette Melendez, co-chairs of the Admissions Committee of the United Minority Council, said they found the weekend to be successful. Melendez said that activities such as the student panel discussion allowed the prospective students to see what the University is all about. "A lot of students wonder whether Penn is where they can feel at home," Melendez said. "[At the student panel discussion], Penn students said that no university is perfect, but that there are organizations that help you deal with stress or social isolation." Melendez also expressed appreciation over the fact that the weekend was sponsored by many outside groups. "Many of the events were co-sponsored by other groups," Melendez said. "There wasn't a feeling of people working in a vacuum, even if they were from different organizations and ethnicities." Cox said he was also pleased with the number of outside sponsors, including the Greenfield Intercultural Center's and Annenberg Center's partial funding of the performance of Two Trains Running, which was shown to the students Thursday night.

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