EDITORIAL: A chance for a diverse campus

This year's applicant pool gives the University the opportunity to increase minorities on campus. While some may focus on the overall decrease in the number of applications this year, more importantly, there was an increase in minority applications. Not only did 3 percent more minorities apply to Penn than in prior years but over 2,000 international students applied. These are the kind of admissions statistics we need to see if Penn wants to further diversify its student population. This year's statistics also reflect a geographical diversity. The many recruiting trips administrators take to North Dakota and Colorado are paying off as the number of applicants from both states rose. However, the University was unable to escape the negative publicity generated by the fall semester's crime wave, as Penn did see a substantial decrease in the number of applications from the tri-state area. University officials had feared the pool of regular decision applications would reflect the same 10 percent decrease as the early decision pool. The overall 2.7 percent decrease however, is not just a result of the crime wave. The University did drop in the U.S. News and World Report rankings this past year, which many high school seniors take into consideration when applying to colleges. Also, many peer institutions, such as Princeton and Yale, changed their early action policies to early decision -- probably drawing several potential applicants away from Penn. But regardless of the reasons for the decrease, there have been substantial increases in applications every year for the past five years, and this year's amount of applications is still more than 1995. Administrators do not need to worry that this decrease will become a trend. The most important statistic though is the rise in minority applications and applicants from other parts of the country and the world. The more various types of students admissions officers can admit to Penn, the better the University will be. Hopefully, this is what will become a positive trend.