Many minority high school students hold stereotypes
about Appalachian State University and do not consider applying,
but last weekend 75 of them hopefully were enlightened.
The Sixth annual Multicultural Prospective Students
Weekend, co-hosted by the Office of Admissions and the Office
of Multicultural Student Development, allowed high school seniors
of multicultural status to experience Appalachian’s campus.
The program is effective for breaking up multicultural student’s
stereotypes about attending school in the mountains, said Erin
L. Hill of the Office of Admissions.
“It’s a really awesome experience
to hear some visiting students remark, ‘Wow, I didn’t
know there were students of color at Appalachian,’ and break
students [from thinking] of Appalachian being a 100-percent white
campus,” said Tracey L. Wright, director of Multicultural
Student Development.
Students who participated in the past said
they were pleasantly surprised by the amount of diversity.
“When I came to Prospective Students Weekend,
there were a lot of diverse people here. It shocked me,”
said freshman Kendra V. Bethea. “You don’t hear about
it being a diverse place. When you come up here and see the people
interacting, it makes you feel better about being a minority.”
Appalachian multicultural students hosted the
prospective students, allowing them to stay in their dorm rooms.
The prospective students also attended sessions about campus residence
life, academics and diversity. They also had the opportunity to
attend social events, such as a Salsa Dance sponsored by the Council
for Cultural Awareness and the Hispanic Students Association.
The main purpose of Prospective Students Weekend
is to allow potential students of color to see what Appalachian
has to offer them, said Wright. Students who participated in the
past agree.
“I think overall it will help them decide
if they want to go here or somewhere else,” said Bethea,
who hosted this year. “It gives them a bigger outlook of
Appalachian.”
The program influenced some students’
decision to attend Appalachian.
“Last year, the Prospective Students Weekend
provided an opportunity for me to go to a school without my parents
and experience what campus life is like,” said freshman Millicent
Rogers. “It gave me an opportunity to see how the minority
population interacts together. Everybody felt strongly about the
love this school and the things they do here and I wanted that
excitement for the school I picked.”
“Most colleges don’t do things like
that, at least not the one I visited,” said freshman Lucas
A. Givens. “Students take time to show prospective students
around and it shows a friendly atmosphere. When I finally got
here, I realized it wasn’t an act. People up here are really
nice.”
Students also made future friends.
“There were a number of students I met
at Prospective Students Weekend that I’m still close with
now on campus,” said Rogers. “I didn’t remember
their names when I came back, but a familiar face was good to
see.”
Because the program personally influenced students,
they hosted this year.
“I chose to host a student this year because
last year my hosts were great to me and now that I’m on campus,
I see the minority population is smaller than I thought it would
be,” said Rogers. “I feel it’s my way to allow
more minority, multicultural students to experience the campus.”
Some students hosted because they want to help
increase diversity.
“One major flaw at Appalachian is it does
have diversity, but not enough,” said Givens. “That’s
one reason I’m doing this, to help increase [diversity].”
Students also hoped to prepare multicultural
students for their first years away from home. “When I came
both my hosts were minority students,” said Rogers. “My
two roommates [this year] are white. I guess I was surprised when
I had white roommates. I want to show them how it is living with
a different environment then at home.”
When Prospective Students Weekend began, it
was only for African Americans but three years ago, Admissions
and Multicultural Student Development shifted the focus to include
all multicultural students, said Wright.
“For me, it was more of a personal commitment
of making sure our campus is diverse beyond the African American
population,” said Wright.
This year, they capped the number of students
to 75 because of budgetary concerns and available hosts, said
Wright. They also gave new guidelines to high school counselors,
in order to weed out problem students, which they experienced
in the past. They want to attract students who understand the
importance of the weekend and who Appalachian can admit, said
Wright.
“It’s a lot of time to put into it
and for students to open their home to these strangers,”
said Wright. “[There is] a level of trust there and we don’t
want to violate that trust.”
Admissions and Multicultural Student Development
are hoping to improve the program in the coming years.
“We are looking at modifications to the
program which would allow us to invite more students and allow
more students to attend,” said Wright. “One possibility,
if we find the money to do so, is to move the program to summer.”
Students say the program is effective.
“Had I not come up here for the Prospective
Students Weekend, I would not have come to Appalachian,”
said Givens. |
