WASHINGTON
In spite of California’s Proposition 209 and the U.S.
Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Hopwood decision. minority students who
hope to go on to major institutions of higher education shouldn’t fret.
That was the sentiment expressed here at a national college fair by
recruiters who reject the idea that the anti-affirmative action
legislation would have a negative bearing on minority enrollment at
private institutions.
“In fact, probably just the opposite,’ said Edward Suarez, assistant
director of admissions for Pitzer, a private college in Claremont.
California. “We’re thinking that private schools are perhaps going to
receive more minority applications and, hopefully, enrollments.”
A desire to attract African American students to their campuses was
one of the primary reasons 165 public and private colleges attended the
national fair in Washington. D.C. which has a high concentration of
African American high school students. The fair, which is an annual
event, was held at the D.C. Convention Center, and was attended by
approximately 5,000 college hopefuls. Many of the high school juniors
and seniors attended as part of field trips organized by their schools,
which could account for the seeming lack of interest displayed by many
of the students.
Suarez said that Pitzer would be eager to pick up the slack of the
post-Prop 209 minority students who would perhaps not go on to the
California state schools. Indeed Pitzer, which boasts a minority
enrollment of 35 percent – only 5 percent African American – actively
recruits minorities throughout Los Angeles and other cities in
California. Suarez would like to see more Black and Hispanic students
at Pitzer, and considers measures that may keep minorities from
attending state institutions as a blessing for private schools.
Richard Blomgren, dean of admissions for Warren Wilson College, a
private school in Asheville, North Carolina, echoed the same thoughts.
