The University's annual Minority Scholars Weekend became the first major beneficiary of University President Judith Rodin's plan to raise funding for programs designed to increase the presence of underrepresented minorities on campus. The Admissions Office invited 400 top prospective minority applicants for the Class of 2002 to campus for a chance to get to know Penn. For the 140 students who participated in the weekend's mix of campus tours and panel discussions, the event offered the opportunity to see both the University's academic and social sides. The Minority Scholars Weekend is a major part of the University's efforts to recruit more underrepresented minority students, Admissions Dean Lee Stetson said. The three-day program was expanded considerably since Rodin released her four-point financial initiative to increase the presence of underrepresented minorities on campus in September 1996, he added. In particular, Admissions was able to cover the travel expenses for more prospective students attending the program this year with the extra funds, which came from Rodin's minority recruitment and retention plan's central budget of $1 million a year for the next five years, he said. Stetson said the funds for the overall minority recruitment process -- which also includes travel expenses for recruiting officers -- have also increased over the last year. The Admissions Office invites prospective students from the black, Latino and Native-American communities to participate in the event. Within the Asian-American community -- who are not considered underrepresented since they make up 23 percent of Penn's student body -- the Admissions Office directly targets economically disadvantaged students, according to Stetson. Asian-American students make up the only group whose family income level are factored into whether they are invited to the Minority Scholars Weekend. "We're not talking about the mainstream Asian Americans who come in with affluent strong backgrounds; we get about 23 percent of them each year. These are students who come from economic backgrounds which are less advantaged than the average Asian-American applicant," Stetson explained. "We're trying to reach out to all those who are underrepresented, including the Asian Americans," he added. Such "underrepresented Asian-American students" include economically-disadvantaged students from Vietnam, China, Korea and Japan -- and some students from Indian communities from inner city or rural areas. But Asian American student leaders were not pleased with their community's representation at the program. "These efforts to represent underrepresented Asian Americans sound really great but? as of now, I don't think anything has changed," said Asian American Pacific Student Coalition Chairperson Seung Lee, a College junior. "For example, there were less than 20 Asian American students out of the 140 students who participated." Although the Admissions Office does not have access to the students' financial status, "you could tell by their parent's occupations, the area they live and the school district. If someone is a cook at a restaurant, that's different than owning a restaurant," Stetson said. But he stressed that the program invites students primarily on the basis of merit, although the University is still in the process of making its decisions on the candidates. College Dean Richard Beeman, who spoke to College faculty, students and prospective students at a breakfast and presentation event Thursday morning, commented that this weekend was highly beneficial for both the prospective students and the University. "These students are wonderfully able," Beeman said. "What could be better for the University than to have more of these diverse students make their home at Penn?" Chemistry Professor Bill Dailey, one of the faculty members invited to the breakfast, emphasized the need for the University to better represent the national population. "We must reach out and attract the best and the brightest minority students to build a foundation at the University so that it becomes more accessible for minorities," he said. The weekend's events included a step show performance sponsored by the BiCultural InterGreek Council and a closing dinner sponsored by the United Minorities Council. Students also attended information sessions on each of the four undergraduate schools.
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