Minorities take our places! Sound Off!!!

ddjones007
Fri, 11 May 2007 08:16:15 +0000

Princess, I was an ND student many eons ago when being a woman was a bona fide minority on campus. I remember going to the ND Freshman Sendoff in my area, and a class of '53 ND alum asking me if I were going to ND or SMC. When I told him ND, he told me point blank that he thought the admission of women was the worst thing that ever happened to the university and was destined to bring about its demise. Amazingly, he was not alone, as many professors and others on campus felt the same. I graduated in 1984.

I’m also mom to a current ND sophomore–oops, scratch that, he just showed up at home last night, so I guess that makes him a junior–and a daughter who will be attending ND in the fall. So I guess you could say I’ve seen the place from the perspective of a couple of generations…

I haven’t really weighed in on the minority recruiting issue on this string, but I’m of the belief that race would be one of those things I’d consider to be an intangible. All we see on these boards is the stats–we don’t have the benefit of seeing the essays and the recommendations written by teachers; we don’t know what the profile of the school is. My guess would be there are probably some people who gain an unfair advantage through affirmative action, and plenty more who don’t. Same holds true for legacy and a whole host of other circumstances…

Bottom line is that people are more than the statistical average of their GPA’s, test scores and extracurricular lists. I honestly believe Notre Dame makes a genuine effort to try to read between the lines to determine not just where a student has stood in the past, but what potential he or she will have in the future…