Admissions Limits Multi-Cultural Visit Program

St. Lawrence University’s Admissions Office has been subject to continuing controversies involving its annual Multi-Cultural (MC) Visit Program. Ambassadors for the program claim that new policies and leadership within the office restrict the program’s ability to bring racially and culturally diverse prospective students to St. Lawrence University prior to the college application process.

“The trip has always been an effort led by multi-cultural students who know what it’s like to attend St. Lawrence,” said a current MC Program Ambassador, preferring to remain anonymous. “Now it seems like our tasks are strictly symbolic – we barely even contribute anymore.”

The frustration began following a change in leadership within the Admissions Office in Fall 2017. The MC Ambassadors, formally their own sub-division of Admissions in charge of diversity initiatives, were merged with the regular Admissions Ambassadors tasked with giving tours and writing general outreach letters. In a written statement, the Admissions Office enforced their appreciation for the work of the students in charge of the diversity visit initiative.

“We are appreciative of the work our [MC] Ambassadors do in organizing the event and to our hosts for sharing their Laurentian experience with our guests,” the Admissions statement read.

Despite the statement, the frustration felt by the MC Ambassadors was made evident through their preparation for this year’s trip. The Ambassadors developed fliers in search for hosts that the prospective students will reside with on the night of Nov. 10.

When the fliers were presented to Admissions administrators to be placed on SLUWire, it took weeks of emails and reminders to get them uploaded. This was a small task that the MC Ambassadors said is exemplary of the larger struggle they face to continue the trip’s history of student-led work to accurately depict the experience of a multicultural student on campus.

“We went from 12 people to five in less than a year,” explained another MC Ambassador. “People got fed up with how hard it was to get anything done, and it was clear that the focus was less on the trip and more on things [the Admissions administration] saw as more important.”

One of the MC Ambassadors that in the past had decided to remove himself from the position was Hemant Yogendra, a student who transferred before Fall 2018. He described a shift in the culture of Admissions that was detrimental to the MC Program’s mission. “It just didn’t feel like SLU cared enough to help students of diverse backgrounds beyond the numbers [the Admissions Office] promotes to the outside,” said Yogendra.

The controversy involving the MC program has been frustrating for students that have taken part in it in the past. While the claims against the program are unfortunate, they are not surprising, said Joshua Morrison ’21, current Vice President of Men in Color.

“I know that it would be highly unlikely that I would have come to SLU had I not went on the Multi-Cultural visit,” said Morrison. “I think it kind of goes to show that there’s still a lot of work to be done if the university is going to actually prioritize diversity like they say they want to.”

The Admissions Office’s written statement rebutted any claims that the administration is not taking this trip seriously.

“We have done more this year than ever before to attract the attention of talented students and to increase student participation at the visit program on November 11-12,” the written statement claimed. “We are responsible for leading the University’s charge to recruit a diverse student body, and this program is certainly a significant recruitment tool receiving a great deal of staff time and manpower.”

The annual Multi-Cultural Program Visit will be taking place Saturday, Nov. 11. The program is designed to bring students of diverse backgrounds that are considering committing to SLU to get a feel for campus life. If you are interested in becoming a host for the program, email tsene16@stlawu.edu for more information.

Hill News Staff retains knowledge of all anonymous sources.