The Dartmouth Review The Dartmouth Review The Dartmouth Review 25th Anniversary Gala

    The Dartmouth Review     Dartlog     Subscribe     Indian Store     Donate

 

Monday, September 15, 2003

Holyoke Give Up Segregated Orientation

Boston Globe:
But this year, officials at Mount Holyoke are questioning whether bringing minority students to campus early is a good idea. Spurred in part by the national debate on affirmative action and other minority preferences, they are considering opening the 16-year-old program to white students. Other schools are undergoing similar soul-searching.

"There's some thought that pre-orientation programs might actually be a force toward rigidifying racial boundaries rather than opening them up," said Lee Bowie, dean of Mount Holyoke.

Yes, it's a fairly obvious conclusion. But how often does anyone involved in higher education grasp the obvious?

Jeffrey Hart and Harvey Mansfield and one or two others excluded, of course.

I doubt, however, that this small (and not yet implemented) chance at Holyoke will have much of an effect. What sort of students are going to elect to come to campus early to participate in a minority-focused pre-orientation? I'd bet that they're not the kind who would provide any intellectual diversity. But still, Bowie's admission is heartening. Two years ago it would have been a flat-out denial that institutionally encouraging racial segregation can lead to, surprise, more racial segregation.

And, yes, TDR is proud to be heavily biased against Holyoke.

Posted by Andrew Grossman at 4:52 PM

Comments

Post a Comment (we enforce our comments policy)

Copyright © 1996-2008 The Dartmouth Review