Besides being the youngest Eagles on campus, the Class of 2015 is special in another way. Our newest classmates are part of the most diverse class in recent memory at AU, with over 30 percent self-identifying as a domestic minority.
More than achieving racial diversity, the administration has also expanded its recruiting efforts to various regions of the United States, in addition to increasing the number of need-based financial aid packages, creating a socio-economic motley crew of freshmen.
The Eagle welcomes this conscious shift towards a more diverse campus. We’ve all heard that college is the place where we will be exposed to new ideas and different perspectives. And this is absolutely true. But this process of discovery extends beyond the walls of our classrooms and the pages of our textbooks.
It includes having a roommate that celebrates Ramadan, sharing a hallway with a West Coast native unphased by a 5.9 earthquake, talking with that friend whose Southern drawl relaxes everyone within earshot, discussing the merits of unemployment insurance with an acquaintance whose family actually depended on it. If Julius Caesar was correct in saying experience is the teacher of all things, then a diverse campus certainly promotes a wide range of knowledge.
However, AU must guide this demographic transformation with a steady hand, as increased diversity will come with new challenges for the administration and the student body as a whole. Officials have thus far shown an impressive anticipation of such problems, establishing mentorship programs for first-generation college students in addition to multiple programs encouraging interactions across socioeconomic groups. These efforts — coupled with an official push for more free and affordable events on campus — will foster a welcoming campus environment to all students.
However, in order to provide the necessary increase in need-based aid, the University has shifted focus away from merit-based scholarships. Here, this paper offers a word of caution.
Merit-based scholarships may no longer be as necessary to attract students to AU as they were in the past. Nevertheless, we still believe they have — for a lack of a better word — merit.
Rewarding previous accomplishments is something that appeals to everyone’s sense of fairness, and we can’t help but wonder how many well-accomplished students did not receive aid that might have in years past. More than several current Eagle staff members would not be attending American University if not for their merit awards. Throughout the school’s efforts to expand the makeup of its student body, merit-based scholarships should continue to play a key role in AU’s admission strategy.
Reservations aside, the University’s movement towards diversity should be celebrated. To those who continue to scoff at the significance of diversity, we direct them to the words of journalist Joe Klein. “Diversity has been written into the DNA of American life; any institution that lacks a rainbow array has come to seem diminished, if not diseased.”
Our University is a thriving institution. A balanced embrace of diversity will be yet another illustration of this health and vigor.
