The Post article states that Amherst plans to drop the "Students of Color" title next year and open the weekend to low-income students as well. The College should be lauded for devoting resources toward the recruitment of minority students, but needs to devote resources to low-income students as well. Under the current system, recruited minority students are personally invited to visit Amherst during a designated weekend. If students need financial help to attend this weekend, the College pays for their expenses. While the thought is commendable, this particular solution is not commendable. Singling out non-minority student as "low-income" among a large contingency of minority students over an entire weekend is insulting.
However, President Anthony Marx said that the administration has not made any final decisions about the Students of Color weekend. We suggest that the College eliminate the weekend in favor of a policy subsidizing visits by low-income students who meet academic standards set by the College. Rather than subsidize only minorities, the administration should pay visitation expenses for all low-income students. These visits to the College should be subsidized at any time, either before or after the application process, and should be only offered to students who demonstrate need. The purpose of the travel subsidization should be to increase knowledge about Amherst and to cater to students who would otherwise be unable to visit.
There should also be other means of recruitment. Alumni recruiting and the "Take Amherst Home" mailings should continue to be encouraged. The College should continue to promote diversity by encouraging the best and brightest minorities and low-income students to attend. However, the College should also not sacrifice their relationships with high income schools.