I went to the school administrator to discuss the topic of diversity and admissions, with the hopes that I was about to engage in a productive and thoughtful conversation.
After talking with the administration about diversifying the student body and broadening admissions outreach, they told me that students of color would be more likely to come to the university if I were the face they were talking to. They also stated that students of color tend to turn down admissions to this school (a top-tier institution) even though the school admits plenty of people of color every year. They also asked me to take on what seemed like an unreasonable amount of work to recruit students of color to this university myself as a medical student. I thought, shouldn't this be someone’s full time job? I left the meeting feeling discouraged and guilty that I didn't want to take on the work. Can't I just be a student looking to further my education, or must I be the face of a university that doesn't support me? I still struggle with this conversation and wonder if I should have said more.
After talking with the administration about diversifying the student body and broadening admissions outreach, they told me that students of color would be more likely to come to the university if I were the face they were talking to. They also stated that students of color tend to turn down admissions to this school (a top-tier institution) even though the school admits plenty of people of color every year. They also asked me to take on what seemed like an unreasonable amount of work to recruit students of color to this university myself as a medical student. I thought, shouldn't this be someone’s full time job? I left the meeting feeling discouraged and guilty that I didn't want to take on the work. Can't I just be a student looking to further my education, or must I be the face of a university that doesn't support me? I still struggle with this conversation and wonder if I should have said more.