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Colleges highlight diversity in admissions brochures

Admissions brochures at colleges across the country often present unique members of their student bodies to attract diverse applicants — including UNC’s.

Elena Hunt, a Native American sophomore, was featured in a UNC admissions brochure sent to high school seniors last summer. She said when she was an applicant, she was inspired by Facebook pictures of Native American students at UNC.

“Speaking from my perspective as a minority student, there weren’t many examples of people going to college who are Native American,” she said. “It wasn’t like I had to have diversity, but I was able to see people who are Native Americans at Carolina making it, so it was kind of like I can do it too.”

But according to a sociology study performed by researchers at Augsburg College and Rice University, on average, black and Asian people are overrepresented in college admissions brochures, while Hispanic and other non-white minorities are underrepresented.

Ashley Memory, UNC senior assistant director of undergraduate admissions, said the admissions office selects students recommended by faculty and staff — they do not try to make the brochures match student body demographics.

“We don’t try to do, ‘Here’s everybody at Carolina,’” she said. “We try to present pictures of students are appealing and friendly.

“(It’s) because Carolina has great students, and we have such rich diversity here that I’m able to get the diversity you see just from asking for recommendations.”

When looking at two brochures UNC mailed to high school juniors and seniors last summer, a The Daily Tar Heel analysis estimated that 71.4 percent of photographed students were white, 13.1 percent were black, 10.7 percent were Asian and 4.8 percent were other nonwhite minorities.

In fall 2013, UNC’s student body was 65.9 percent white, 8.5 percent black, 8.8 percent Asian and 16.7 percent other nonwhite minorities.

Mandy Byrd, associate manager of student marketing and communication at UNC-Greensboro’s admissions office, said some admissions offices struggle with the amount of diversity to show in their brochures, especially if they are trying to attract a more diverse student body.

“Do we show the minority to bring the minority to strengthen that population, or do we try to be right on the numbers?” she said.

Laura Essenburg, a graduate student at Rice University and co-author of the national study, said the study found that admissions brochures nationwide present an inaccurate view of colleges’ diversity profiles.

“For some reason, people kind of latch on to racial diversity being a commodity and something that’s definitely high on the charts in terms of colleges and what needs to happen in the college climate,” Essenburg said.

Darius Latham, president of UNC’s Black Student Movement, said admissions brochures are particularly important to students who cannot visit college campuses.

“I think it does the University a disservice when you don’t market to minority groups or to groups with low socioeconomic status who may not already be exposed to what Carolina has to offer,” he said.

Sophomore Jenna Sawafta, a member of the Muslim Student Association, said candid photos from student multicultural events would more realistically showcase diversity.

“It would be better for me to see an experience of diversity rather than just the token, ‘This is a girl from this race and this race hanging out together in the quad,’” she said.

Sophomore Donavon Dicks, a black member of UNC’s Asian Students Association, said colleges could publish statistics on their student body demographics in admissions brochures to maximize transparency — but he did not find brochures too misleading.

“You honestly can’t experience a college and what it is and the different types of people they have through a brochure,” he said.

Tim Kang, president of the Asian Students Association, said brochures shouldn’t mislead incoming students.

“Colleges should definitely emphasize focusing on diversity and what diversity the college has to offer so incoming students have a predisposition to be open about it,” he said.

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Sami Lachgar, a senior at R.J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem who identified himself as half black and half white, did not pay much attention to student photographs in admissions brochures because he expects ethnic diversity to be misrepresented.

“I think it’s pretty clear from visiting college campuses,” he said. “You can tell that it’s not exactly what it’s portrayed in the mail.”

state@dailytarheel.com

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