The Mu Psi chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., in collaboration with the Black Student Union (BSU) and the Organización Latine Estudiantíl (OLÉ) Latinx Student Group, hosted an event titled “New Year, Same Advocacy” on Wednesday, Jan. 29. The event facilitated an open dialogue between students and leaders in the University administration regarding the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action and its subsequent effects on student admissions and enrollment.
The Mu Psi chapter aimed to foster direct conversations with administration through the event, believing that such dialogue would help achieve their advocacy goals of Social Action. In an interview with the News-Letter, Mu Psi Chapter President, Oluwatoyosi Fowowe, elaborated on the group’s motivation for organizing the discussion.
“This conversation has been going on in the Black community and minority communities. We think students deserve a space to express their concerns,“ Fowowe shared. “Through different organizations, we’ve tried to speak to administration, but that hasn’t been successful. We realized that this is something that needs to be addressed.”
The event featured Ellen Chow, Dean of Undergraduate Admissions; David Phillips, Vice Provost for Admissions and Financial Aid; Rachelle Hernandez, Vice Provost for Student Affairs; and Brittini Brown, Associate Vice Provost for Student Engagement and Dean of Students.
In an interview with The News-Letter, the Mu Psi Chapter’s Social Action Chair, Ava Payton, explained the selection of speakers.
“Originally, we had reached out to Dr. Brown and Dr. Hernandez, and then Dr. Brown referred us to [Chow] and [Phillips]. The SCOTUS impacted both student engagement and admissions, so we wanted to make sure we had a perspective from all sides,” Payton stated.
The discussion opened with an overview of the undergraduate admissions process. Chow and Phillips outlined the three areas of evaluation for prospective students: academic character, impact and initiative, and overall fit with the institution.
“We think, how do we create a class where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts? [Applications] go through different layers of review to make sure we are holistically addressing the 3 buckets of evaluation,” Phillips stated.
Shifting to student engagement, Hernandez and Brown highlighted new initiatives aimed at fostering student interaction, including the library relocation and Center for Student Success (CSS) Saturdays. They affirmed their success in improving communication with students through greater feedback and use of resources.
Students from the audience then discussed their own experience with enrollment and student engagement. Leaders from OLÉ, for example, reported lower levels of new student interest since the SCOTUS ruling on affirmative action.
“Personally, I know that having people from Latin American backgrounds [around] helped me feel like I belong here,“ Anna Zahrah, the Vice President of OLÉ, explained. “I think that might be missing for future generations just based on the fact that we could see fewer new students at SIF.”
Similarly, the African Students Association (ASA) and BSU noted challenges in recruiting underclassmen for leadership roles and event participation due to a decrease in minority representation in lower classes.
“I personally went out to other events, and I was asking ‘Are you a freshman?’ and ‘Do you want to sign up to be our Freshman Representative?’“ Ty'Shera Mintz, the Vice President of BSU, stated. “It was so hard to get people to sign up, and it’s scary to think about because we are about to graduate and we don’t know what will happen to our organizations.”
Some students expressed concerns that culturally focused organizations receive less support than general student organizations. Many also suggested creating dedicated spaces and events to showcase these groups and increasing university communication about their programming.
Speakers expressed concerns about receiving responses from administration and the lack of a clear platform to voice their concerns. In response, Hernandez emphasized the importance of administration listening to student voices and creating opportunities to work with students.
“As a part of administration, we are part of this community with you. We are here to support your experience, and we are here to listen and engage. I think of [administration] as part of the community with students,” Hernandez stated.
In the first class after the SCOTUS ruling banning race-conscious admissions, the percentage of incoming students from under-represented backgrounds dropped sharply. Phillips reflected on the the challenges posed by the SCOTUS ruling to the University’s racial diversity and stated that the University aims to maintain its diversity.
“When [Chow] and I got here, Hopkins was one of least racially diverse schools among the highly selective schools, and before the SCOTUS decision, we were one of the top few most diverse schools. We feel this is the way Hopkins should be,“ he said.
Phillips and Chow discussed the efforts of Hopkins admissions to maintain a diverse undergraduate population and shared their ideas of bolstering recruitment at high schools with a predominantly minority student body. They emphasized the importance of the University engaging early with high school students as they start the application process.
Additionally, the admissions team plans on improving their understanding of students’ educational environments by reintroducing standardized testing. Test scores allow an understanding of how an applicant compares to those around them, instead of national/global averages.
“We’re trying to leverage some tools that give us some context back into the evaluation process…with what the courts have given us now. We have a real sense of urgency to get back where we were,” Phillips added.
Students also proposed ways to engage prospective students early to foster a sense of belonging at Hopkins, such as featuring student organizations at events like Blue Jay Day and incorporating student voices into the admissions process.
“We can talk about student organizations, but hearing directly from students living the experience is far more impactful for prospective applicants,” Chow agreed.
Some students believed the lack of visibility of the University within programs such as QuestBridge and Baltimore Scholars discouraged applicants from considering Hopkins as their future school. Specifically, one student expressed concerns with the lack of QuestBridge visibility on Hopkins admissions pages, in contrast to other highly-selective schools.
Even on campus, some QuestBridge scholars stated they felt alienated on campus and overwhelmed with campus rigor. To solve this, students proposed certain fly-in programs and on-campus programs to help these scholars feel comfortable and establish a community – a suggestion the administration noted they are exploring.
To end the discussion, Gnagna Sy, the president of BSU, inquired about the use of potential technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI), to improve admissions efficiency post-SCOTUS ruling. Administration leaders commented on the usefulness in new academic and admissions systems to analyze student behavior and feedback; however, Phillips and Hernandez noted their caution due to inherent biases in AI systems.
“We’re always open to new tools that can help us select a class better, but there are a lot of biases embedded in a lot of content that’s out there, so we have to be careful in how we move forward with integrating AI into the process,” Phillips explained.
Many students attended the event for direct communication with administration. Malia Grant, a junior and Secretary of the BSU, shared her perspective on the dialogue with administration after the event in an interview with The News-Letter.
“I definitely think administration is walking away with something, and I’m walking away with the peace of mind knowing that people are actually listening,“ Grant said. “We are not going to see the change overnight, but it’s good to know that things are in the works.”
