Well we know that the conservatives keep attacking admissions, summer programs, and now they have finally made it to outreach programs. This Washington Post article describes Amherst's process of recruitment of high-performing students of color and its recent decision to open the recruitment to low-income Whites. Don't they ever stop? Imagine had the people who quest for "civil rights and equal opportunity," please read as "civil rights advocating conservatives," had fought for King's vision of civil rights in the 1960s ... wait then who would have been there to fight against King? Hey, just wanted to remind all the conservatives, even Trent Lott now supports Affirmative Action and civil rights. LOL!

Speaking of admissions and the like, the LSA Admissions Advisory Committee has begun meeting. If you are like me, you are wondering what the heck the LSA Admissions Advisory Committee is, like to know, here you go:
CHARGE TO LSA ADMISSIONS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
October 2003

Preamble:

The Mission Statement of the University’s Office of Undergraduate Admissions declares that its goal is to “enroll and graduate applicants who will develop and grow educationally and personally and will contribute to the University community. To that end, the role of the Undergraduate Admissions Office is to recruit, admit, and encourage enrollment of applicants who are academically excellent, accomplished in extracurricular endeavors, and broadly diverse. It is the University’s experience and judgment that this mix of students will foster the vibrant educational atmosphere that provides the best educational experience for all students.”

The College of LSA endorses and supports this view and has found the Admissions Office to be an important ally in its educational mission. Indeed, we are deeply impressed with the quality of students admitted to the College year after year. Nonetheless, it has been some time since LSA has taken a comprehensive look at the instructions the College gives to the Admissions Office regarding the criteria for admission to the College. It has been a similarly long time since the faculty have had an opportunity for thoughtful input into defining their own continuing role in this important effort. The need to revise our admission procedures provides us with an exciting opportunity to consider these issues.

The role of the LSA Admissions Advisory Committee, therefore, will be to:

• Develop an understanding of the incoming class we want to accept into LSA keeping in mind the wide range of disciplines we teach and, therefore, types of student we seek.

• Review previous and current admissions and recruitment policies, procedures, and documents to determine the areas where they did or did not produce desired results.

• Recommend means that should be used to achieve our goals and criteria to measure them.

• Recommend ways for faculty to be involved in the LSA admissions process.

The Committee will be expected to consult with the Admissions Office; receive comments from faculty, staff, and students in LSA, where relevant; compare our procedures, policies, and documents with those of our peer institutions; and take up additional questions and issues as needed. At all times the Committee will keep in mind our goal of a student body that is both academically outstanding and broadly diverse.

The committee should plan to prepare a report for the LSA Executive Committee on these issues by March 1, 2004.

The members of the committee are as follows:

Tania Brown, LSA Junior, Sociology
Stephen Darwall, Professor of Philosophy and Director of the LSA Honors Program
Philip Hanlon, Professor of Mathematics and Associate Dean for Budget and Planning
Sharon Herbert, Professor of Classical Studies and Director of the Kelsey Museum
James Jackson, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies
David Matz, LSA Junior, Political Science
Maria Montoya, Associate Professor of History and Director of Latino Studies in the Program in American Culture
Esrold Nurse, Assistant Dean for Student Academic Affairs
Robert Owen, Professor of Geological Sciences and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
Rebecca Scott, Professor of History and Law
Thomas Weisskopf, Professor of Economics and Director of the Residential College

Meanwhile....
This Friday at 7:30pm in the Rackham Auditorium Angela Davis will speak. Here talk is entitled, "How Gender Structures the Prison Industrial Complex." If you an be there, be there. I wonder are the conservakids who wanted Davis' name removed from the lounges in Markley going to be there talking trash? I would like to hear an exchange between Davis and a semi-informed agitator about her life's past!

Back to national, I have no rhyme or reason for the way I'm posting today. My Mets are in a heap of trouble, well actually Bill Singer! Singer, the new Mets super scout, made racially derogatory comments, if you can even call them comments, to Kim Ng of the LA Dodgers. This story still highlights how the APIA community is still considered outsiders, regardless of how deeply rooted in America they are.

The Washington Post has an interesting piece on the use of the term "lynching" as a political technique by Zell Miller of Mississippi and conservatives. I hadn't really thought about its continued use since Clarence Thomas' infamous "high-tech lynching" statement.

Ught oh, A Phi A, hazing is not a good thing. Good luck out of this one!

Yesterday, a protest in Philly was held to raise awareness about curriculum and African-centered studies. The protest called for a public school student walk-out, which it was unsuccessful in achieving, but obviously the issue got some visibility.

Aight, like Big Boi said, "...food for thought, now eat..."