Affirmative Action at MWC

Affirmative Action at MWC

Affirmative Action

Michael A. Mello wrote this article on affirmative action in the MWC admissions process.

Mello, Micheal A.

The Bullet

HIST 298, University of Mary Washington

1978-04-25

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Fredericksburg, VA

It is impossible to understand Mary Washington College's recruitment of Black students apart from the entire admissions policy. The affirmative action program exists within and is an integral part of the total recruitment sector of the College; it is not a separate entity.

The recruitment program of MWC begins with "college search." Every year Mary Washington College sends out self-descriptive brochures to 10,000 Virginia and 15,000 out-of-state high school students who meet the basic admissions standards of the College. The College Search Program is a part of the Admissions Testing Program, and MWC receives a list of qualified high school students who indicate interest in pursuing a liberal arts education. Dean of Admissions H. Conrad Warlick observes that this first step in the recruitment process does not take race into consideration: "We are not excluding anyone. We are including everyone in this search." All Virginians who qualify are sent a brochure.

Mary Washington College also participates in state-wide college day and college night activities. MWC was a leader in this program all-inclusive, boycotting high schools that excluded one race or the other. Warlick relates that "Mary Washington said we will not participate in programs that are not open to all students ... we helped turn the screws on school districts that didn't want to include all students."

Further, representatives of the College visit many individual Virginia high schools. Some of these secondary schools do not have college day functions; Other specially request MWC to make an individual visit. Several of these schools are predominantly Black; for example, this year representatives of Mary Washington visited all Richmond high schools, most of which are predominantly Black. The College also participates in a program sponsored by the National Scholarship Fund for Negro Students and the Richmond public schools. Similar programs for minority are organized in Washington DC.

Outside of Virginia, MWC is represented at many college fairs: large, arena-style programs at which 300 to 400 colleges make a showing. These fairs are often held in urban centers such as Washington, DC, Pittsburgh, and New York. All these efforts, however, can only go so far. Dean Warlick notes that "the student must decide to apply to Mary Washington College." The College cannot decide for them.

Mary Washington College does have control over the second stage of the process: the decision to admit or reject an applicant on the basis of that applicant's qualifications. The College's dedication to non-discriminatory admissions is most obvious at this stage, the stage at which the institution exercises the most control.

The final decision. like the initial decision to apply, is up to the student: only the applicant can ultimately decide to attend MWC rather than other institutions that might have accepted him.

Dean Warlick emphasizes that of these three stages of the admissions process, the "College has control over only one. It's not like busing secondary school or elementary school students from one area of a town to another, where they basically have no choice about where they will go. In the collegant sector, the choice of where a student elects to go or not is the student's. The institution doesn't really have much control."

Newspaper

Williams, Megan