The Diversity Affairs Committee of Syracuse University’s Student Association and other on-campus offices are now working to revamp college application questions related to ethnicity and race. Their eventual hope is to alter the Common Application, which currently only gives applicants five choices to describe their race, with no option to opt out or choose another.

Due to the fact that there are currently limited options for applicants and admitted students to express their race, an entire population of bi- and multi-racial students are not fully represented, thus skewing survey findings.

In order to achieve this goal, the Diversity Affairs Committee has started to push for more thorough post-application survey questions for the next round of admitted students because as of right now, only questions about religion are included, not race nor ethnicity.

These changes would allow the university to obtain more accurate and detailed information about the racial and ethnic breakdown of the applicant and student bodies and further help the school understand the resources needed by prominent minority groups on campus.

With surveys in mind, there is still an expressed crucial need for support and advocacy networks on campus, as about 30% of SU undergraduates are students of color and 21% of first-year students are first-generation Americans.

The needs of this substantial population can be better met as SU receives more accurate and precise data about the students it admits. They can know which resources to prioritize for certain students and offer more aid based on those findings.

Also, individuals of lesser known minority groups may feel better represented if SU makes these changes, as they would be named in reports about diversity and ethnic breakdown. This presents the opportunity for even more engagement between minority populations through resources such as the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, which offer tools such as mentoring, workshops and other programs aimed towards uplifting minorities.

If more groups are given visibility through updated surveys, the university can strive to better comprehend the types of support that students of color need to succeed at SU.

Lauren Spiezia is a sophomore journalism and political science major. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at lespiezi@syr.edu. She can be followed on Twitter @lauren_spiezia.

Published on October 10, 2019 at 2:40 am