Syracuse University professor David Bennett gave a presentation regarding his views on the university’s change in admissions strategies to the general assembly at Monday’s Student Association meeting.

Assemblymembers Jesse Feitel and Nicholas Iaquinto invited Bennett to the meeting, held at 7:30 p.m. in Maxwell Auditorium, to explain why he believes a lack of focus on traditional admissions methods is an issue for SU.

Don Saleh, vice president for enrollment management, came to an SA meeting several weeks ago to defend the university’s reasoning for a greater focus on diversity. Feitel and Iaquinto said that by presenting both sides of the argument to SA, the assembly members should be able to form their own opinions for later discussion within SA and with the entire SU community.

Bennett, who initially offered his opinion at a University Senate meeting last February, said he wanted to start a conversation on the admissions department’s lack of emphasis on traditional metrics.

This initial conversation led to a ‘firestorm’ and stimulated an intense response Bennett did not expect, he said.

A focus on diversity is a concept Bennett said he finds admirable but dangerous, as no prestigious universities operate this way. These schools still focus on SAT scores, GPA and class ranking.

‘Is it a news bulletin for anyone in America that increasingly the prestige of your alma mater is a badge of status in society?’ Bennett said. ‘That’s the reason why there is so much anxiety in many households on admissions day when you were finding out whether you got a thick envelope or a thin one.’

Bennett said he worries that as SU drops in ranking, a degree from the university will not carry the same status.

‘My point is not that Syracuse shouldn’t celebrate diversity,’ Bennett said. ‘It’s that if you eliminate traditional, academic and merit metrics, we are going to run into problems.’

Later, President Neal Casey congratulated the assembly on its efforts during elections and the voter turnout records. He also mentioned, in light of the recent events concerning the SU basketball program, he is proud of the way students have been handling SU’s thrust into the national spotlight.

A bill titled Elected Student Representative to the Syracuse University Alumni Association Board of Directors was presented by Bonnie Kong, Academic Affairs Committee chair. The bill, an attempt to formalize the process of student representation on the board, was not passed. Parliamentarian Eugene Law made a motion to send it to the Administrative Operations Committee for review.

Casey said after the meeting that the bill was emailed to Law three times and that Law has not attended a cabinet meeting in weeks. Therefore, he and Kong assumed that due to the lack of response, it was approved. The Administrative Operations Committee will not change the content, only verify the codes were followed, Casey said.

Other business discussed:

Kong presented her committee’s report and said the initiative to have students sit on the Academic Integrity Board is going into effect next semester with three SA student seats.

Comptroller Jeff Rickert presented two bills to the assembly that passed. The Secular Student Alliance was granted the $209 it requested and the National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women’s Club was not granted the $17,863 it requested.

rebarill@syr.edu

Published on November 28, 2011 at 12:00 pm