Minorities Lured to Harvard

Before coming to Harvard's minority recruitment program this past weekend, Rebecca F. Rumayor was certain she would not enroll here next fall.

Now after two days of wining and dining by students, deans and admissions officers, Rumayor, the first person ever admitted to Harvard from Harlem's A. Philip Randolph High School, says she has decided to join the class of 1991.

If past recruitment weekends are any indication, Rumayor's decision will not be a unique one. Ninety percent of the high school students who attended the event last year, decided to matriculate, a significantly higher yield than from minority admittees overall, said Jennifer Davis Carey '78, admissions and financial aid officer and director of the undergraduate minority recruitment program.

Despite initial fears, Rumayor said her time spent with about 90 other minority pre-frosh has made her feel at ease at Harvard.

I was afraid. I had heard a lot about snobs and I thought I would be overwhelmed. I was worried about how comfortable I would be," she said.

Program participants were offered a series of lectures and receptions with President of Radcliffe College Matina S. Horner, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aids William R. Fitzsimmons '67, Dean of Freshmen Henry C. Moses, faculty and undergraduates.

"We're not doing anyone a favor. We need their talents. Every once in a while we forget it's a two way street," said Horner, who attended a brunch in Byerly Hall.

Last year, 60 percent of minority admittees chose to attend Harvard, compared to a 72 percent yield overall, said Carey.

Although the number of minority students admitted this year increased, with minorities accounting for 30 percent of the 2166 places the College offered, the admissions office will have to wait to see how many matriculate.

"Minority students that apply to us are being heavily recruited by every college in the country," Carey said.

Other schools lure minority students with four-year scholarships, but Harvard's need-based financial aid policy does not allow any special awards for minority students, she said.

Todd H. Greene '89, undergraduate minority recruitment coordinator for the Harvard-Radcliffe admissions office, added that some Black students feel pressured to attend all-Black colleges.

Horner said she was concerned that recent press attention to racist incidents at college campuses could discourage minority students from schools like Harvard.

Rumayor said that although no one objected to her applying, she was discouraged by high school staff and friends from coming once she got in. "Just remember where you came from," her friends told her.

She said that her mother, who is out of the country, still does not know her daugther was admitted. "I'll explain to her why I should come here. She doesn't know what Harvard is. I'm not sacrificing myself. It'll do so much for my life in the future," she said.