STAFF EDIT: Improving Relations

With students representing 100 countries, Boston University boasts a high level of international diversity. What it does not have, however, is much racial diversity, a fact many BU students have started to address as a significant problem on campus.

Monday, the Student Union proposed forming an ad hoc committee to plan ways of improving the administration’s work with minorities. While this is a necessary initiative, the Union is late in its efforts.

The Real slate won office on the platform of improving University relations with its minority students. Yet it has taken the organization five months to even begin forming these committees. The two-and-a-half months left in its term is not nearly enough time to execute such a large initiative.

For a project such as this, the Union and administration must start its work together from the beginning of the school year and continue throughout. With only a single academic year to accomplish such a broad goal, work on the issue must be intense and continuous. Otherwise, any efforts will be in vain.

Regardless of the Union’s tardiness, minority relations with the administration is an important issue that must be addressed.

Before arriving on campus, prospective students are often of the belief that they will be welcomed into a largely diverse community, which can be a vital draw for students applying to college. It is natural for people to want to feel comfortable in their environments by interacting with people like themselves while also broadening horizons with different cultures. When walking down the streets of Commonwealth Avenue, though, the diversity is not as visible as advertised. Admissions must clear up this misconception for its new students before they draw negative conclusions on their own.

In its attempts to make prospective students comfortable, BU currently employs student minority representatives, who call University applicants of the same ethnicity to answer questions about the school. This not only provides a misleading portrayal of the University, but it has the effect of racially categorizing students.

If prospective students choose to seek out current students of their racial backgrounds for advice, that is their prerogative. However, admissions should not be forcing this action upon its students.

Students want to feel comfortable on campus, and the administration needs to do everything possible to facilitate this. There may not be enough time to make major changes this semester, but the issue needs to be aired.