Volume CXXXIII, Number 10 November 16, 2001 f

Bowdoin welcomes students to invitational
JESSICA ZOLT-GILBURNE
STAFF WRITER

Last weekend, the Office of Admissions held its promotional Bowdoin Invitational. The Bowdoin Invitationals are events designed "to bring high school-seniors that we think probably aren't ordinarily able to visit Bowdoin," said Wil Smith, Coordinator of Multicultural Student Programs.

Two Bowdoin Invitationals were scheduled for this year. The first, scheduled for October, was canceled. Assistant Dean of Admissions and Director of Recruitment for Students of Color Fumio Sugihara explained that the first weekend was canceled because Admissions "had serious reservations about students traveling because they didn't have confidence in the airports to track the students."

Sugihara explained that they decided to limit the geographic scope of prospective students to those just from the New England and Mid-Atlantic region, in order to avoid unnecessary air travel. The response, however, was so small that the Admissions Department decided to cancel the weekend.
However, the Invitational scheduled for November had no trouble attracting large numbers of students. Sugihara noted that Admissions expected 87 students, but hoped to hit between 100 and 120. Sugihara also said that the students came from locations all over the country including Texas, Mississippi, and Boston.

The Invitational attempts to give Bowdoin exposure to "talented Minority Students," said Smith. According to Sugihara, Bowdoin finds these students through a variety of different sources, including about 100 high schools throughout the country and another 100 organizations that locate students who might be interested in Bowdoin.

Although Sugihara noted that they also have students who will submit academic records and SAT scores, he also added that the majority of students come to Bowdoin through a nomination by their guidance counselors.

Bowdoin works with organizations such as the Pace Upward Bound program, the Cathedral Scholars program in Washington D.C., and the Arkansas Commitment program in Arkansas, to select potential candidates. These programs work with high schools to help students get on the college track. Bowdoin works with these programs to bring them to the college for the Bowdoin Invitationals.

The Admissions Office sees these weekends not only as an opportunity to showcase Bowdoin, but also as a way to educate students about the liberal arts college experience. In order to achieve this goal, the Admissions Office provides students with detailed information about applying to Bowdoin, in addition to the admissions process and SAT scores, in general.
Bowdoin Invitationals are not a new event at Bowdoin.

The commitment to a variety of forms of diversity is not new to Bowdoin either, explained Sugihara. But he also noted that Bowdoin is "still working on increasing diversity." He explained that while in the recent past "numerically it hasn't shown," Admissions has been working or networking with the 100 aforementioned organizations and that "we are [now] starting to see the benefits."

Recalling past Invitational weekends, Smith explained that "The weekends have been really successful, and as we continue to increase our critical mass of minority students, it will build on success."

Sugihara believes that there is every reason to feel optimistic about the future, noting that the entire campus is involved in the invitationals. He said that the success of these weekends has been due in large part because these events are "viewed not as admissions events, but as campus events."