â??The revised policy will look at applicants as individuals, the way we all want to be looked at.â?

The University of Wisconsin System held an open forum on its proposed revised admissions policy that would place a greater emphasis on non-academic factors than the previous edition of the admissions policy.

Things like work experience, volunteer history and the type of classes a prospective student took in high school will be weighted alongside traditional factors like an incoming student“s GPA.

“The revised policy will look at applicants as individuals, the way we all want to be looked at,” said UW System President Kevin Reilly.

The policy will be voted on at the next Board of Regents meeting Feb. 8 and 9 in Madison. If approved, it will be in effect for five years before it can be revised again.

The forum took place via videoconferencing between the UWM and four other UW schools: UW-Madison, UW-Green Bay, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Eau Claire. UWM was represented by Provost Rita Cheng.

The most discussed factor that the revised policy will take into consideration is race. Most of the people present at the forum supported the idea of race being included in the admissions policy. UWM Student Association (SA) Vice President Jon Tingley said that it was important for UW schools to recognize diversity in its educational mission.

“I see firsthand the benefits of economic and cultural diversity on campus every day,” Tingley said.

Not everyone was in favor of what the UW System calls a “diversity-conscious” policy. Lee Hansen, a University of Wisconsin professor of economics, called the revisions a collection of “empty statements.”

“People want to believe that diversity is good for education, but there“s no evidence of that,” Hansen said.

Others thought differently.

“In my mind, it“s really about understanding. We need everyone at the table,” said Michelle Bryant.

Bryant went to UWM in the late “80s and early “90s and said at the forum that she can still remember being the sole black student in a lecture hall filled with 300 students.

Bryant said she remembers a sign on-campus stating, “N-----s go back to Africa” with a picture of an ape of the other side.

It was this experience that motivated her to run for president of the Black Student Union and started her political career. She is now working for Wisconsin State Sen. Lena Taylor of the 4th District.

But according to Bryant, “We really haven“t come that far.”

Years later when it came time for Bryant to decide where to send her son to college she said, “I made the decision purposely not to send him to UWM because I remember my experience here.”

Instead she sent her son to a historically black college.

In addition to racial factors on campus, Bryant also voiced her concerns for those students who don“t show their true potential on tests.

“All of us have days that we wouldn“t say are our best,” Bryant said.

She also said that Taylor came to UWM on a special program with a 1.8 high school GPA.

Bryant said of the future senator, “She just wasn“t focused.”

By Tyler Casey and Stephanie Brien

> Comments