RECENTLY the Office of Admissions launched a new program to attract more low-income students to the University. The efforts will include a cross-country trip to several high schools in high-poverty areas to promote the University's financial aid program, AccessUVa.
With the recent controversy regarding financial aid, it is important to recognize the importance and encourage the efforts of the Office of Admissions. It is time for the student body to fundamentally shift its attitude and become a more open place for low-income students and recognize the advantages that low-income students can provide.
We know the University has a reputation for being a preppy, elitist place and without much economic diversity. Though this reputation is certainly exaggerated, there is some truth to it. The recent controversy on these pages surrounding financial aid probably didn't do much to help dispel these rumors either.
It is ironic that the University has such an elitist reputation given the excellent level of financial aid it provides to low-income students. The AccessUVa program, under which 100 percent of estimated costs of attending the University will be covered, is one of the best financial aid programs for low-income students in the country.
Even with excellent financial aid for low income student, the number of low-income students is actually declining. The University defines low-income as being at most 200 percent above the poverty line -- for a family of four, that would come to about $40,000 a year. In 1997, more than 10 percent of the University's student population came from low-income backgrounds. Today, only 6.55 percent come from households that are considered low-income. To put that in comparison to another top public school, the University of California, Berkeley has more than 30 percent of its student population come from low-income backgrounds. Given the excellent financial aid available for low-income students, we should do our best to create a welcoming environment for these students.
Bringing more low-income students to the University will improve the overall reputation and climate of the University. Low-income students would not only improve the reputation of the University, they would provide another perspective we currently lack: One of the main goals of the University is to help students better understand the world around us. This understanding of the world is greatly limited if only seen through the lens of students who come from a more well-off background. Low-income students can provide a different perspectivebased on their unique experiences of living in America.
As Dean of Admissions John Blackburn puts it, "We are Virginia's flagship university. We have a responsibility to the citizens of this Commonwealth to make education affordable to all Virginians. But we've fallen away from that responsibility." This responsibility that Dean Blackurn describes is one of the main features that distinguishes the University from private universities that do not have a goal of educating the general public.
It is important for each of us as students to take actions to support these goals. For example, we can start talking more to students considering the University about the financial aid options available. If a prospective student is worried that the University is too "preppy" and elitist, we can talk about the economic diversity of the University and the efforts to bring more low-income students to the University.
There currently is a support group for low-income students at the University called the Rainey Academic Program part of Student Financial Services. The problem is that the program is not very well known and lacks resources. This program can be expanded and can also work to bring in other students who are not low-income in order to build cooperation among students from different backgrounds.
If we can create a more open and inviting environment for low-income students and get more to attend the University, then we can start to learn from the unique perspective that they can provide. Through our actions and words each of us can do our part to change the reputation of the University as only a place for wealthy people and create a better University.
Sam Shirazi's column appears Mondays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at sshirazi@cavalierdaily.com.
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