University President Morton Schapiro met with approximately 20 students Thursday as part of a continuing program called Special Interest Roundtables, which is sponsored by Northwestern’s Associated Student Government.
A majority of those in attendance were affiliated with ASG, although Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president of student affairs, was also present. The meeting had no set agenda, and though students raised a variety of topics over the course of the discussion, many of the questions to President Schapiro dealt with the issue of community building on campus – a central issue in the ASG presidential campaign.
In one of the first questions of the evening, McCormick senior Chirag Gupta asked about the University’s plans to improve student relationships with alumni, remarking that undergraduates interact very little with the Northwestern Alumni Association.
“There is almost no relationship between students and the NAA until commencement, or maybe just before you graduate and they’re asking you to contribute to the senior gift,” Gupta said.
In his response, Schapiro drew a number of comparisons to schools on the East Coast, a trend that continued throughout the afternoon as he drew heavily on his experiences as the president of Williams College. He said NU had not made enough of an effort to develop the types of alumni networks that exist in the east.
“We’ve just invested next to nothing in it, to be honest,” Schapiro said. “We never invested in the technology, programming or personnel, but now we are. We’re getting people out, getting people connected and getting mentors.”
But though Schapiro drew a number of comparisons to highly selective universities, he said he did not want NU to emulate Ivy League universities. He stressed the importance of maintaining a community based on “humility, inclusion and civility” regardless of the school’s reputation.
After mentioning the recent drop in NU’s acceptance rate, from 18 percent to a record low 15 percent, Schapiro made a similar comment, saying NU should continue to be a place for genuinely interested students, rather than those who choose the school for its selectivity.
“Once we’re top 10 in US News, which may happen in the next few years, people may only come because it’s so selective,” Schapiro said. “I want people to come for the right reasons. I don’t want it to be another trophy.”
As the discussion wore on, questions shifted towards issues of campus diversity, and how the administration would work to incorporate students of various ethnic backgrounds into the NU community. Participants asked about topics ranging from international students to the race caucus that took place after a Latina student was harassed in January.
“We have to work harder to make this place more inclusive and more diverse,” said Schapiro about the caucus. “For me, if there was any complacency, it was gone after that.”
Weinberg sophomore and ASG Speaker of the Senate Ani Ajith, a former Daily staffer, also asked Schapiro if the school is giving students “a reason to be proud of their community,” pointing to the results of a survey issued annually to seniors by the Consortium on Financing Higher Education. He said it demonstrated that students did not feel a strong sense of community at NU.
Schapiro agreed, saying that while NU had not been the lowest-ranked school on this survey question, he believed the school had underperformed. He said it was time to take tangible steps toward building a community at NU.
I’m tired of the excuses. We’re not looking for excuses, we’re looking for solutions,” Schapiro said. “I think we’re ready. There is a lot more purple pride now, and we’re going to build on that.”
