In an effort to recruit minority students, the admissions office directs the Students of Color Outreach Program (SCOPE) each year alongside the April Open House (AOH) activities for admitted students. This year's spring program begins next week.
According to its coordinators, SCOPE offers students of color the opportunity to meet with culture groups, the heads of culture houses, and faculty members of color on their trip to Tufts.
A SCOPE visit includes events exclusively for minority applicants, as well as events that coincide with the general Open House. Co-coordinator Mia Roberts said that she and Jonathan Snyder, the program's other coordinator, have aimed to allow freedom in the SCOPE schedule so that prospective students do not feel obligated to participate solely in SCOPE activities.
Among the events reserved for applicants of color are a luncheon with minority faculty and students on the last day of the program, as well as SuperShow, which features performances by various student groups. SuperShow was open to all accepted students last year, but President Larry Bacow's inauguration forced a change in venue from Cohen Auditorium to Dewick, causing the show to be restricted to minority applicants. Roberts regrets the restriction, and hopes to use Cohen again in the fall.
SCOPE visitors are treated to typical admissions fare, as well. Students participate in AOH activities, visit classes, take tours, and see Davis Square.
Snyder says the SCOPE program provides minority visitors with an accurate portrayal of University life for students of color. He said the program is similar to AOH, with the added benefit of the minority perspective.
"[Race] may not have to be a big issue to them, it doesn't have to be," he said. "We just want to show them the facets the University provides in case it's something they hold very dear to them."
Some have argued that programs like SCOPE serve to produce racial division by separating students early on, but Roberts said the program at Tufts does no such thing. "You can't really say that SCOPE segregates students of color, because there is so much overlap [between SCOPE and AOH]," she said. "Over half of the things on the schedule are joint events."
And those who went through the program say it had a positive impact on their experience as prospective students.
Junior Alice Bajana participated in SCOPE and now acts as the master of ceremonies for SuperShow. She said she enjoyed meeting other minority students and seeing what their lives were like, and that she ended up attending Tufts because she felt that students and faculty were welcoming. But despite the fact that the organizers of SCOPE encourage participants to engage in AOH activities, Bajana attended mainly SCOPE programs, and few AOH events.
"I ended up sticking with the other prospective student I roomed with, and doing everything with her," Bajana said. "We ended up rooming together for two years... It was really good to know people before I came, and I'm still friends with a lot of the people I met [during SCOPE]."
She said this happened not out of a perceived obligation to befriend other students of color, but simply because they "clicked."
Sophomore Shaina Wyche was on a whirlwind tour of Boston-area schools when she participated in SCOPE and AOH, and had a different experience. She said she didn't align solely with students of color and that it was helpful for her to meet other accepted students in general.
While she wouldn't go so far as to say that attending AOH and SCOPE persuaded her to come to Tufts, Wyche did say the program gave her a solid introduction to the campus dynamic.
Roberts said the increasing number of participants who work on the planning committee has helped the program to grow, and that its pool of volunteers - both white students and students of color - has risen of late. This year, one-third of the SCOPE overnight hosts are not students of color.
Volunteers tends to participate throughout their entire time at Tufts. "It amazes me, how many students come back to be volunteers," she said.
Bajana is one such volunter. After her experience with SCOPE, she decided to help prospective students have an equally informative visit to campus. "I want to show someone else the positive sides of this school," she said.
SCOPE runs twice a year, but the spring program is only for accepted students. This year, the program will run Thursday April 18 through Saturday April 20, in conjunction with the April Open House (AOH) program for all accepted students. Coordinators expect between 80 and 90 students this spring.
