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BY KAITLIN KYI

In print | October 5, 2006

Last weekend, Swarthmore College welcomed 143 prospective students to its campus for Discovery Weekend. Courtesy of the college, students are flown in from such locales as Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and Idaho.

The largest recruiting program of the year, Discovery Weekend is held annually to expose talented students of diverse ethnic backgrounds to Swarthmore’s campus. While on campus, the prospective students increased the student population by 10 percent.

Discovery Weekend is part of Swarthmore’s running initiative to enhance the college with different viewpoints and experiences. Raissa Diamente, assistant dean of admissions and the director of multicultural recruitment, organized the weekend with this mission in mind. “It’s important for the college to have students of diverse backgrounds,” she said. “These students have to know about Swarthmore. We want people to have an ethical intelligence, to broaden our views.”

Dean of Admissions Jim Bock ’90 saw the weekend as a crucial opportunity for Swarthmore to reach out to minority groups. “When people visit a campus, it all becomes more real,” he said. “We want to be more accessible to underrepresented groups.”

Director of the Intercultural Center Rafael Zapata said that he approved of the outreach to the underrepresented. “It takes a whole lot of work from the faculty, especially the admissions,” he said. “We’ve been committed to diversity.”

Prospective students interested in attending Discovery Weekend are first required to apply. Similar to an actual application for admission, prospectives had to submit an essay and official transcript to demonstrate their interest in Swarthmore. However, acceptance to Discovery Weekend does not ensure admittance throughout the later application process. “is a service to these students, as well as a self-promotion for Swarthmore,” Diamente said.

The weekend exemplified college life in true Swattie fashion, allowing the prospective students to choose from a wide variety of events. Dean Larimore and keynote speaker Sarah Willie, assistant provost and professor, warmly welcomed prospective students, urging them to explore the value of a liberal arts education.

Events throughout the weekend included an open microphone, an ice cream social and movie screenings all hosted by cultural groups on campus. Students could choose to do anything from enjoying samosas on DESHI-sponsored Mehendi Night to playing board games with admissions deans.

Two new events at Discovery Weekend this year were the Social Action Fair and the Science Fair. Among the topics the Social Action Fair addressed was the celebrated tradition of social action at Swarthmore. In Kohlberg Coffee Bar, War News Radio shared broadcasts with prospective students, while others shared their efforts to fundraise for their future trip to New Orleans.

At the Science Fair, Eldridge Commons hummed with energy and enthusiasm as students displayed their research for prospective students interested in biology, chemistry, computer science, engineering and mathematics.

In addition to these planned events, students were encouraged to attend classes or other campus events. After attending a biology lecture, AJ Davis, a prospective student from Colorado, said that the experience helped make the prospect of college more concrete. “Taking the classes makes [college life] more tangible,” he said.

Other students, known as admission fellows, spent the duration of their weekends talking with prospective students. One of them, Zsaleh Harivandi ’07, said that she enjoyed the experience. “You get to meet a lot of cool people,” she said. “It was cool to hear and talk to new people; it was like a party in the admissions office.”

In addition to hosting and interviewing, multicultural recruitment interns worked closely with Admissions in the actual planning of the event and deciding who would attend.

The efforts of the faculty and deans were best exemplified on Sunday afternoon and evening. Faculty spent the day answering questions during a panel, lunch and dinner. “The deans really took the time on a Sunday night to talk to students about [Swarthmore] and the support systems we have here,” Diamente said.

Bock said that allowing prospective students to realize the benefits of a small college was another aim of Discovery Weekend. “A successful program spreads good word about liberal arts colleges,” he said. “We’re not only promoting Swat, but also small schools. I think it was successful, partly due to planning, partly due to weather.”

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