Owl Day '96 attracts more minorities

---

by Charles Klein

---

Three hundred nineteen high school seniors got a taste of Rice culture April 18-20 as the Student Admission Council hosted its annual Owl Day festivities. But this year's Owl Day held added significance.

With the recent 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision on affirmative action, minority recruitment became a major goal. Of the 319 students in attendance, 55 were minority students, more than tripling last year's total of 17.

"We were very proactive at Owl Day, as were the students and student organizations, in order to bring those students to the campus and to get them to commit to Rice," Senior Associate Director of Admission Barry McFarland said.

"[SAC Director] Michol [McMillian] and [Minority Interests Committee Chair] Quinton [Nixon] are both to be heavily commended in that effort. HACER [Hispanic Association for Cultural Enrichment at Rice] and BSA [Black Student Association] made the Owls aware of the opportunities available on campus which helped the Owls make their decision. The whole Rice community kicked in very strongly for us this year to help present the best face of Rice to those students."

On-Campus Recruitment Committee Chair Mark Teoh placed special emphasis on the work of two other SAC committees in increasing the number of minority attendees.

"I doubt the 5th Court decision affected the Owls' decisions to participate, but it certainly increased SAC awareness of minority recruitment," he said. "Other committees, such as Minority Interests and High School Recruitment, played a big part in getting those minority Owl numbers up through their respective programs."

A final reason for the increase was cited by President Malcolm Gillis in an open letter to the Rice community in which he wrote, "The budget for transporting such students to Owl Day was increased."

According to Nixon, Gillis made the necessary funds available during an early April meeting after the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals decision. An exact dollar figure was not available at press time, but Nixon did report that the extra funds allowed SAC to fly in 15 more under-represented minorities while also subsidizing the registration fee for a number of other students.

"Rice got a lot of attention from the increase in minority enrollment last year," Nixon said. "We're seeing the fruits of that now. It's sort of a chain reaction."

Minority attendance was not the only difference between this year's and last year's Owl Day, though. The major structural change implemented by SAC was in the registration process. Registration was moved from the Sallyport to receptions in each of the colleges to avoid the problems encountered in 1995 when rain hampered the process.

"We had 300 Owls and hosts running around under the Sallyport [this year] trying to find each other," McMillian said. "So we moved the final stages of registration to the colleges. Owls could sit around and talk to other Owls and the hosts" while getting acquainted with the college.

According to Teoh, "matching the hosts and Owls at their respective colleges made for a much smoother registration process."

Other improvements over previous years included an increased presence of committee members at the airport and an increase in the number of hosts.

In past years, finding hosts to fill the demand had been a problem. McMillian attributes this year's improved host turnout to the college representatives.

"Our college contacts have been wonderful this year," McMillian said. "They have broken all kinds of records."

Besides the increase in minority attendance, the change in registration and the increase in the number of hosts, Owl Day proceeded as usual. Numerous social activities from comedian Pat Godwin's appearance to Sid Richardson College's Ground Zero party, gave the Owls a chance to sample Rice's night life. During the day, the Owls were able to attend classes and learn about Rice's academic programs and student organizations through the academic and activities fairs.

"I think the academic and activities fairs are always favorites of the Owls outside of the social activities," McMillian said. "They get to see Rice University for real."

Teoh agreed and added that the overall goal of Owl Day is to allow the Owls to make an "informed, if not favorable, decision to come to Rice." Approximately 70 percent of those who attend Owl Day are expected to matriculate at Rice this fall.

This item appeared in the News section of the April 26, 1996 issue.

Copyright © 1996 The Rice Thresher. All Rights Reserved.
This document may be distributed electronically, provided that it is distributed in its entirety and includes this notice. However, it cannot be reprinted without the express written permission of:
The Rice Thresher, Rice University, 6100 Main, Houston, TX 77005-1892, USA.