30The Tar Heel Thursday, August 19, 1985
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By Joy Thompson
Staff Writer
The University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill is home of several state
and federal programs geared toward
helping minority students adjust to
the University and to college life in
general.
Programs like Pre-Orientation and
Decision Days are for students
already admitted to the University.
The overall purpose of these
programs is "to show minority
students that UNC is a place for them
to, feel comfortable," said Camille
Roddy, student coordinator of minor
ity recruitment programs. ."We want
to help them see that there are things
here for minority students."
Pre-Orientation is held in August,
a day before regular freshmen orien
tation. Pre-Orientation does not take
the place of the regular freshmen
orientation; it complements it,
Roddy said.
It lets the students know about
the problems of being at the Univer
sity and how they can handle the
problems as a minority student,"
Roddy said.
One of these problems, for exam
ple, is the instance of a minority
student walking into a classroom of
150 to 200 students and "being one
out of three black students in the
entire class," she said.
Pre-Orientation counselors and
University faculty try to help students
cope mentally with situations like
that, she said.
If a student has problems identi
fying with a professor, she said, he
can talk to Hayden Renwick, asso
ciate dean of the College of Arts and
Sciences, or Donella Croslan, assist
ant dean of the General College, for
example.
Social activities are also a concern
for minority students, Roddy said.
"Not all black students get into
beer parties at Frat Court," she said.
Social funtions sponsored by the
University's Black Student Move
ment provide black students with a
"social outlet more in tune with
(their) social background," Roddy
said.
The BSM gives black students
"something more to relate to than to
beer blasts and beach music," she
said. '
Students participating in Pre
. Orientation are introduced to" the
activities and programs of such
organizations as the Office of Student
Counseling, the BSM and its various
subgroups, Roddy said.
The Pre-Orientation program has
30 to 50 student counselors. The
counselors work closely with Herbert
Davis and Lillian Dawson of Under
graduate Admissions, faculty
members and Lorraine Satterwhite,
.who is the program coordinator for
University Affairs.
Satterwhite, who organizes all
minority recruitment programs at the
University, said she believes in Pre
Orientation. "I feel that being at any (educational)
institution is difficult," Satterwhite
said. "But for a black student there
is an added degree of difficulty." -
Not only does the black student
have to deal with academics, she said,
but with finding a comfortable spot
on campus.
Decision Days is designed to make
students feel more comfortable at the
University as a whole.
Decision Days differs from Pre
Orientation in that it is a follow-up
program for minority students who
have applied to and have been
' accepted at the University. This
program, held in March, gives
students a chance to get aquainted
with the University and see "whether
they want to attend UNC or not,"
Roddy said.
Students participating in this
program are addressed by several
University people including Ren
wick, Croslan, the BSM president,
the student body president, the editor
of The Daily Tar Heel, and others,
Roddy said.
The students are also informed of
various programs they can get
involved in, such as the Fellow's
Program, a leadership program for
freshmen.
Minority students tend not to
always hear about programs and
organizations like the student govern
ment. Roddy said.
Decision Days "helps in the diver
sification of the make-up of these
organizations," if they decide to join,
Roddy said.
Decision Days staffs about 15 to
20 student counselors who work with
Harold Wallace, vice-chancellor of
University Affairs, Donald Boulton,
vice-chancellor and dean of Student
Affairs, Renwick and Croslan.
Project Uplift is a minority recruit
ing program for high school juniors
from all over the State. The students
get a chance to visit the University
for- a weekend during the first
summer session of summer school
and "get a feel of what being on
. campus is like," Satterwhite said.
"For a lot of them, it is their first
spark of interest in college," Satter
white said.
The purpose of Project Uplift is
to recruit students for UNC-Chapel
Hill, she said. However, after visiting
the University, some of the students
discover that they would prefer a
smaller college, Satterwhite said.
"We try to introduce students to
the social side (of college life) as well
as to the academic side," Satterwhite
said.
Classes as well as recreational
activities are arranged for the stu
dents, she said.
"We try to cover a broad aspect
in that day and a half," Satterwhite
said. .: ; - v '.. '
Project Uplift requires a greater
staff than Pre-Orientation or Deci
sion Days.
"For Project Uplift we're talking
anywhere from 30 to 40 counselors
that we heed," Satterwhite said.
"There are also 13 to 16 paid people
that we use, and all of them are
students." '
Project uplift is held for three
different weekends during the first
summer session, she said. Six
hundred to 800 students usually
- participate in the program. The
number of participants has greatly
increased over the years, she said.
The reason for this increase is
exposure to the program, Satterwhite
said.
"The more kids we got to, the more
the word spread around," she said.
"And 1 really think kids are making
the effort to get out and find out
about college.
"1 think more people have expec
tations about coming to college (over
the past five years), Satterwhite said.
. Among those people with high
expectations of going to college are
National Achievement Scholars and
National Merit Achievement Scho
lars. Satterwhite organizes these two
scholarship programs too.
The National Acheivement recruit
ment program is specifically for
minorities, Satterwhite said. The
National Merit Acheivement pro
gram is for all students.
"We invite those who didn't attend
the National Achievement program
to come back and attend the National
Merit Acheivement program," Sat
terwhite said.
National Merit Acheivement and
National Acheivement scholars are
determined by Scholastic Acheive
ment Test scores, she said. Students
participating in the Acheivement
program are high school seniors.
"The National Achievement and
National Merit Achievement pro
grams are more laid back and loosely
structured than Project Uplift,"
Roddy said. They require a staff-of
about 15 to 20 people.
While students spend a weekend
at the University during the Project
Uplift program, they only spend a
day during the Achievement pro-,
grams, Roddy said. The students
visiting the campus usually just ask
counselors questions about the life
and activities on campus, she said.
All minority recruitment pro
grams, with the exception of Pre
Orientation, are partly funded by the
Student Government and the vice,
chancellor of Student Affairs, Sat
terwhite said.
According to Satterwhite, through
Pre-Orientation and the other minor
ity recruitment programs, minority
. students will be given the opportunity
to meet people who really care about
them and to discover more positive
experiences at the University.
Although the counselors do not tell
the students what to do, Satterwhite
said, they inform students about both
the positive and negative sides to
university life.
"We (the staff and counselors)
work hard at painting a true picture
(of the University)," Satterwhite said.
All xf the counselors are students,
and participants in the programs
need that contact, Satterwhite said.
Student counselors direct most of
the activities, from social programs
to "rap sessions." There are also
dormitory and floor assistants,
Satterwhite said.
"Counselors serve as role models,"
Satterwhite said. They also provide
a support system for the students, she
said.
v The students counselors are nom
inated by the BSM, she said.
"I think on a whole the programs
have been very successful," Satter
white said.
Satterwhite is in the process of
doing a study of the past three years
of the program. The cooperation of
the entire University is needed for the
continued success of the programs,
she said.
Project Upward Bound and
Summer Bridge work with high
school students and University fresh
men. Students in the federally funded
Upward Bound program usually
continue in the Summer Bridge
program after they graduate from
high school if they are accepted at
the University.
The Upward Bound program,
housed in the University's School of
. Education, is designed to prepare
high school students between the ages
of 14 and 19 for success in college,
according to program Director Joyce
Clayton.
- The program involves tutorials,
academic courses, basic skill devel
opment, personal and academic
counceling and career guidance,
Clayton said.
According to the federal guidelines
students participating in this pro
gram must be either a low-income
or first generation college student.
"This means that neither the father
nor mother has completed with a
degree, a four year institution of
higher learning," Clayton said.
"We serve students from Orange
County, Chatham County and Dur
ham City" Clayton said. The students
come from seven high schools in
those areas, she added. Each of the
high schools has an Upward Bound
coordinator.
Students come to the campus
during the academic year for bi
monthly sessions and in the summer
for a six week session.
"Once a student graduates from
high school, he remains during the
summer session and enrolls as a
student in at least one course,"
Clayton said. The student is also
required to take two courses in the
program, she added.
The total enrollment of students
is 70 and there is a permanent staff
of 14, Clayton said. Enrollment in
the program, however, has declined
since the program's creation in 1966,
Clayton said.
The reason for the decrease is that
there are more programs available
for students in the summer, she said
"Students are much more in
demand in the -public and private
sectors," Clayton said. "So the
drawing card is not as great as it was
in the 60s."
The program still gets a satisfac
tory number of students, Clayton
saidY adding that she just has to do
more recruitment.
"Wherever I go I recruit," Clayton
said.
Clayton said students for the
program are also recruited on the
basis of referrals from other students,
teachers, guidance counselors, par
ents, ministers, housing authorities,
and others.
There is a very detailed schedule
for the students which includes social
and recreational activities.
The program, however, does not
recruit students specifically for this
University, Clayton said. It recruits
students for college in general.
"We pride ourselves in helping
students arrive at a college that meets
their needs," she said. The program
is designed to help students explore
a variety of options, she added.
. The program receives a lot of
support from the University, and she
would like to see more parental
support too, Clayton said. The
program will be doing more com
munity work this fall to get more
parents involved, she said.
"We're also working on trying to
get students better prepared for
standardized tests, so their scores will
be higher," Clayton said. .
' The Summer Bridge program,
directed by Student Affairs Advisor
Elson Floyd, is for students admitted
to the . University. As the name
Fewer black professors
WASHINGTON, DC (CPS) - There
are slightly fewer black faculty
members at the nation's colleges than
in 1975, according to new figures
released by the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES) and the
Equal Employment Opportunity
Conmmission.
But the declining number of black
profs could help financially-strapped
black, colleges across the country, as
black students seek out schools with
sizable black faculties.
Black profs numbered only 19,300
or 4.2 percent of the nearly
450,000 full-time college professors
employed in 1981, the latest year for
which statistics are available, the
NCES reports.
That represents a drop of over 400
black profs from 19,746 from
when the last count was taken in
1975.
"We don't really know if this is
implies, the program's purpose is to
facilitate a transition or bridge from
high school to college, Floyd said.
"It enables them (the students) to
become familiar with the University,"
he said.
The state-funded program has 25
staff members not including the staff
in the reading room, he said. The
students are enrolled in English,
math, a reading program and aca
demic and counseling programs, he
said.
; "The students know they are going
to be in a very intensive academic
program," Floyd said. There are very
few social activities, he added.
Around 65 students are selected by
Herbert Davis of Undergraduate
Admissions on the basis of SAT
scores, high school class rank and the
size of the student's hometown,
Floyd said
Most of the students come from
small hometowns, he said, because
it is often harder, for the student to
make the transition from a small
town to here.
The main problem students have in
adjusting to college life are their high
school study habits Floyd said.
Students can get away with good
grades by not keeping up with
reading and other assignments in
high school, he said.
"A lot of students feel they can do
the same thing in college," he said.
"Once you get behind (in college)
it is very hard to catch up," he said.
"We try to put students on a
regular scneauie so mat stuaents can
learn how to manage their time,
Floyd said. "We think that works out :
very well.?
Although the program does not
deal with minority recruitment, it
does help with retention rates, Floyd
said. -
. While the overrall retention rate
of black students at the Univerisity
is about 50 percent, he said, the
retention rate of students in the
Summer Bridge program is 64
percent. ,
Floyd said he would like to expand
the Summer Bridge program into the
students' freshman and sophomore
years, so the staff can monitor the
students' progress.
"If the students can make it
through their sophomore year, they
seem to be doing okay," he said. .
. Floyd said he hopes the expansion
will come no later than by next fall.
He said he is talking with Gillian
Sells, the new dean of the College
of Arts and Sciences, about addi
tional staff and office space.
a trend or not," says NCES research
analyst Susan Hill.
"The decline corresponds to a
similar decline in college enrollment
among black college students," she
notes. And since the pool of Ph.D.s
is not increasing, we don't expect any
sudden increases."
"We do think (the decline) is a
trend," laments Sarah Melendez,
associate director of trhe American
Council on Education's Office of
Minority Concerns.
"At many universities over the last
five years ever since the recession
forced many colleges to retrench and
cut back very often the people who
were laid off were those with the least
amount of seniority and those on
'soft' (non-tenured) salaries," she
explains.
"This has affected blacks more
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