By Marc Lapointe
Contributing Writer

The January issue of Black Enterprise Magazine recently ranked Wesleyan 17 in the top 50 colleges and universities for African-Americans. Wesleyan improved from last year’s ranking
of 22. 

The survey rated 482 colleges and universities that had at least a 3% African-American enrollment and polled 936 African-American professionals in higher education. They were asked
to rate the schools based on their impression of the social and educational environments fostered for African-American students.

Other notable schools on the list included Brown (50), Yale (40), Vassar (21), Amherst (20), Harvard (19), Duke (16), Emory (12), Oberlin (11), Columbia (10), Georgetown (9) and Stanford
(7). According to the survey the top five schools for African-American students were Morehouse College in Atlanta, Spelman College in Atlanta, Florida A&M, Hampton University in
Virginia and Howard University in Washington D.C.

Administration officials responded with enthusiasm to the news. 

"We are certainly pleased for the recognition," said Director of Communications Justin Harmon. "Wesleyan is recognized nationally as having a commitment to making diversity
meaningful." 

But despite the accolades, both Wesleyan officials and students expressed skepticism concerning college rankings of this sort. 

"It’s difficult to put a numerical value on the experiences of individual students at any given school," Harmon said. 

"A number cannot define a college experience," said Matt Burton ’04. "Someone really has to see for himself whether he fits in at a given school."

African-American students at Wesleyan expressed mixed feelings about the poll. 

"It is true that a number can’t quantify diversity at a school. But Wesleyan does seem successful at bringing a diverse student body in, i.e. admissions," said Michael Lewis ’03. "But
they really have a ways to go at the hiring of faculty of color and tenure positions."

"Even though the school does make a lot of effort to include and celebrate different minorities, it is not as diverse as I thought it was or as the administration makes it out to be," said Maisy Card ’04. 

However, multicultural and racial issues play a significant role in the academic ideals of Wesleyan. 

The statement of the Office of Affirmative Action reads: "For Wesleyan, diversity is not simply a matter of counting heads or targeting enrollment objectives. It is also a matter of bringing into the classroom a profound sense that diversity matters in the learning process."