College excludes Febs from diversity stats

Every year, Middlebury College releases statistics about its student body diversity in publications, government agencies, surveys and other databases. These statistics, however, do not factor in the diversity of students who matriculate to the College in February.

According to Dean of Admissions Robert Clagett, excluding the Febs from the diversity count is a matter of governmental law. As a result, the diversity numbers do not account for approximately 400 students.

“The federal government mandates that we report fall-only enrollment,” Clagett said. “Guidebooks and other surveys specifically ask that we provide the federally-mandated number in order to be consistent across all colleges and universities. That is because there are so many institutions with different enrolling schedules and patterns, and these organizations want to use the same baseline for all of them.”

Some students believe that these statistics may make the College look more racially and ethnically diverse than it really is, because the Feb classes tend to have a high percentage of white students.

“It does not seem holistic to leave the Feb classes out of the diversity statistics,” said Moria Robinson ’11.5. “For whatever reason, Feb classes do not seem to match the overall diversity statistics of Middlebury College, especially with regard to international students and minority students.”

Clagett explained that Feb students tend to be white because of the way that Middlebury College selects those students.

“We tend not to offer February admission to American students of color unless they specifically ask for it, since we know that those same students will be receiving offers of admission from other excellent colleges, and typically for admission in September,” Clagett explained. “That’s why we want Middlebury’s offer of admission to be as comparable to those other offers as possible, since for some students, admission to the February cohort can be a less attractive option.”

Ashton Coghlan ’11, a September student, said that this information led him to understand why diversity statistics do not seem to match up with what he sees on campus.

“This makes sense,” Coghlan said. “When you look at the diversity figures that the College gives, they make it seem like this school is much more diverse than it actually is. So I guess this shows how it doesn’t add up.”

Rhiya Trivedi ’12.5, a Canadian-born Feb student of Indian descent, said that she is very aware of being one of few non-white Feb students on campus.

“The lack of racial diversity of the Feb classes is something I’ve definitely thought about,” Trivedi said. “There’s a connection-building exercise that we do at Feb orientation where we stand up if we have something in common. At one point when I was a Feb leader, someone said, ‘Stand up if you are a student of color.’ And of all of the Feb leaders and new Febs, I was the only person of color. It was just kind of awkward.”

But Trivedi also feels that measuring diversity by ethnicity and race is a narrow way of assessing student differences. She feels that the question of race often dominates the conversation, which frustrates her because she views diversity differently.

“The diversity question is a question of perspective, of experience and of feeling. Race is a factor, but it is by no means the dominant one — something I find particularly true with Febs. They have been all over; they care passionately for different things. It seems like something beautiful happens when you give young people six months in the world.”

According to Clagett, admission to Middlebury College in February is an important part of what the institution is all about, and there are no plans to phase out the program. The numbers of Feb students per class, however, have shrunk from approximately 120 students to around 90 students in recent years.

“The question of a February enrollment program has been examined at least twice in the past 10 years, but in both instances the importance of the Feb program was reaffirmed,” he said.