<p>I got an invitation to this, but I thought this was only given to URMs? Or do they just do it to people of various ethnicities?</p>
<p>I'm a first generation immigrant from a North African nation, so under US law I'm not really considered to be "african-american" or "african" (I'm "north" african, BIG difference -_-). I don't want to seem out of place. Anybody ever been to one of these?</p>
<p>It was no mistake; they invite people from all sorts of backgrounds, and you’ll have a great time!</p>
<p>how is there a big difference? i am first generation Nigerian and i’m always ready to distinguish between African american and African or African and Nigerian but you are distinguishing between north and what??? is it because your lighter or something? i can’t seem to understand your logic.</p>
<p>I am 56 years old, and am therefore uncomfortable with such politically correctness. I am not sure why we really need to “celebrate” “diversity” at all. What does that mean? I am curious what goes on during “celebrate diversity” weekend at Carnegie Mellon.</p>
<p>Each application should be considered on its own merit. I don’t think Upper Middle Class Student A should get a preference over Upper Middle Class Student B, just because he is from Algeria, or is Hispanic, or is African American, for example.</p>
<p>Now, if someone has been truly discriminated against, or has overcome obstacles, that is a different story. </p>
<p>For example, “hispanic” is a very broad term, and in some cases someone who is Hispanic may be virtually indistinuishable from a “regular” white applicant, and may have experienced no discrimination whatsoever, so I do not agree that such people should be given the same preference that an African American might get, who may hve experienced real discrimination, nor should they be invited to a special weekend. For example, I know a girl who counts as an “hispanic”, who just got into an Ivy, but she is from a rich family from Latin America. </p>
<p>In my view, the colleges seem to have a thinly disguised quota system, and they work backwards to reach their desired result. </p>
<p>And the victims of this policy are usually asians (by the way, I am not an asian). When it comes to “diversity”, they don’t seem to count.</p>
<p>prettybetty: By “BIG difference -_-” I was insinuating sarcasm. There is no difference. I consider anybody from Africa to be african, period. </p>
<p>Please don’t turn this into a racial/affirmative action discussion. I got in on MY merits and not my race. I challenge you, floridadad, to prove that I or others got in solely based on race. I think I’m a damn good student. Please and thank you. I hate when this is brought up every single time around college admissions time. </p>
<p>But anyhow, I plan on attending this and meeting tons of new people!</p>
<p>Hi gerian, I have no doubts that you are a qualified applicant to have been invited to CMU’s Diversity Weekend. My son was invited earlier this year and really enjoyed it. It certainly solidified his decision to apply/attend. Wish you a great weekend collegiate experience!</p>
<p>FloridaDad-- You have bigger issues.
And specifically - you are Totally misunderstanding the difference between ‘diversity’ which is a voluntary initiative on the part of private organizations vs. ‘affirmative action’ which is a federal law.</p>
<p>Organizations - including private academic institutions, employers, religious organizations, etc. find that by embracing the differences in cultures, socio-economic status, religion, etc. a competitive advantage in earned in respective marketplaces and diversity initiatives bring new ideas into organizations.</p>
<p>Again - diversity and affirmative action are not the same thing. Your angry rhetoric would be corrected with a bit of education about the difference between diversity and affirmative action. Contrary to your comments, are no "victim"s from celebrating others’ cultures. There are asians at COD weekend! COD is not a bunch of inner-city black youth with lousy GPAs-- is that what you’re thinking? </p>
<p>So to answer question “what goes on at diversity weekend”
There is an excellent Saturday night dinner in which there are a multicultural food festival - -and it’s really awesome. There are several small tables to meet and greet deans from each school and ask questions about anything on your mind. There are tables from various student organizations. Parents who attend have a smaller meet and greet with admissions and a panel discussion on financial aid. Overall, an excellent weekend in which the various nationalities, genders, religions and races were celebrated. The beauty of CMU is its diversity which is indeed highly celebrated!
My kids went (probably D got the invite b/c she’s female) and S went b/c it was such an awesome weekend for D he went two years later.</p>
<p>As to Asians and diversity- you are woefully misguided. Diversity initiatives including the Gates M., Questbridge and even Ron Brown scholarships are coveted and won by Asians.
Get your facts! And the “hispanics” and “blacks” winning these scholarships are the brightest and most talented young people - they are amazing! These kids end up at Harvard, Yale, MIT, Stanford! They have GPAs, test scores and community service that are off the charts! Read the profiles of the kids winning these scholarships. This is “not your father’s Affirmative Action program”! These kids earn their spots in the colleges that seek to recruit them - there are no “victims”</p>