THE ISSUES AFFECTING YOU REVEAL EXPLAINED DISCUSSED. NOW ON WGAL EIGHT IN FOCUS. HELLO, I'M SUSAN SHAPIRO. THE US SUPREME COURT OVERTURNED AN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN JUNE FOR COLLEGE ADMISSIONS, ARGUING THE CONSIDERATION OF RACE AS A SPECIFIC FACTOR IN ADMISSIONS IS UNCONSTITUTIONAL. UNDER THE EQUAL PROTECTIONS CLAUSE. THE COURT'S CONCERN MAJORITY SIDED WITH STUDENTS FOR FAIR ADMISSIONS. A LEGAL ADVOCATE ORGANIZATION THAT SUED HARVARD AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA IN 2014. IT SAID THE SCHOOL'S DISCRIMINATED AGAINST WHITE AND ASIAN AMERICAN STUDENTS. WE REMAIN VIGILANT AND INTEND TO INITIATE LITIGATION. SHOULD UNIVERSITIES DEFIANTLY FLOUT THIS CLEAR RULING. THOSE WHO SUPPORT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION FEAR THAT WITHOUT THE POLICY, THE PERCENTAGE OF BLACK AND LATINO STUDENTS WILL DROP DRAMATICALLY AT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES, IT'S GOING TO KEEP OUT PEOPLE WHO ARE SUPPOSED TO BE IN THESE PLACES IN SPACES AND NOT ALLOWING FOLKS TO HAVE ACCESS TO POWER. CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS NOTED IN THE MAJORITY OPINION THAT APPLICANTS CAN STILL WRITE IN THEIR ESSAYS ABOUT THE RACE AND HOW IT IMPACTED THEM. JOINING US NOW IS JOSEPH ROBINSON JR, THE PRESIDENT OF THE MLK JUNIOR LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE IN THE HARRISBURG AREA. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU, SUSAN, FOR HAVING ME. WHAT IS THE INSTITUTE AND HOW DID IT COME ABOUT? LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTE HAS BEEN AROUND SINCE 2008 AND IT'S OUR ATTEMPT TO BRING ABOUT DR. KING'S BELOVED COMMUNITY BY PUTTING EVERYONE IN THE ROOM. WHETHER YOU HAVE A GED OR PHD, WE COME TOGETHER AND LEARN THE PRINCIPLES AND TENETS OF DR. KING AND HOW TO BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE LEADERS AND CHANGE AGENTS IN OUR COMMUNITY IS AN IMPORTANT THING TO BE. THAT'S FOR SURE. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THE SUPREME COURT DECISION DOING AWAY WITH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION? I WAS NOT SURPRISED, GIVEN SOME OF THE CURRENT DECISIONS THAT HAVE COME OUT OF THIS PARTICULAR COURT. BUT I WAS DEFINITELY VERY DISAPPOINTED THAT THEY WOULD COME TO THAT CONCLUSION. BUT NOT THAT SURPRISED AT ALL. WHY WERE YOU SO DISAPPOINTED? ONLY BECAUSE IT PLAYS INTO A NARRATIVE SOMEHOW OR OTHER THAT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION THAT SOMEHOW OTHER THIS ADMISSIONS AND THESE COLLEGES ARE ARE RIGGED TO BENEFIT UNQUALIFIED STUDENTS, MINORITY STUDENTS. AND THAT'S JUST SUCH A SUCH A FAR FETCHED NOTION. BUT THAT'S THE PERCEPTION, THE PREVAILING PERCEPTION ABOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. AND THAT DECISION IS COURT MADE, PERPETUATES THAT THAT THAT MYTH AND PERPETUATES THAT MISPERCEPTION ABOUT AFFIRMATIVE ACTION. JUSTICE THOMAS, A BLACK MAN LIKE YOURSELF, WROTE THAT THIS STIGMATIZES BLACK PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY. RIGHT. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THAT? THAT'S JUSTICE THOMAS. I'D SAY THAT'S A PERSONAL ISSUE WITH FROM MY PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE YOU CAN'T BE SICK. ONLY SOMEONE ELSE CAN STIGMATIZE YOU. YOU DON'T STIGMATIZE YOURSELF. SO IF SOMEONE ELSE HAS AN OPINION OF YOU, THAT'S THAT'S THEIR ISSUE, NOT YOURS. SO I DON'T THINK BY ANY MEANS BY ME BEING ADMITTED TO A PLACE LIKE THE UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA WHERE I ATTENDED, I DON'T THINK I FEEL STIGMATIZED BECAUSE I WAS ADMITTED THERE, BECAUSE WHAT THAT SAYS TO ME IS THAT THEY FINALLY RECOGNIZED THAT THERE WERE PEOPLE OF COLOR WHO COULD IN FACT, ATTENDED SCHOOL, BECAUSE FOR SO MANY YEARS, 100 YEARS PRIOR, UVA AND MANY OTHER SCHOOLS RIGHT AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, CATEGORICALLY DENIED BLACK PEOPLE ADMISSION ONLY BECAUSE OF THEIR RACE. AND SO NOW, WITH AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, YOU BEGIN TO HAVE A RECKONING WHERE YOU SAY, LOOK, LET'S GET BEYOND THAT AND BEGIN TO TAKE SOME AFFIRMATIVE STEPS TO RECTIFY WHAT WE'VE BEEN DOING OVER THE LAST 100 YEARS. AND SO, NO, I DON'T AT ALL FEEL STIGMATIZED. I FEEL LIKE I'VE JUST BENEFITED FROM THE FACT THAT THEY FINALLY RECOGNIZED THAT THERE WAS A THAT THERE WAS A IMPRACTICAL POLICY IN THE BEGINNING AND YOU HAD TO HAVE THE QUALIFICATIONS TO GET INTO A SCHOOL LIKE THAT AND DO THE BETTER BELIEVE YOU GOT THERE. YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT. I TELL IT PEOPLE ALL THE TIME. THEY SAID, MAN, THAT WAS A HARD SCHOOL TO GET INTO. I SAID, YEAH, IT WAS HARDER GETTING OUT, THOUGH, YOU KNOW? MY GOODNESS. OH, THAT MUCH. SO WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? OBVIOUSLY SCHOOLS NOW CAN STILL CONSIDER RACE. IF A STUDENT WRITES ABOUT THAT IN AN ESSAY, WHICH IS AN INTERESTING. SURE THING. I THINK IT WAS JUST THEY'RE JUST PARSING, YOU KNOW, THEY SAY A DISTINCTION WITHOUT A DIFFERENCE. YES. YOU CAN'T SAY I WANT TO BE IN THE ADMISSIONS TEAM. CAN'T SAY, WELL, LET'S GET THIS BLACK STUDENT. BUT BUT IF THAT STUDENT WRITES ABOUT THE EXPERIENCE AS A BLACK PERSON, THEN WE CAN STILL CONSIDER IT. I JUST THINK THAT'S A DISTINCTION WITHOUT A DIFFERENCE. MR. ROBINSON THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE AND SHARING YOUR YOUR INSIGHTS AND AND SOME OF YOUR BACKGROUND. THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE IT. COMING UP ON WGAL EIGHT IN FOCUS, WE'LL SPEAK WITH THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN COALITION AND WHY HIS GROUP IS PLEASED WITH THE SUPREME COURT'S DECISION. THIS IS WGAL EIGHT IN FOCUS COVERAGE. YOU CAN COUNT ON. JOINING US NOW IS MIKE CHOW, WHO'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE ASIAN AMERICAN COALITION FOR EDUCATION. THANKS FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. TELL ME WHAT THE COALITION IS AND WHAT IT DOES. YEAH, MY COALITION REPRESENTS OVER. 360 ASIAN ORGANIZATIONS NATIONWIDE. OUR MISSION IS THE FIGHT FOR MERITOCRACY IN SUPPORT, STUDENTS OF ADMISSIONS LAWSUITS AGAINST HARVARD AND UNK. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THE US SUPREME COURT STRIKING DOWN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN THE COLLEGE ADMISSIONS PROCESS? WE CALL THIS HISTORY RULING AS A HISTORIC VICTORY FOR ASIANS AND ALL AMERICANS BECAUSE AFTER THIS RULING, OUR CHILDREN WERE NO LONGER BEING TREATED AS SECOND CLASS CITIZENS IN COLLEGE ADMISSION. YOU KNOW, IT'S A GREAT VICTORY FOR ALL AMERICANS BECAUSE THE RULINGS PRESERVE MERITOCRACY, WHICH IS A BEDROCK OF THE AMERICAN COUNTRY. VERY IMPORTANTLY, THE RULINGS ADVANCED AMERICA INTO A COLORBLIND SOCIETY BY STRIKING DOWN THE ONLY REMAINING RACE BASED POLICY ACHIEVE WHAT DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING DREAMED 60 YEARS AGO. YOU HAVE SAID THAT THE ORGANIZATION WILL NOW MONITOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS RULING. HOW WILL THE ORGANIZATION DO THAT AND WHAT COMES NEXT? YEAH, WE ARE GOING TO SEND THE LETTERS TO THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF ALL THE STATES ASKING THEM TO MONITOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE US SUPREME COURT RULING TO PREVENT THE COLLEGE IS USING PROXY OF THE RACE TO SERVE THE COURT RULING AND WE'RE ALSO GOING TO SUPPORT THE INITIATIVE TO BAN THE LEGACY AND, YOU KNOW, FAVORABLE TREATMENT OF COLLEGE STAFF. ALSO TO STRICTLY LIMIT THE CORRUPTION HAPPENED IN THE RECRUITING OF ATHLETES IN COLLEGE AND THE MISSION VERY IMPORTANTLY, WE ALSO WANT TO CHALLENGE AMERICAN SOCIETY TO HOLD THE FAILING POLITICIAN ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE K THROUGH 12 EDUCATION. YOU KNOW, THE PROBLEM IS NOT IN THE CULTURE. THE PROBLEM IS BECAUSE TOO MANY BLACK AND HISPANIC COMMUNITIES DO NOT GET ADEQUATE K-12 EDUCATION. SO THAT ISSUE, WE WANT AMERICAN SOCIETY HOLDS A FAILING POLITICIAN ACCOUNTABLE TO INCREASE THE RACIAL DIVERSITY IN COLLEGE. YOU KNOW, CAMPUS. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU FOR HAVING. COMING UP ON GALLATIN IN FOCUS, WE'LL SPEAK WITH A RETIRED FEDERAL JUDGE ABOUT HOW THE US SUPREME COURT JUSTICES CAME TO THE DECISION. HOURS OF MASH WEEKNIGHTS AT SIX THIS IS WGAL EIGHT IN FOCUS COVERAGE, YOU CAN COUNT ON. JOINING US NOW IS JON JONES, A FORMER FEDERAL JUDGE AND THE CURRENT PRESIDENT OF DICKINSON COLLEGE IN CARLISLE. AGAIN, THANKS FOR BEING HERE, SUSAN. ALWAYS A PLEASURE. WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THE US SUPREME COURT OVERTURNING WHAT IS 45 YEARS OF LEGAL PRECEDENT IN THIS COUNTRY? WELL, YOU COULD PRETTY MUCH TELL FROM THE ORAL ARGUMENT. AND ALTHOUGH IT'S NOT ALWAYS AN ACCURATE PREDICTOR, BUT YOU COULD SEE THE WAY THE COURT WAS RESPONDING TO THE ARGUMENTS THAT WERE MADE BY THE LAWYERS. IT WAS EASY TO READ THE TEA LEAVES AND SEE THAT THIS WAS PRETTY MUCH THE DECISION THAT WAS GOING TO WAS GOING TO COME FROM THE COURT. SO I THINK ANY ASTUTE EDUCATOR, A PERSON IN THE HIGHER ED YOU HAD TO PLAN FOR, IT DIDN'T COME AS A BIG SURPRISE. IT DID NOT. IT DID NOT. SO THE COURT SAID THAT THIS DOES INDEED VIOLATE THE 14TH AMENDMENT, EQUAL PROTECTION. HOW DID THEY ARRIVE AT THAT DECISION? WELL, WHAT THEY SAID AND THIS THIS WAS A SCHOOL OF THOUGHT THAT HAS PERMEATED THROUGH A LOT OF CASES UP TO THIS POINT. AND THEY ESSENTIALLY SAID TIME'S UP, BECAUSE IN PRIOR CASES, THEY SAID YOU CAN USE RACE AS A FACTOR TO PROMOTE DIVERSITY. BUT NOTABLY, THEY HELD THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT ABOUT 25 YEARS AND WE HOPE THAT THIS WILL END WELL. THEY CALLED THE QUESTION ABOUT 2 OR 3 YEARS BEFORE THE 25 YEARS AND SAID THE 14TH AMENDMENT EQUAL PROTECTION CLAUSE IS COLORBLIND AND WE ARE NO LONGER GOING TO ALLOW IT TO BE VIOLATED, IN THEIR VIEW, BY USING RACE AS A FACTOR BECAUSE IT IS HAVING A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON OTHER INDIVIDUALS. SO IT ACTUALLY IS DISCRIMINATING AGAINST OTHER INDIVIDUALS, WHITE AND ASIAN STUDENTS IN PARTICULAR. AND AND IN ADDITION TO THAT, IT CAUSES KIND OF STEREOTYPE TYPING AND STIGMAS IN THE MAJORITY OPINION. IT'S INTERESTING HOW A CLARENCE THOMAS AND A KETANJI BROWN JACKSON COULD INTERPRET IT SO DIFFERENTLY AS AS A READER OF JUDICIAL OPINIONS AND A PERSON WHO WROTE JUDICIAL OPINIONS. I FOUND FASCINATING, A VERY PERSONAL SORT OF BACK AND FORTH BETWEEN THE TWO JUSTICES OF COLOR ON THE COURT. AND IT GOT VERY PERSONAL. AND THOMAS SAYS, YOU'RE STIGMATIZING PEOPLE OF COLOR BY BY MAINTAINING THIS REGIME WHERE YOU HAVE RACE IS A FACTOR. AND JACKSON SAID, NO, LISTEN, JUSTICE THOMAS, YOU'RE BEING WILLFULLY BLIND BECAUSE YOU KNOW THAT RACISM STILL EXISTS AND YOU'RE WRITING IT OUT OF THE NARRATIVE. AND SHE SAID IT'S ONLY GOING TO GET WORSE. HOW DOES THIS AFFECT PUT ON YOUR COLLEGE PRESIDENT HAT NOW? I, DICKINSON COLLEGE AND OTHER COLLEGES LIKE YOU, WE'VE BEEN PLANNING FOR IT, QUITE FRANKLY, I THINK MY FELLOW COLLEGE PRESIDENTS HAVE AS WELL. WE COULD SEE IT COMING. I THINK WE HAVE TO MAKE GREATER OUTREACH. WE HAVE TO USE COMMUNITY GROUPS TO GET US INTO A DEMOGRAPHIC MIX IN AREAS WHERE WE CAN FIND STUDENTS WHO WILL ADD TO DIVERSITY. AT DICKINSON, WE NEED TO DO THINGS. WE HAVE DONE THIS WHERE WE, FOR EXAMPLE, ELIMINATE OUR APPLICATION FEE, WHERE WE WERE TEST OPTIONAL THINGS THAT MAY BE IMPEDIMENTS TO DIVERSITY ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES. AND INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, THE COURT SAID STUDENTS CAN STILL WRITE AN ESSAY AND REFER TO THEIR RACE. EXACTLY. AND SOME PEOPLE THINK THAT THAT'S A BACK DOOR SIDE DOORWAY TO GET RACE IN. I DON'T EXACTLY THINK OF IT THAT WAY. SO IF YOU'RE A STUDENT WRITING AN ESSAY, YOU CAN YOU CAN COMMENT ABOUT RACE AND HOW THAT FIGURED INTO YOUR PERSONAL GROWTH AND SO FORTH. AND THAT'S BEEN ALLOWED. AND OF COURSE, IN THE MILITARY ACADEMIES, THEY'VE BEEN EXEMPTED ENTIRE NEARLY FROM THE DECISION, INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH. SO THERE ARE WAYS, I THINK, TO WORK AROUND IT. IT'S THE LAW OF THE LAND. AND, YOU KNOW, WE'RE GOING TO LIVE WITH IT AND AND WE'LL CONTINUE TO MAINTAIN A DIVERSE CAMPUS. THANK YOU SO MUCH. APPRECIATE YOUR INSIGHTS. THANK YOU, SUSAN. AND COMING UP ON WGAL EIGHT IN FOCUS, WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE IMPACT OF THE RULING WITH THE DIVERSITY ADVISOR AT ONE COLLEGE IN THE SUSQUEHANNA VALLEY. THIS IS WGAL EIGHT IN FOCUS COVERAGE. YOU CAN COUNT ON. JOINING US NOW IS DR. KISHA WILLIAMS, WHO'S THE SENIOR ADVISOR FOR DIVERSITY EQUITY AND BELONGING AT ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE IN LANCASTER COUNTY. THANKS SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. JUST BEFORE WE GET TO E-TOWN COLLEGE, ON A PERSONAL LEVEL, WHAT WAS YOUR REACTION TO THE SUPREME COURT DECISION? YOU KNOW, I WASN'T SURPRISED, UNFORTUNATELY, BUT I WAS DISAPPOINTED. I WAS DEFINITELY DISAPPOINTED. AND I WOULD SAY THAT I WAS DISAPPOINTED BECAUSE FOR ME, PART OF WHAT IT SPOKE TO IS THIS SORT OF MOVEMENT TO DISREGARD HISTORY OR TO DISREGARD MANY OF THE INEQUITIES THAT HAVE HAPPENED TO PEOPLE OF COLOR THROUGHOUT OUR HISTORY AND MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS, IT CREATES THIS NARRATIVE WHERE FOLKS JUST KEEP SAYING, MERRITT BASED, MERIT BASED, MERIT BASED, BUT IT COMPLETELY IGNORES THAT BLACK AND BROWN FOLKS WERE LEGALLY EXCLUDED FROM EDUCATION, PARTICULARLY HIGHER EDUCATION FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. AND SO EVEN IF WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MERIT BASED, WE WERE ALREADY SO FAR BEHIND IN THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT STATISTICALLY, WE WERE ALREADY SO FAR BEHIND THAT IT THAT IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE. LIKE THAT, THAT IT ISN'T ABOUT SAYING THAT OH, NOW THIS IS FAIR, FAIR OR NOW THIS IS EQUAL BECAUSE IT ALREADY WASN'T. WE WERE ALREADY PUSHED SO FAR BEHIND BECAUSE OF LEGAL DISCRIMINATION. HOW, IF AT ALL, DID ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE USE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN THE APPLICATION PROCESS? WELL, AFFIRMATIVE. ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE IN PARTICULAR, USES A HOLISTIC APPROACH TO OUR ADMISSIONS PROCESS. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT WE DON'T PULL OUT RACE AS A SINGULAR, YOU KNOW, CHARACTERISTIC OR OR AREA THAT WE FOCUS IN ON. RATHER, IT'S BUILT INTO ALL OF THE OTHER COMPONENTS. SO IF A STUDENT ALREADY CHOSE TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING THAT MIGHT BE LINKED TO THEIR CULTURAL EXPERIENCE, PERHAPS IN AN ESSAY THAT THEY SUBMIT, OR MAYBE WHEN WE'RE LOOKING AT THE ACTIVITIES OR CLUBS THAT THEY WERE INVOLVED IN AND THEY CHOSE TO INCORPORATE THAT IN SOME WAY, MAYBE EVEN SOME OF THE THINGS THAT THEY'RE INTERESTED IN THAT WE OFFER AT E-TOWN AND THAT THEY WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN. IT MIGHT HIGHLIGHT IN SOME OF THOSE AREAS, BUT A VERY SPECIFIC WE ARE USING NUMBERS OR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION IN THIS WAY. ELIZABETHTOWN DOES NOT DO THAT IN THEIR ADMISSIONS PROCESS. SO IT SOUNDS LIKE THIS MIGHT NOT CHANGE A WHOLE LOT IN YOUR ADMISSIONS AND APPLICATION PROCESS. THAT'S THE STAND THAT WE'RE TAKING. WE BELIEVE THAT IT WON'T CHANGE MUCH IN OUR ADMISSIONS AND APPLICATION PROCESS BECAUSE WE HAD BEEN DEEPLY INTENTIONAL IN MAKING SURE THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT A NUMBER OF VARIABLES. SO IN SOME INSTANCES, THERE ARE STUDENTS WHO, AGAIN, WHAT THEY INCORPORATE IN THEIR ESSAY, WHAT THEIR OVERALL GPA WAS, ACTIVITIES OR INVOLVEMENT AT SCHOOL OR IN THE COMMUNITY, ALL OF THOSE DIFFERENT THINGS. SO KNOW THAT THE THE VERY SPECIFIC COMPONENTS OF THE RULING WON'T DIRECTLY IMPACT ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE. BUT WE STILL SEE THE GREATER IMPACT THAT IT CAN HAVE ON HIGHER EDUCATION IN GENERAL. WHAT IS THAT? WHAT DO YOU THINK IT WILL HAVE A GREATER IMPACT? YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THAT GREATER IMPACT IS DEEPLY PROBLEMATIC AND IT IS HARMFUL IN PART BECAUSE, AS I JUST MENTIONED, THAT NARRATIVE THAT IT CREATES. SO EVEN IF THERE ARE OTHER INSTITUTIONS WHO TAKE A SIMILAR APPROACH AS ELIZABETHTOWN AND MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE HOLISTIC IN MAKING SURE THAT WE ARE LOOKING AT THE ENTIRE STUDENT IN ALL OF THESE VARIABLES AND SAYING, HOW CAN WE BE EQUITABLE IN THE WAY THAT WE ARE BRINGING IN OUR STUDENTS? THERE IS THIS NARRATIVE THAT'S CREATED THAT STUDENTS OF COLOR WHO ARE ADMITTED OR STUDENTS FROM THE MARGINS WHO ARE ADMITTED, THAT IT'S THAT THEY DON'T HAVE THE MERIT, THAT THEY SHOULDN'T BE THERE, THAT THEY DON'T HAVE THE ACADEMIC ACUMEN. AND THAT'S NOT WHAT IT'S ABOUT. IT'S ABOUT EQUITY AND ACCESS. AND SO IT CAN BE DEEPLY PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE BY DOING SO, WE ARE LIMITING ACCESS FOR STUDENTS PERHAPS WHO ARE INTERESTED IN ATTENDING SCHOOLS, WHO DON'T TAKE THIS APPROACH. ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE IS NOT THE MOST DIVERSE CAMPUS. WHY IS THAT AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO CHANGE THAT? I THINK SOME OF IT IS JUST THE DEMOGRAPHICS OF WHERE WE ARE LOCATED. YOU KNOW, ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE, AS WE KNOW, IS LOCATED HERE IN CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA. AND WHEN WE LOOK AT OUR OVERALL NUMBERS, YOU KNOW, OF LANCASTER COUNTY, OF DAUPHIN COUNTY, OF MANY OF OUR AREAS, WE DON'T HAVE A VERY DIVERSE POPULATION. WHEN WE THINK OF RACE AND ETHNICITY, WE MIGHT IN POCKETS. SO, OF COURSE, IF WE LOOK AT, SAY, THE CITY OF LANCASTER OR THE CITY OF HARRISBURG, BUT WHEN WE LOOK MORE BROADLY, IT ISN'T A DEEPLY DIVERSE AREA. ANOTHER THING THAT COULD FACTOR INTO THAT IS THAT WHEN YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT WHEN STUDENTS ARE THINKING ABOUT WHERE THEY MIGHT WANT TO GO TO COLLEGE, PARTICULARLY FOR THINKING ABOUT STUDENTS OF COLOR WHO ARE RELATIVELY LOCAL, MAYBE THEY WANT TO GO ELSEWHERE. MAYBE THEY WANT TO EXPAND WHAT THEY WOULD CONSIDER THEIR REACH. THEY MIGHT WANT TO GO TO SCHOOLS OUTSIDE OF SORT OF THEIR THEIR BACKYARD AND SO THEY'RE CONSIDERING OTHER OPTIONS. BUT YOU HAVE MADE AN EFFORT TO HAVE A MORE DIVERSE CAMPUS. WE HAVE. I WAS GOING TO SAY, BUT IN THE SAME SENSE, ONE OF THE THINGS THAT ELIZABETHTOWN HAS BEEN DEEPLY COMMITTED TO OVER THE LAST FEW YEARS IS BEING INTENTIONAL IN OUR INCLUSIVE PRACTICES AND SO WHILE, YOU KNOW, ELIZABETHTOWN WAS ALWAYS A SPACE WHERE FOLKS OF COLOR COULD ATTEND, I WOULD SAY THAT THE INTENTIONAL EFFORT IN IN INCLUSIVE PRACTICES, IN MAKING SURE THAT FOLKS NOT ONLY KNOW THAT THEY CAN ATTEND, BUT THAT THEY'LL THRIVE RATHER THAN JUST SORT OF SURVIVE THEIR HIGHER EDUCATION EXPERIENCE IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE REALLY, REALLY POURED INTO IN THE LAST FEW YEARS. AND SO EVEN MY POSITION, HAVING A SENIOR ADVISOR OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY AND BELONGING IS SOMETHING THAT'S NEW. I'M INAUGURAL IN THIS ROLE AND I'M BEGINNING MY SECOND YEAR IN IT. WE HAVE A SERIES OF COMMITTEES. WE HAVE THE CAMPUS INCLUSION COMMITTEE THAT'S DOING SOME AMAZING WORK ACROSS THE BOARD. WE HAVE ALL SORTS OF PROGRAMS THAT ARE DIRECTED SPECIFICALLY TOWARDS OUR STUDENTS, LIKE MOMENTUM. WE ALSO HAVE OUR OUR OUR HOUSE, OUR MOSAIC HOUSE. WE HAVE OUR MOSAIC SCHOLAR. WE HAVE ALL SORTS OF THINGS OF WHERE WE ARE BEING DEEPLY INTENTIONAL, NOT ONLY IN OUR RECRUITMENT PRACTICES, BUT ALSO WHAT ARE THE THINGS THAT ARE GOING TO MAKE SURE THAT OUR STUDENTS FEEL INCLUDED AND THAT THEY BELONG ONCE THEY ACTUALLY GET HERE? JUST VERY QUICKLY, WHAT DO YOU THINK THAT DOES FOR A CAMPUS? WELL, I THINK THAT IT MOST CERTAINLY IMPROVES OUR CAMPUS. THERE'S SO MUCH RESEARCH THAT SUPPORTS IN HIGHER ED AND BEYOND, EVEN IN IN BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY AND SO ON, SO ON AND SO FORTH, THAT A DIVERSE WORKFORCE, A DIVERSE STUDENT BASE, ALL OF THOSE THINGS MAKES FOR A SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER RESULTS AND MAKES FOR A SIGNIFICANTLY BETTER COMMUNITIES, MAKES FOR MORE OPENNESS, MORE, MORE UNDERSTANDING AND MORE SUCCESS IN GENERAL. AND SO WHILE WE KNOW THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT SAY, DIVERSITY THROUGH THE SENSE OF, OH MAN, THIS MIGHT MAKE THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE DIFFICULT BECAUSE THAT PERSON'S BACKGROUND IS DIFFERENT THAN MINE. AND AND MAYBE OUR LIVED EXPERIENCES ARE DIFFERENT. WE KNOW THAT IN THE LONG RUN, THE BENEFIT MOST CERTAINLY OUTWEIGHS WHAT THOSE CHALLENGES MIGHT BE. COLLEGE IS OFTEN THE FIRST TIME PEOPLE MEET PEOPLE FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. WE APPRECIATE YOUR YOUR INSIGHTS. ABSOLUTELY. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FOR EIGHT IN FOCUS FOR ALL OF US AT WJHL, I'M SUSAN SHAPIRO. AND YOU CAN WATCH EACH EPISODE OF IN FOCUS, PLUS GOOGLE'S LATEST NEWS CAST, ORIGINAL PROGRAMING AND MORE. JUST DOWNLOAD THE VERY LOCAL APP AND STREAM FOR FREE ON ROKU AND AMAZON FIRE TV.