Last night, the University Judiciary Committee released demographic statistics about its recent recruitment efforts. The numbers indicate a high level of interest from first-year and College student populations compared to other segments of the University.
"We wanted to be able to see who was coming out and who we were reaching as far as recruitment and education go," UJC Chair Michael Chapman said.
Of the 162 students who responded to the recruitment survey, 120, or 74 percent, were first-year students - a number Chapman said is "understandable" as first-year students are the most likely to try new activities.
Senior Educator Portia Henry, who is primarily responsible for recruitment, said this year the committee made it its "priority to be everywhere and at every event" to ensure that UJC's "name was out there."
In terms of race, 61 percent of students who tried out for UJC this year identified themselves as white, 20 percent reported they were Asian, 13 percent black, 5 percent Latino and 1 percent were Native American or other, according to the statistics. The figures show that "we are reaching out to different students, which is wonderful" Chapman said, noting that UJC worked alongside the Minority Rights Coalition to deliver informational presentations in dorms across Grounds to reach out to minority students.
Though the committee has been able to reach out to different students, Chapman said he thinks the committee can "improve next year even more" if UJC uses its resources to attend the meetings of minority organizations that identify with groups of students less represented on UJC.
UJC also sought to recruit international and transfer students, who represented 12 percent and 2 percent of the applicant group, respectively. These groups are generally "difficult to reach out to" Chapman said, adding that he was pleased UJC's leadership was able to show these students "what we do and how we work for them."
Despite Chapman's satisfaction with the applicant pool's ethnic diversity, Henry said in the future the committee should increase its efforts to enhance school diversity. This year, 87 percent of students recruited were from the College. Applicants from the Engineering School composed only 12 percent of the pool, while potential UJC members from the Commerce and Nursing Schools each made up less than 1 percent of the overall body.
One reason for the disproportionate representation of schools may have been because UJC did not attend many other schools' activity fairs because of a lack of notice of their dates, Henry said. Nevertheless, the committee hopes to plan ahead of time in the future and improve this year's outreach efforts to increase its school diversity, she added.
"The important thing to note is its not just about the numbers," Chapman said, adding that this data will be used as a "stepping stone for continuing years"
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