This being my first Rose Scholars event, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this activity. This feeling was compounded by the nature of the meeting: a forum with members of the Cornell Board of Trustees. I will readily admit to not having fully known what the Board of Trustees was or did, so I went into this event tabula rasa, a blank slate.

I have come away from this forum with a much better understanding of what the Board of Trustees is and does. More than that, however, I have come to trust it as an institution. This is mostly related to our discussion about the recent college admissions scandal. Almost immediately after the details of the scandal were brought to light, Cornell not only checked its finances for any potential evidence of such a scandal, but it began to update its practices to add checks and balances to the admissions process.

More than that, however, the Board of Trustees and Cornell as an institution saw this as an opportunity to examine the way in which they admit new students. Perhaps having realized the severe disadvantage that low-income students are put at during the college admissions process, the Trustees said that they were hoping to realign the admissions process to be more considerate of those of a lower socioeconomic standing.

This would go a long way in promoting the good name of Cornell as a just, trustworthy, and respectable institution. Millions of students across the country are denied admission to top universities simply because they do not have the resources to compete against those with more resources. Cornell reforming its admissions process to prevent corruption by the wealthy and promote acceptance of the less fortunate would allow them to rebrand as a more trustworthy institution. This Rose Café was very informative, and I can’t wait for the next event.