College Legacies

My dad and I were having one of those discussion-arguments. Meaning, I was trying to discuss, but he liked to argue. This one was about the rebranded Amherst College mascot.

 “I like it”, I said. “It’s stupid,” he countered. 

The reason we both cared is we both graduated from Amherst, he in 1956 and I in 1984, followed by my brother in ‘87.

This fact makes me and my brother legacy students, beneficiaries of the now-controversial practice of giving admissions preference to children of alumni. 

Legacy admissions is a long-standing modus operandus at many if not most private colleges and universities. For the bottom line, colleges believe legacy admissions encourage donations. But there is also the sense of creating tradition and continuity for college and families both. 

And it’s a nice shared experience. My dad lived in James Hall, the freshman dorm next to Stearns Hall where I lived, and my brother three years later. I remained on campus during my dad’s 25th reunion, so I got to hear his reminiscences, and meet his old college roommate, and the roommate’s son.  (We dated briefly.) 

None of which holds a candle in importance to supporting equity and access to higher education. 

I’m proud that Amherst was one of the first highly selective institutions to discontinue the legacy practice in 2021. When I entered college in 1980, legacy students made up about a huge one third of our class. Last year’s entering class, the first class affected by the new policy,  was only 6% legacy, but a whopping 19% first-generation, meaning students who were first in their families to attend a 4-year college. 

My dad passed away recently. I never asked him what he thought of the legacy change. He was a pretty traditional man, and he liked to grumble about change in general, but I like to think that in this case he wouldn’t have objected. After all, many decades earlier, he and his brother were the first in their family to attend a 4-college. 

It’s for these reasons and more, I am passionate about helping students achieve their collegiate dreams. Legacy, tradition, goals, dreams, equity, inclusion, and being the first…in reality, they all matter.