Purdue U Abandons Admissions on Quota System That Applied to New York Area

Purdue University has abandoned an admissions quota system that applied only to the metropolitan New York-New Jersey area which in theory discriminated against Jews and other minority applicants. The new admissions policy, presented by president Frederick L. Hovde last Wednesday and adopted by the Board of Trustees, continues to limit out-of-state admissions to 25 percent of the entering class and to give precedence to the children of alumni. But it applies an even-handed policy toward applicants from all states outside of Indiana. According to the new policy statement on admissions issued here, the University seeks a more even distribution based upon “the formation of an undergraduate student community academically, geographically, and socially representative of the nation’s citizenry.” Rabbi Gerald Engel, of the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation at Purdue, welcomed the new policy as “a basis for the development of a broad democratic admissions policy.” Rabbi Engel said it represented a significant change from an original policy, enacted in the early 1950’s, which restricted applicants from the metropolitan New York-New Jersey area.

At that time, only the children of alumni in that area were considered eligible. The matter was brought to public attention by the Hillel Foundation in the fall of 1969. Early in 1970, a new quota on admissions from the N.Y. N.J. area was introduced which did not apply to the rest of the states of the union, although the blanket restriction on non-alumni students was removed. In the spring of 1970, Rep. Leonard Farbstein, a N.Y. Democrat, called for a Department of Justice investigation of the system in effect at Purdue and introduced legislation to deal with discrimination on college campuses. A letter sent to applicants from the N.Y., N.J. area in the spring of 1970 was considered discriminatory inasmuch as the admissions requirements it contained did not apply to other states. The letter was subsequently discontinued. According to Harland White, director of admissions, this did not result in a sudden increase of applicants from the area. Rabbi Engel observed that the self-imposed quota was not fulfilled for the 1970 fall term, indicating that the university’s concern about being overwhelmed with applicants from this area was unfounded.