Pols Pressure Hunter High School To Scrap Test, Improve Diversity

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — Dozens of elected officials have joined a campaign led by Hunter College High School students calling for changes to the elite public school's admissions policies, which they say have stifled diversity.

The Upper East Side school, which is governed by the City University of New York, is one of the city's most prestigious. But the number of Black and Latino students has dropped in recent years to just 2.3 percent and 6.2 percent, respectively, leading to protests over Hunter's "diversity crisis."

Now, a cohort of 36 elected officials, including City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, have penned letters to CUNY demanding changes — including the suspension of Hunter's annual entrance exam, which they say depresses minority enrollment.

"We're using a discriminatory, racially-biased exam," City Councilmember Inez Barron, who chairs the Council's higher education committee, said during a Monday news conference.

Next month, when the Council considers CUNY's annual budget request, members will demand "a serious plan for integrating the school," Councilmember Brad Lander said Monday.

"[We] will be demanding that Hunter and CUNY follow the students' demands and implement a new system for admissions next year," Lander said, noting that the city provides most of CUNY's funding.

Action delayed, students say

Since last summer, the student-led group has pushed administrators to rewrite Hunter's admissions policies to address what they call a drastic underrepresentation of Black, Latino and low-income students.

The group scored a September meeting with Hunter President Jennifer Raab, who pledged to consult with an integration expert, but the school's only action since then has been to delay this year's exam due to the pandemic, students say.

"The Hunter administration can no longer remain silent and continue to stonewall efforts to address the equity crisis that has existed at Hunter for years," senior Chloë Rollock said.

Hunter's demographics bear little resemblance to the rest of New York's public schools — more than two-thirds of the city's students are Black or Latino, and nearly three-quarters are low-income.

Dropping the exam would expand access to families unable to afford test preparation classes, the group argues. They pointed out that the pool of students scoring highly on the state's English and math exams includes higher percentages of Black and Latino students than the Hunter student body.

In a statement, Hunter spokesperson Deborah Raskin said that in addition to hiring the consultant, the school had convened a racial equity task force that will examine Hunter's admissions policies.

"There has been no decision made regarding the process for admitting students for 2021," Raskin said, adding that some of the students who spoke Sunday also sit on the task force.

CUNY spokesperson Frank Sobrino said the university's administration "takes the concerns expressed in the letter very seriously."

"We are working with Hunter College to ensure HCHS’s admissions practices are consistent with the values inherent in CUNY’s mission to afford equality of opportunity to all students, regardless of background or means."

Related coverage: Hunter Students Lament School's Growing 'Diversity Crisis'