Elite USA varsities demanded to be inclusive

Hindus have urged “elite” universities of USA to be more “inclusive” rather than “exclusive”.

Rajan Zed, who is president of Universal Society of Hinduism, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that Princeton University only enrolled five Native American graduate students this current academic year, which was about 0.2 percent of its student body.

He further said that similar patterns were seen at other “elite” universities like Harvard, Yale, etc., where the undergraduate enrolment percentage during the 2008-2009 academic year of Native American students was 0.6 and 0.8 respectively. Percentage of Native American students enrolled during the same period in graduate programs in Stanford University was 0.7.

Zed argued that since these universities received millions of dollars in research grants and other subsidies from federal and state governments, they should be more open to weaker sections of the society. They should put into practice their own nicely drafted diversity and inclusiveness missions.

Annual cost of undergraduate student at Harvard, which began in 1636 and claims 43 Nobel laureates, is stated to be $47,215. Its endowment is about $36.9 billion and Drew Gilpin Faust is the president.