Project Vision 21

Francisco Miraval

I recently read the letter of acceptance a public university in Colorado sent to a young person I just happen to know. The letter begins with one word in a large font size: Welcome! Then, the next two paragraphs congratulate the student for having been accepted by the university.

The third paragraph begins with a question: Do you need to move into the room assigned to you before the scheduled day? The answer is clear: Of course not!

There is then a large explanation about all the reasons why the university cannot accommodate “early movers” and why there will be no exceptions. There is also a paragraph asking the newly accepted student not to call the university, or his counselor, or any other department at the university to talk about the issue, because, again, there will be no exceptions. 

The rest of the letter follows the same tone and includes a long list of all the restriction the new student will have to follow during his first year in college, as well as all the rules and all the responsibilities the student must assume.

I know universities and any other organization must have rules to maintain a proper environment for learning and working there. However, I wonder why they say “Welcome!” in large type at the beginning of the letter, when it seems clear that “Welcome!” is not even sincere.

Whatever the case, the message is clear: Welcome! (but only if you accept our conditions). That is the same message I have seen and experienced in many other places. The only difference is that in the letter mentioned above the contradiction is evident, because the message goes from acceptance to conditions in the same page.

I know I am looking for honesty and coherent thinking in places I am not going to find them. In a sense, the word “Welcome!” in the title of the letter is as empty of meaning as the expression “How are you?,” that is more a ritual greeting than a real question expecting a real answer.

I also know that the same quasi-hypocrite attitude revealed in the letter sent by the university is present at all levels of our society, where we only welcome the other if the other follows our rules and mainly if the other agrees to stop being who he or she is to become one of us.

For example, I recently met a person who holds three different master’s degrees, one doctorate, and has been accepted to a PhD program. All his degrees are from accredited universities.

However, he cannot find a good job at his level, in spite of his solid education and work experience, because both his physical appearance and the way he speaks English reveal his was not born in this country.

This is a case of saying “Welcome!” to somebody, and even mentioning concepts such as “happiness” and “opportunities,” only to discover that the “Welcome!” may not have been as sincere as it first appeared to be.