Long known for its lack of majors and its “integrated, team-taught” educational approach, Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington is certainly not your parents’ college.
Even a cursory look at the student bookstore illustrates that difference. Supplies like pencils, notebooks and art materials jostle for space with hair dyes in flamboyant, au courant colors, and a kiosk just outside the store advertises organic, free trade coffee. Add to that the college’s salubrious environs – it’s surrounded by lush forest – and the institution is a certain kind of boho freshman’s dream.
But, these attractions notwithstanding, the small, public liberal arts school has been a little quiet over the past couple of years.
Evergreen has since been trying to enact new initiatives to up enrollment and alleviate the concerns of students of color. The incidents of two years ago are now colloquially referred to by administrators as the “needs assessment of 2017.”
Nearly 80% of Evergreen’s student body identifies as underrepresented. According to The Seattle Times, about 38% of freshmen receive federal Pell grants, which are for low-income students, and some 17% students are Black, Latino or Native American.
After the 2017 incident, “the college’s reputation took a hit,” said Evergreen’s academic dean Dr. Trevor Speller. “We developed a certain profile in the mainstream press, but especially in the right-wing press, about who we were and what our values were. I think that really did affect student enrollment. It’s been tough.”
