Comments about ‘Northwest College's LDS recruiting sparks questions’

I don't see any problem with it. The Big Horn Basin and Powell are LDS settled areas dating back decades. They should have more Mormon representation there than they do.

Wow! What a tempest in a teapot.

The use of the word "THEM" refering to mormon students is very telling.

Give me a break. If these letters had been sent to Jewish congregations nobody would be saying a thing. The President of the college is Mormon. He's charged with promoting his school. Students bring in critical revenue that schools need to survive. It's only natural that he reach out to his own faith community to recruit new students. The politically correct police need to do so some self-reflection and decide if their motives are pure, or if they've got some personal bias problems they need to correct.

Can you spell resignation? What was dude thinking.

Our High School senior got one of these letters. Seems like someone is making a lot out of nothing. High School seniors are getting lots of college recruiting letters. This one just informed us of a school we knew nothing about that had a good LDS institute program for students that might want to consider going there.

The President overlooked an easy way to finesse this problem. He should have just sent a letter or brochure to all students or applicants letting them know about the religious and spiritual programs and activities available near his college.

By singling out members of his own religion, he appears to have used state funds to favor a particular religion. Not a smart legal move.

to Anonymous...
It is the responsibility of a college president to build his college's student body both numerically and academically. The large LDS population in the area of the college is probably greatly under-represented because the LDS students of that area have traditionally gone to BYU Provo and BYU Idaho, with a few going to the U. of Wyoming. LDS families have traditionally send a fairly high proportion of their offspring to college. So LDS students are a ripe recruiting pool for colleges who want to increase the size and academic quality of their student bodies.

This is not an isolated event. Other schools that have tageted LDS students have included such schools as Idaho State University, New York University, and Vanderbuilt University.

This is a great way for a small school to establish an identity associated with its past. It provides yet another opportunity for students in the intermountain west to choose schools that respond to their desire to have positive social and academic environments.

More creative efforts in higher education should be applauded.

Virtually all colleges--public and private-- regularly have marketing efforts to recruit specific groups, such as: African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, etc. Why then are some getting upset about Northwest College sending recruitment letters to Mormons? It's OK to recruit on the basis of skin color, but not religion? Sounds like discrimination to me.

If it is wrong to target LDS youth, then it is also wrong to target other specific groups as well.

"Prestwich has defended the letters, saying it is appropriate for a public school to let prospective students with a religious background know about faith-based organizations available in the school and community."

Hmmm. I'll bet there are a few other (non-LDS) students there with a religious background....but maybe they don't count...

Too bad there are so many complainers and whiners who waste time on such things, In the 70's, I got letters from several colleges with similar messages - all encouraging my attendance and showing me that there is more at college than just class time.

so much for separation of church and state. WYO should pull the $$ for this school.

I am not so concerned about the College sending out letters to LDS students--College send recruitment letters to all kinds of special-interest groups (athletes, musicians, racial/ethnic groups), but I find it odd--and contrary to what I thought was LDS Church policy--that the Church sent out the names and contact info of high school students who are LDS for the College to use for recruiting.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with what he did. On the other hand if the only students that they are willing to recruit are of a specific religion, race, gender or other demographic we may have an issue but the University didn't single out Mormons and exclude others as Charlotte Patrick claims in this article. Other students aren't be excluded and Universities routinely target recruitment letters to students so that they can better appreciate what the University has to offer them.

Those who are trying to suggest that the University President singled out Mormons and wrote a letter to them and no one else are wrong instead he chose to focus on what the University has to offer them in letters to LDS students and he has even admitted to doing the same for Catholic students and I suspect that other letters are also customized including those who focus on sporting and academic programs that are offered when he writes recruitment letters to athletes and Valedictorian or those who have graduated with honors from High School.

The reaction to this is ridiculous. Universities target minorities all the time to recruit them. Mormons are minorities and they should be given educational opportunities just like every other minority.

Guess we had better put a stop to all those athletic recruiters or the letters that go out after SATs, etc. Wouldn't want to target a particular group of potential students. Geesh!

Re:Anonymous | 1:20 p.m.

"Hmmm. I'll bet there are a few other (non-LDS) students there with a religious background....but maybe they don't count..."

Are you suggesting that they would want to receive letters explaining the benefits available to LDS at the College? If they aren't LDS they shouldn't care whether there is an LDS Institute or an active LDS community and until you can show that he singed out Mormons and has NEVER recruited non-Mormons you do not have a point. It is not discrimination for him to write custom letters to High School students in order to recruit them even if it's to highlight the benefits to Mormons.

So there is no reason for non-LDS students to be upset and this letter doesn't state that non-LDS students don't count. Either prove that he said "I only invite Mormons and non-Mormons don't count and therefore I never sent any recruitment letters to anyone but Mormons."

Can you do it? I'm not Mormon but I am intelligent enough to see the stupidity of the complaints about this letter.

Who cares?

There is a lot of anti-Mormon sentiment in the Big Horn Basin. There's a teacher at the local high school who won't allow Mormons to join the FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) because "Mormons aren't Christians." There is anti-Mormon sentiment at the College as well. I'm usually the only Mormon, or maybe one of two Mormons in my classes. I know people are upset that the president of the college used college $$ to send out letters ONLY to Mormon students, but you know what? I'm willing to pay for the postage. Because I would love to see more students who, on the whole, would not contribute to the huge underage drinking and tobacco problems we have here (and I know it's not limited to this college) and who would abide by the college rules. There are over 20 churches of differing denominations here in Powell, and I'm sure President Prestwich would be willing to work with all of the local pastors to draft a letter letting students of those faiths know what religious supports are available to them here in Powell should they choose to attend NWC.