By Cathy Chen
<[email protected]>

The counseling center cut short the NYU college representative’s visit to CHS on Oct. 10 after complaints that students were using college visits to avoid class.

According to counselor Rich Allen, this procedure does not constitute a policy, nor is it set in stone, and they are working to find a long-term solution. It is merely a measure to deter students from attending college representative meetings just to avoid class. He said the counselors’ awareness of such students “has brought some concern to us.”

Many students at the NYU representative visit, shocked and angry at this new procedure, crowded toward the front of the room after Allen made the announcement about the new procedure to ask the representative more questions that were not answered during the half-hour presentation. The old procedure allowed students to remain until the college representative had answered all their questions.

Allen said that he would like to see college representatives using the half hour provided for such meetings to give a general presentation about their respective schools, and after the half hour, if students have more specific questions pertaining to their own individual interests or needs, they can stay to speak the college representative and then get passes back to class. Allen said students don’t need to hear the specific information that doesn’t pertain to them. “Their time would be better spent back in class,” he said.

According to Allen, “We try to get as many (college representative meetings) as we can scheduled for SRTs,” but he said that doesn’t always work with the college representative’s schedule.

“I would encourage our students to come visit the college representatives,” Allen said, “but for valid reasons.”