By Emma Johnson in Campus News, College Days, Student Life on December 5, 2025
Admissions Highlighting Different Parts of Campus Stirs Up Different Opinions on Campus
As students returned to campus nearly five months ago, many returning upperclassmen quickly pointed out a point of contention.
As the Admissions Office rolled out a new tour to prospective students (high school juniors and seniors), several students noted that the new tour fails to highlight the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) and Student Support Services (SSS) in Bartlett Hall, instead opting to fill the allotted one-hour time period with a visit to the newly designed and built E-Sports Lounge in the Quads.
But why is this change occurring?
The tours themselves are led by admissions student ambassadors of the college, at the direction of the admissions office, under Campus Visit & Events Coordinator Anna Kohls and Director of Recruitment & Graduate Admissions Kristen Brown.
The College Days reached out to the Admissions Office for further information, specifically on the nature of the departure from the two previous Admissions employees who had been in charge of this department, but the Admissions Office declined to comment, citing that it would be releasing information to the college “in the coming days” as of September 18.
No information has been released to College Days or announced to the campus as of Dec. 4.
Details are still vague, and due to the inability to submit a public request for information, the College Days has obtained information from former employees of the college and meeting minutes from the Student Senate.
“As someone who is on the other side, as someone who does give tours and someone who works in admissions, there’s been a big change in management and staff,” Admissions Ambassador and Class of 2028 Senate Representative John Kakuzi said in a Oct. 1 Student Senate meeting. “Everyone is trying to adjust. Our schedules are different, and many tour guides and ambassadors are kind of freaking out because of this change.”
Kakuzi went on to explain more about why he suspects that the Admissions Office doesn’t highlight that part of campus as much.
“We don’t do that part of the tour anymore because we only have an hour to show the surroundings,” Kakuzi said. “And the admissions office wants to highlight kind of the bigger things. We do not say that the SSS and the CDI aren’t big enough, but with the addition of the Esports Team, [Admissions] want[s] to show that part of Ripon’s establishment. We had to cut something out of the tour and I guess that was one of the things; however, that does not stop us as tour guides to say ‘hey here’s the spot, you have the mailboxes, SSS and the CDI’. However, it does feel kind of weird to say ‘OK we have this, OK, here’s the next thing.’”
However, a greater portion of the student population noticed the change in tours at the beginning of the school year, and the implementation of these modifications started to occur before the 2025-2026 academic year.
Former student ambassador and current sophomore Sarah Mittag left her job as a campus tour guide after what she described as a negative experience in the Admissions Office. Over the summer, Mittag stayed on campus to work as a tour guide but started to notice the pitfalls of working in a place that she felt where her concerns were not heard.
“The tours had us going away from these places that impact student life so much,” Mittag said. “The CDI [Center for Diversity and Inclusion] and SSS [Student Support Services] were pointed out and instead, priority has been given to the new e-sports team on the other side of campus … After asking, they [Admissions Office staff] told me that students could show that they wanted to visit those places on their second visit in the spring, but who visits a college for the second time, especially if you don’t feel connected to Ripon College? I know I personally wouldn’t have wanted to visit.”
As the semester comes to an end, one issue presented itself as a prevalent one that has proven to have many different effects on campus life. Photo courtesy of Ric Damm.
And that disconnect isn’t strictly limited to the students. It extends to the offices that are being impacted.
Lisa Zeman, director of Student Support Services (also known as SSS) and Myra Gilreath, associate director of SSS, oversee over 200 Ripon students who utilize the office’s resources aimed at students with disabilities, lower income, are first generation (those who are the first in their family to attain a four-year degree).
“We have noticed a decrease in potential students who stop by our office,” Zeman said. “It is definitely something that is concerning, for us as the Student Support Services Office, because we want to be able to know that students are aware we are here.”
Both Zeman and Gilreath were quick to notice a decline in prospective students at the beginning of the year and found themselves wondering about the new changes and their impacts.
“In defense of the Admissions Office, there hasn’t always been communication about changes, so this event isn’t too unusual,” Gilreath said. “However, this feels like a really big change that would have been nice to know about beforehand, or at least the reasoning behind it… we work with Admissions over the summer and they have always been a huge help to us when it comes to talking to students, so this was just pretty surprising to have the CDI and SSS office removed from the first tour.”
Zeman, serving in the SSS office since 2006, made note that the college has moved in a more positive direction with faculty and professors making moves to help students 1 on 1, instead of directly defaulting to the SSS offices to help with struggling students.
However, both Zeman and Gilreath sympathize with the fear that Ripon could be missing out on establishing a physical connection to a place that can resonate with students. And the concerns that, even though the CDI and SSS offices will be shown on a second visit to the college in the spring, not all families and students have the financial means to afford a second visit.
“I worry over the first impression of Ripon,” Gilreath said. “If a student who tours all of a UW [school] and gets to see these kinds of places that they remember and know they can use, what happens when they compare that to Ripon and don’t have a physical experience? I am concerned… but also understand that if there is data that points to why the tour had to change and these places are not highlighted, I can understand that too.”
Similar concerns were conveyed by the Director of Multicultural Affairs, Yazmin Doroteo, in the Center for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (also known as the CDI).
“I was initially unaware of this change, as there has been a recent restructuring in the Office of Admissions and no communication about how tours would be conducted,” Doroteo said. “The CDI has since been invited to collaborate with Admissions when needed, such as by hosting student panels. I hope the collaboration between the CDI and the Office of Admissions continues to flourish throughout the semester.”
Doroteo went on to explain the repercussions of national oversight from the current presidential administration, while stressing the role that diversity and inclusion should play in and does play at Ripon.
“While national policies can influence campus climates, Ripon College remains committed to promoting diversity and inclusion,” Doroteo said. “The college continues to foster an environment that represents the interests of students, faculty, and staff through ongoing partnerships, events, and open dialogues. These efforts are designed to ensure that diversity and inclusion remain central to our campus community, regardless of external political changes.”
No public plans have been stated outwardly from the college that reflect concerns brought up amongst student organizations and/or faculty but it appears that this will remain a timely matter as Ripon Admissions continues to accept students and prospective high schoolers look to tour the campus.