Letter to the Editor As a parent, not only am I concerned and puzzled that very few female students compete to be Student Council President, I am equally concerned that none of the black and Latino students in the class of 2009 were inducted into Cum Laude Society. Did they lack the ‘fierce drive’ alluded to by Kevin and Kyle or are there other reasons or ‘roadblocks’ as suggested by Okai and and Ejiogu in a prior article. Maybe these groups of students need more encouragement and coaching on ‘working within the Andover system’? My experience as a female working on Wall Street during the eighties and nineties taught me that fierce drive is not always rewarded as one would hope which can be disheartening. The Andover culture may be inadvertently discouraging these students from achieving their goals or setting higher goals during the first year. I hope that the administration, faculty and students take at closer look at both female leadership and the factors influencing the achievement of Cum Laude. Andover should have representation more reflective of the community in both the competition for the Student Council President and Cum Laude Society. Vanessa Burgess Parent of Jill Kozloff ‘09
