Reputation aside, Uni actually does a good job of admitting minority applicants. For the incoming Class of 2013, 36 percent of the Hispanic applicants, 50 percent of the African-American applicants, and 100 percent of the Native American applicants were admitted. The problem is that the number of minority applicants is so small that even those percentages don't make much of a dent. If Uni is serious about diversifying, it will have to find ways to expand the pool of prospective students. The senior editors recently interviewed the dean of admissions at Amherst College, and they came away with a few ideas.

Sophomore Chris Yoder won first place in sports writing as Uni High earned the state runner-up trophy at the IHSA journalism finals held Saturday at Eastern illinois University. Palatine Fremd won the title with 28 points, followed by Uni with 23. No other school reached 20 points in the 15-event contest. Sixty-seven schools advanced to the finals from the April 19 sectional round.

Competing in a division intended for schools up to eight times its size, Uni High placed second in Division 3AA at the Illinois Council of Teachers of Mathematics state contest held Saturday at the University of Illinois. Vernon Hills won the title with 779 points, followed by Uni with 709. The contest consisted of 14 events in such areas as algebra 1, algebra 2, geometry, precalculus, and calculus. Fifty-two schools competed, having advanced from the March 1 regional round held at 19 locations around the state.