Several high school seniors who applied for admission to CSUN for Fall 2006 were recently sent invitations congratulating them on being admitted to CSUN and requesting them to attend a banquet held for incoming freshman. They later received a letter stating that sending the invitation was a mistake.

Javier Hernandez, director of Student Outreach and Recruitment, said that his department was in charge of dispersing the letters and the incident was an accident.

“We sent letters to admitted students and we somehow included some students that were still in the process of being admitted,” Hernandez said.

Hernandez said there are several students who are still waiting to hear from CSUN.

Hernandez said that around 200 letters were accidentally sent out and then letters were sent to apologize and clarify the mistake.

Hernandez said the letters, which were sent in January, invited the students to banquets held for admitted students in their local areas. The banquets are usually held at hotels and accepted students in that area meet their future peers as they learn more about CSUN.

“(The student applications) were still under review and (this) shouldn’t have happened,” Hernandez said. “They probably will be admitted, but just haven’t (been yet) for various reasons.”

Ken Nadai, a senior at Highland High School, located in Palmdale, said he was not happy when he received a second letter reneging on the first letter he received, which said he was accepted to CSUN.

“I got home and my mom gave me the letter from CSUN,” Nadai said, adding that he thought he was accepted, “but a couple of days later, another letter arrived. Then I was disappointed.”

Another senior at Highland High School, who requested that his name be withheld due to fear of retribution, said that he never received another letter of apology.

“My friend received a letter saying, ‘Sorry, forget about the other letter’- something about deepest sympathies,” he said.

The student said after a more careful look at the invitation he received, he became suspicious.

“I thought it was my admittance because it said congratulations on being an admitted student,” the student said, when asked how he knew it was a mistake.

“It brought down my day,” he said. “I was jumping for joy. Then I found out (it was a mistake), and it was like mind games.”

He said that he found out, when his mother called and talked to someone, that it was confirmed the invitation had been sent out by mistake.

“They told us to check the portal for new alerts,” he said of CSUN’s response when asked about his admittance to the university.

The student said that since he received the letter, which he recalls being around the beginning of 2006, he received a letter of acceptance April 4, but Nadai said he has yet to hear anything from CSUN about being admitted.

Hernandez said that there could be a number of reasons students have not yet received a letter confirmation of acceptance.

“It depends on students’ applications, if all is in order, all requirements (are) submitted, and the application is complete, then they should be admitted,” Hernandez said. “But some fail to pay fees or submit documents. It’s up to the student to reply.”

Hernandez also said that people called in saying that they were confused and they were just checking on their application.

“It was (a) good conversation because it prompted them to check the portal,” he said.

Anthony Alas, a third-year screenwriting major, said that situations like this are unfortunate.

“Mistakes happen, but something should have been done to ensure that this situation was done more properly,” Alas said.

He added that the school cannot be held completely responsible if any of the students are not admitted to CSUN.

“The system isn’t perfect,” he said. “That’s the thing; the school makes mistakes like anybody else.”

OnTay Johnson can be reached at ontayjohnson@yahoo.com.