A closer look: A Diversity Downturn
By Genie Song
April 27, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Low figures for minority student admissions combined with a
squeeze on outreach programs by the state budget has led many
officials to fear the UC is facing an imminent diversity
crisis.
UCLA not only saw a reduction in the total number of students
admitted this year, but also a decrease in the proportion of
underrepresented minorities.
In a statement posted on the UCLA Web site Monday, Chancellor
Albert Carnesale said he felt a “deep disappointment”
in the lower numbers of underrepresented groups in the incoming
fall 2004 class.
With black admissions experiencing the biggest drop, down 15
percent from last year, officials expressed concern for the threat
to student diversity this poses.
“It is a situation that we are not happy with,” said
Keith Stolzenbach, chair of the Committee on Undergraduate
Admissions and Relations with Schools in the Academic Senate,
adding that outreach would be the best way to alleviate the
problems.
Unfortunately, the future of outreach programs is in a
precarious position, according to Adolfo Bermeo, associate vice
provost for Student Diversity and Community College Partnership and
the director of the Academic Advancement Program.
AAP felt the effects of budget cuts last year when its directors
were forced to discontinue some of its programs, but those programs
have been restored this year due to reprioritizing funds.
“Right now we’re OK,” Bermeo said. “But
any further cuts, and the impact will be serious.”
This threat to outreach programs, which have shown to be
successful in getting minority students into universities, could
potentially harm student diversity, which officials agree is a
crucial aspect of UCLA.
“The reality is that the educational environment is
greatly enhanced by different perspectives, backgrounds and
experiences,” said Janina Montero, vice chancellor of student
affairs. “So racial and ethnic diversity is very
important.”
Creating a diverse campus is also important because UCLA is a
public institution and a leading research university.
“The university, as a public institution, has a public
responsibility to provide access to higher education to all members
of California,” Bermeo said. “We have an obligation to
do all that we can to … make sure that we can prepare the largest
group of students for UCLA.”
Carnesale also cited the “fulfillment of the
“˜American Dream'” as a factor in the importance
of diversity, stating that “the pathway to success through
higher education must be available to individuals from all walks of
life.”
Despite all the proponents of student diversity and the outreach
programs that promote it, Gov. Schwarzenegger is proposing
eliminating all money to outreach.
“You cannot talk about the “˜American Dream’ if
you cut programs that are designed to facilitate that dream,”
Bermeo said. “Schwarzenegger doesn’t talk about (budget
cuts) as an attack on diversity, but it is.”
The university is taking various steps to fight this
“attack” within the constraints of Proposition 209,
which made it unconstitutional for any California agency to
consider race or ethnicity.
“The chancellor has made it clear that he will do all he
can to maintain outreach programs,” Montero said, adding that
Carnesale will assist faculty and students at UCLA who are working
closely with underperforming schools.
Bermeo also works with the Center for Community College, which
has a “close working relationship” with the Los Angeles
Community College District, made up of nine campuses.
According to Bermeo, 80 percent of black and Latino students who
attend college start at community colleges in California and
nationwide, making community colleges “a really important
focus for the university,” Bermeo said.
On a statewide level, money has been taken out of other programs
and put into outreach programs, said George Blumenthal, vice chair
of the UC Academic Senate.
Blumenthal added that the Academic Senate and regents will
discuss the possibility of re-evaluating the eligibility criteria
for students applying to a UC campus for the fall 2005 class, which
may positively or negatively affect diversity on UC campuses.
Regardless, Blumenthal agreed with the others that “we
need outreach.”
Officials on both the state and campus level are fighting to
keep the vulnerable outreach programs on board, for they agree that
diversity is an integral part of the UC system.
“Diversity and excellence go hand in hand,” Bermeo
said. “If UCLA wants to be an excellent university, it needs
to maintain diversity in all aspects.”
With reports from Adam Foxman, Bruin staff.
