San
Francisco Chronicle:
The Enrollment Rises at UC, yet the
Trend doesn't extend to blacks
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/04/20/MNG24CBT2A1.DTL
More Latinos than ever are being accepted to the University of California system but not so for blacks in the pool of students
eligible for freshman enrollment this fall, according to figures for California students released Tuesday.
Overall, 50,017 graduating high school students in California have been offered a spot at one of UC's 10 undergraduate
campuses. UC admissions officials expect about 30,000 of those to accept and enroll this fall.
While whites and Asian Americans make up the majority, Latinos have seen a significant increase. A total of 8,438 Latino
students from California were offered admission, compared with 5,570 in 1997 -- the last year before voters imposed the Proposition
209 ban on affirmative action.
Latinos have continued to see steady gains in the past few years, growing from 7,795 in 2003 -- the last year that is accurate
to compare with because of temporary cuts in UC admissions last year due to budget reductions. They now represent 16.8 percent
of total admissions, compared with 14.05 percent in 1997.
In contrast, the news is "dire" for African Americans, who remain a tiny fraction of the total number of students admitted,
said Rick Callender, president of the San Jose/Silicon Valley branch of the NAACP.
"They need to be represented in the same proportion as they are in California and the United States," Callender said. "The
future and hope for us to climb up the corporate ladder and have a better life is pretty dire."
A total of 1,593 black students from California were offered admission to UC, up slightly from 1,503 in 1997 but down from
the 1,720 accepted in 2003. They represent only 3.18 percent of the total admissions this year.
Susan Wilbur, UC's director of undergraduate admissions, said Tuesday that the university system continues to make small
gains with underrepresented minorities in general.
"UC is very focused on providing access to talented students of all backgrounds," Wilbur said. "At the same time, we are
following the law. We are trying to work with our academic preparation programs to make sure we get students the information
they need."
Kenny Zepeda, 17, a Latino senior at Mission High School in San Francisco who moved from Guatemala just five years ago,
was admitted to UC Berkeley and won a $30,000 annual scholarship from the campus. He had a 4.16 grade point average and a
score of 1,000 (out of 1,600) on the SAT, he said.
When he got a call telling him of his acceptance, he was filled with emotion.
"I thought about everything that I went through and all the work I put in to get that. It was really something important
for me," said Zepeda, who lives with his mother, a hotel housekeeper who doesn't speak English. "I always wanted to go to
college because I knew that was the only way to get a better life."
At UC's two most selective campuses, UC Berkeley and UCLA, the number of accepted Latinos, African Americans and American
Indians still lags noticeably behind the totals of the affirmative action years. According to figures released by the UC Office
of the President, 1,097 Latino students from California were admitted to UC Berkeley for fall 2005, making them 12.9 percent
of the total. That compares to 1,216 Latino students in 1997, when they were 17 percent of the admissions.
UC's report released Tuesday includes only California students, who make up more than 90 percent of UC admissions. This
year, UC Berkeley admitted 262 blacks from California, making them 3.08 percent of the total. That compares with 525 black
students in 1997 when they were 7.35 percent of the total. A total of 42 American Indian students were admitted to the freshman
class at UC Berkeley in the fall, making them 0.49 percent of the admissions. That compares with 61 admissions in 1997, when
they were 0.85 percent of the total. UC Berkeley is working to come up with ways to increase minority enrollment. A five-year
slide in the number of African American students stopped this year.
"I'm modestly encouraged," said UC Berkeley's assistant vice chancellor for admissions, Richard Black. "The drop ended
and we did admit a few more."
Earlier this month, UC Berkeley's chancellor, Robert Birgeneau, said the university is facing a diversity crisis.
Noting that there were only 108 African American students enrolled in a class of 3,600 freshmen last fall, Birgeneau called
for research on refining admissions standards and finding the best ways to create a more multicultural campus. The next hurdle
for UC will be getting students from underrepresented groups to accept their admissions offers, Black said. Students have
until May 1 to decide, and UC campuses have been busy wooing the students.
Last weekend, UC Berkeley invited students from low-income and poor- performing schools to the campus to attend classes
and panels describing the campus experience, Black said.
Wilbur said that this year's admission of 50,017 is a record for California students. The increase is in large part due
to a growing population of high school graduates, Wilbur said.
Systemwide, UC accepted 76 out of every 100 students who applied. At UC Berkeley and UCLA, which have higher admissions
criteria, only 28 of every 100 applicants were accepted. Many of those rejected by UC Berkeley and UCLA are eligible for UC's
other undergraduate campuses.
White students continued to make up the majority of admitted students, growing to 18,844 -- or 37.6 percent -- of those
admitted this year, up from 18,640 in 2003. Asian American students also saw an increase in admissions to 17,297 -- or 34.6
percent -- this year up from 16,125 in 2003.
