The case of the missing CSU students

When I first started attending Fresno State our campus looked more like an M&M factory than a melting pot with all of the different races milling about.

Now that I’ve been here a few years our campus resembles a bag of jelly beans where some races are more prevalent than others. Some are disappearing.

In his fall address to faculty and staff, California State University Chancellor Charles Reed said the CSU system is not only the largest university system [in the nation] but also the most diverse, further promoting the system’s claim of being a ‘continuous source of cultural diversity.’

The actual student numbers among CSU’s 23 campuses don’t match that claim.

Statistics released earlier this year show fewer African-Americans and more Hispanic and Asian students graduating. American Indians have decreased by more than 7 percent since last year.

But most surprising to me was the number of Caucasian students slowly dipping over the last five years.

A CSU spokesperson said these numbers are ‘pretty on target for CSU schools, with the exception of Long Beach and Stanislaus.’

These two schools have a student ratio of Caucasian to minorities of 10 to 1.

A graduate student from CSU Los Angeles said she found it alarming that although her school was located in an area made up of predominantly African-Americans and Hispanics, the highest increase in graduates have been among Asians.

According to a CSU survey, among Caucasian, African-American and Indian students, percentages have plummeted overall by more than 20 percent.

When losing our diversity we’re losing the opportunity for cultural awareness and education through the interaction of students from all over.

Dean of Student Affairs Carolyn Coon said “the appreciation for culture is still there and is evident in the CSU system and so is the active solicitation.”

In fact CSU reps recently met with members of the African-American community in Oakland on Nov. 1 to recruit more young men. So the CSU system does recognize the problem, even though its current claim is not true.

Even Chancellor Reed said the number of minority students is “just not high enough.”

If CSU continues the momentum it has begun in recruiting, it will guarantee CSU students an opportunity to receive their education in a culturally diverse environment.

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