CU seeks ways to attract broader range of students
This fall semester, the number 102 projected itself out of CU’s Admissions Office and into the public eye.
The number represents the projected number of black students enrolled as incoming freshmen and is an increase over the 78 incoming freshmen enrolled in the fall of 2006.
While the surge in black student enrollment is assisted by an overall increase in the number of incoming freshmen, attention has been drawn to what CU has done in terms of diversity on campus.
Kevin MacLennan, director of admissions, said CU’s focus is to reach out and identify top high school students of color across the state and show CU is interested.
Efforts made by CU to acquire more racial diversity on campus are beginning to gain the attention of students.
Jessa Forthofer, a senior communication major and chair of the Cultural Events Board, credits the increased enrollment to CU’s sustained energy toward becoming more diverse, especially in terms of race.
“Since my freshman year, I’ve noticed that the campus has engaged in a deeper, more meaningful conversation about diversity,” Forthofer said.
Despite the increased number of enrolled black freshman, the statistical relationship between black and white students remains unbalanced. Over 70 percent of the student body is white.
Dr. Sally McKee, the Vice Chancellor of diversity, equity and community engagement, said that in order to diversify these statistics, CU needs to focus all Coloradans, not just one specific racial demographic.
“A lot of attention is spent towards difference than towards common ground,” McKee said.
The lack of racial diversity among campus is also recognized to parallel with Colorado’s overall population. With 58 percent of CU’s student body deriving from Colorado and 82.2 percent of Colorado’s population being from white descent (according to the 2000 Census), it can be assumed that racial diversity on campus is likely to be slim.
“In particular, CU is sort of up against some unfavorable demographics in the state,” Forthofer said.
Despite comparisons to Colorado’s population, the discrepancy between white students and students of color has initiated student efforts toward expanding all degrees of diversity on campus.
Forthofer said that in order to gain and maintain a diverse student body,
students need to be willing to get out of their comfort zone and face diversity head on.
“The greatest learning and growing comes from places of discomfort and
confusion,” Forthofer said.
As a black freshman on campus, Brian McDowell, a sociology major, was not deterred from coming to CU despite an unequal ratio between black and white students. Yet he agrees that there is still a need for students to welcome diversity.
“Students need to, more or less, make themselves aware, hold some type of rally or event and show that they care about diversity,” McDowell said.
Contact Campus Press Staff Writer Sara Fossum at sara.fossum@colorado.edu
