The struggle for equal opportunities in education has come a long way since the first colleges were integrated. Though it has been quite a few years since higher education has been made available for all races, a large number of minorities are recently taking full advantage of the accessibility of a college education.
On Oct. 8, 2003, The Minorities in Higher Education - a division of the American Council on Education - issued its 20th annual status report. The annual report summarizes the high school completion, college participation and degrees presented to underrepresented minorities in the United States.
The report notes that minorities have made significant college gains since the 1980s, their numbers swelling over 122 percent over the past 20 years. 4.3 million under-represented minorities were enrolled in the 2001-2002 college year, up from nearly two million in the 1980-81 school year.
According to statistics offered by the Office of Institutional Analysis, UB has seen the effects of this growth.
In 1991, African Americans made up 5.7 percent of the University population, Latinos 2.9 percent, and Native Americans, 0.4 percent. In 2001 - the most recent statistics available - those numbers increased to 7 percent for African-Americans, 3.4 percent for Hispanics and 0.5 percent for Native Americans.
According to Lauren Young, an institutional research analyst at UB, underrepresented minorities include African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans. They do not include Asians or international students.
"The Office of Institutional Analysis studies the trends in minority enrollment based on the information provided," said Young. "We do not consider those who consider themselves as 'other.'"
According to Michael P. Farrell, chair of the Department of Sociology, the increase might be due to a changing economy in the US that has brought about changes in the types of jobs that are available.
"There is an increased demand for people with college degrees," said Farrell.
Farrell believes that because of the decline in manufacturing-based, non-skilled industrial employment, more technology-based jobs that require a college education have become available and minorities are responding to this change.
"It's clearly a wonderful thing," said Farrell.
Caridad Samuels, a senior urban and public policies major, said the increase is due to resources that are newly available to minorities.
"There are a lot of programs that are designed specifically to help minorities get into college," said Samuels.
Other students feel that increased availability of financial assistance has had a large affect on the number of minorities attending college.
"It's much easier to get a loan or a PELL grant, which makes it easier to get through college, even though you will probably end up in debt," said Selena Hughes, a junior English major.
Even with the probability that student loans will become debts in the future, some students are of the opinion that the benefits of a good education far outweigh whatever debts are accumulated.
"With more minorities being educated, you will see more representation in higher positions in society," said Hughes.
Since the minority enrollment at UB is indicative of nation-wide trends, the university must adapt to the growing numbers. The Student Association has become a medium for expressing ideas and sharing different cultures through club activities, and organizations such the Black Student Union, Latin American Student Association and the Native American Peoples Alliance.
Christo Bennedit, president of BSU and a senior communication major, said SA has offered continuous assistance to his organization.
"We have a good relationship with SA," said Bennedit. "When BSU came up with the idea of the Unity Jam to support diversity, SA was behind us 100 percent."
According to Bennedit, even though the numbers of minorities have changed, he does not see any real difference in the numbers of African-Americans in comparison to the number of white students.
"The campus is changing, but they still have a lot of work to do," said Bennedit. "Percentages are still low, but we still have a large part to play in the campus community."
According to Farrell, while there is still a considerable difference between the percentage of white and Asian Students in UB and the number of underrepresented minorities, the recent growth is a step in the right direction.
"The avenue to success is through education," said Farrell. "In order to achieve success, you have to take the right routes to get there."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
