Campus 'Diversity'

The topic of campus "diversity" has been around for quite some time here in America. It hasn't even been two centuries since many individuals were not even allowed to learn. That didn't stop several brave people who went to great lengths to get educated, including some who literally died in the process. Even after many of those laws were abolished, education was still segregated, bolstered in no small part by Plessy v. Ferguson. As a result, "separate but equal" flourished all throughout the Jim Crow Era and well into mid-century. During that time, the HBCU (historically black college/university) became a pivotal and powerful force in the black community. Thousands of doctors, lawyers, teachers, and other black white collar professionals came out of the roughly 100 institutions that were specifically tasked with educating blacks.

In 1954, Brown v. Board of Education overturned the separate but equal idea, but widespread integration of schools still didn't happen until the Civil Rights Act of 1964 threatened to hit pocketbooks. That decision resulted in the establishment of quotas, but they were subsequently turned over in 1978 by Regents of UC v. Bakke decision. In the place of strict quotas, "affirmative action" now is the law of the land at many institutions. (With notable exceptions in the states that have outlawed it, with CA being the first state to do so back in 1996.)

Which leads us to where we are now. Of course, the issue has never actually gone away. After Prop 209 passed in CA, enrollment of coloreds plummeted. However, social media has highlighted it again this year. These two videos were recently produced by students at their respective schools asking hard questions of the schools' administrators as to why darkies represent such a comically low portion of students in attendance (even as they constitute substantial portions of sports teams). I'm sure answers are forthcoming, but I'll wade into the fray first. Intermission for videos.

UCLA

Oregon State

And we're back. Where to begin? I suppose with UCLA since it's closer to me.

The video by Sy Stokes certainly gained him some attention and brought a bit of traction to the issue. Since he filmed and put up the video, he's appeared on several news shows to chat about it. Additionally, he has an online petition going calling on the UC to "implement more effective diversity initiatives". Short, simple, and to the point. But with quotas and affirmative action both off the table for the UC, they will still certainly have a tough time meeting this goal. At the moment, anyone graduating in the top 9% of their class from a [participating] CA public school is guaranteed admission to the UC, though not necessarily to a specific campus. Not considering all the eligible blacks who (perhaps wisely) decide not to attend the UC, not many black kids are graduating in the top 9% of their class.

But high school isn't really the realm of the UC at all. I would hardly expect the UC to start spending a major portion of their money on high school programs. High school is the realm of the community that the school's are in, parents, and students. The UC can only choose the kids who are actually coming out of high school having met the A-G requirements (the topic of remedial classes is a discussion for another day). Unfortunately, those schools with higher populations of blacks often have a disproportionately lower numbers of students meeting those requirements* upon graduation. However, even schools in where blacks are really minorities, they still have lower black achievement than their peers**.

Anyway, how about them Beavers? I really didn't realize that OSU even existed until the last year or so when I would talk to students in class and they mentioned that they were thinking of going there. To play football. At a school with a pretty popular engineering program, even if it isn't MIT or CalTech. Need I even say more? However, the critique of the racial makeup of OSU is also misguided when viewed in the context of the entire state of Oregon. Blacks make up only 2% of the entire state, so it's no surprise to find that they also make up a comically low percentage of the OSU campus, and yes I'm aware that 1.3% isn't 2%. Amazing as it may sound, not everyone goes to college. But I digress.

I know less about the Oregon K-12 education system than I do CA's, but I can't imagine that it isn't similar. Therefore, especially in light of the enrollment stats, it seems as if the black students there are also (not) achieving at a similar level as their California counterparts. So again, what is the university to do? Oregon also outlawed affirmative action, so they're also left to pick the students who come out of high school meeting their requirements for entry.

So, while I certainly don't think it's cool for colleges to be photoshopping darkies into their brochure, there also needs to be a larger conversation within the black community itself about what is going on. Of course, I realize that numerous black leaders give back to their communities at all levels. But it's apparent that not enough is being done, so more is necessary. I'll start by challenging Anderson and Sy to start giving back to the community. Immediately. Go spend some time in [inner city] schools mentoring young blacks. Help them get into college on merit alone, then a ball scholarship is just icing on the cake, instead of the other way around. Most importantly, help them graduate high school college-ready. Fin.

*For example, let's examine Lancaster High School in Lancaster, CA. The school is 20% black and mirrors the city itself, which at 20.5% black, is quite a bit higher than the state average of a hair over 6%. The school has a state rank of 4/10 based on the API scores and I'm sure that there's a correlation between API scores and completion of A-G requirements. This can be further inferred from the graduation rates because only 84% of black students graduated and less than 45% of black students were considered "proficient" in ELA and math in the latest round of testing.

**Let's consider Palo Alto High School in Palo Alto, CA--you know, where Stanford University is located. According to the stats, the city is about 2% black and the high school is 3% black, or about 1/3 and a half of the state, respectively. Yet even there, the black students are far behind in their proficiency and graduation rates.