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Oct 8, 2006 10:54 am US/Pacific
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Number Of Blacks Enrolled In U.C. Drops
SANTA ANA, Calif. (CBS) ―
U.C. Irvine's freshman class is about 2.3 percent black, reflecting a trend in which the number of African Americans at public universities in Southern California is dropping, according to media reports.
Out of nearly 5,000 freshmen at UCLA this fall, only about 95 are black, the lowest number reported in decades. U.C. San Diego is projected to enroll only 52 black freshmen, or 1.1 percent of the class; UCI, only 122, or 2.3 percent of its freshman class.
The numbers reflect a widening margin between the percentages of Latino and black students graduating from high schools and the percentage of those who ultimately enroll and are admitted to a U.C. school.
The student body is becoming more white and Asian-American despite the state's continuing trend for diversity.
"This issue, the unfortunate continuing decline of diversity within the university, has reached a crisis point that diminishes the quality of our education," said Manuel Gomez, UCI's vice chancellor for student affairs.
Gomez, the son of migrant workers, is a member of a U.C. task force that convened last month to examine the issue. He said Proposition 209, the voter-approved initiative that bans race-based hiring and public university admissions in California, prevented the U.C. system from doing more to boost its black and Latino enrollment.
Under the state's master plan for education, the UC system was designed to educate the top eighth, or 12.5 percent, of the state's high school graduates. But not all high schools are producing enough students who fulfill U.C. eligibility requirements of high grade-point averages, SAT scores and required college-prep coursework, according to media reports.
"California has a real serious problem in terms of inequitable educational outcomes for students of different races," said Ricardo Vasquez, spokesman for the U.C. system. "Only 6.5 percent of Latino public high-school graduates are eligible for U.C., compared to 6.2 percent for African-Americans, 16.2 percent for whites and 31.4 percent for Asians."
(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)