Profs. call for higher minority enrollment

Boston University should consider increasing minority presence on campus, said African American Studies Director Ronald Richardson last night at a discussion of race at the Howard Thurman Center.

Richardson and the 15 students and faculty who attended "Does Race Still Matter?" in the basement of the George Sherman Union agreed race is still a prevalent issue on college campuses, especially BU.

"BU needs to drastically increase the population of African Americans and Hispanics, but they need to go about it in the right way," said Richardson, the forum's coordinator.

"We want to know the issues that are on people's minds at BU," he later continued.

Despite a 39 percent increase in the last 10 years in the number of black students applying to BU, enrollment remains low, said Undergraduate Admissions Executive Director Kelly Walter in a Feb. 5 Daily Free Press article.

The BU classes of 2008 and 2009 were each 2.6 percent black, according to the Admissions Office website. The percentages for Hispanics in those two years are 6.6 and 6.7, respectively.

Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore said black students often think they are underrepresented on the BU campus. They may also think their peers perceive them as under qualified and attending BU because of financial aid, he said.

"Part of what a person like me tries to do is help students here realize that they made it into BU," he said, "and that they can do the work and they are among the most competent in the nation."

College of Communication freshman Camille Beckles said she agrees with the professors' views on current race issues.

"Racial issues are definitely still prevalent," she said. "It is important to attend events like this in order to promote awareness of the lack of diversity at BU."

College of Arts and Sciences junior Phumelele Trasada, a resident of the Common Ground house on Bay State Road, said it was interesting to hear students' thoughts and perspectives on race.

"I saw the flyer with the question 'Does Race Still Matter?', and my immediate reaction was, 'Yes, obviously,'" she said. "I came to the event to find out what other people thought about the question."

Richardson said he plans to hold similar events where community members can discuss race openly, hoping the discussions will make the African American Studies program more appealing.

"The goal is to popularize the program," Richardson said before the event. "We want to bring it to [Commonwealth] Ave."

CAS senior Ben Anderson said he regularly attends the program's series events because of their interesting topics.

"This is a subject that peaks my interest and really connects people together," he said.