Diversity
By Jessie Hethcoat
It's no secret that the University of Portland is a predominantly white institution. In 2009, of the 3,037 reported full-time undergraduates at UP, 2,035 were white.
The same year, the University reported 19.9 percent self-identified as minority students. However, that statistic could be misleading because it encompasses a wide range of groups.
Karen Nelson, director of Institutional Research at UP, explains that grouping all minority students into one is an oversimplification. While UP does encourage minorities to apply and enroll at UP, each minority has different rates of growth and college attendance. So, lumping them into one category often distorts the actual trends, she said.
"Minority" is defined by UP's institutional research as African American, Alaska Native or American Indian, Asian or Pacific Islander and Hispanic. At UP, 1.02 percent of students identify themselves as Alaska Native or American Indian. UP is also 5.3 percent Hispanic, 11.7 percent Asian or Pacific Islander and 1.4 percent African American.
Each group is also diverse, especially that of the "Asian or Pacific Islander" category. This category includes the native Hawaiian students as well as students from all parts of Asia.
Compared to Multnomah County, home of UP, the university has a higher percentage of minorities as a whole. However, UP's African American population is much smaller. While 6 percent of Multnomah County is African American, UP's African American population is just 1.4 percent.
Senior Alyssa Schmidt-Carr is co-president of the Black Student Union and explains that they compensate for this discrepancy by involving the outside community in much of what they do as a club.
"I'm from Boise, and before I came to UP, I hardly knew anything about Black culture," Schmidt-Carr said. "We have a close knit group, and we're surrounded by a Black community."
While the African American community is small at UP, the Hispanic population is growing, not just at UP but at colleges nationwide.
"If you look at the minority breakdown, we're becoming more Hispanic," Nelson said.
The Latino Clubs at UP are only two years old. Bethany Sills, who coordinates multicultural programs on campus, believes opportunities that multicultural clubs and events provide enrich the entire university.
"I truly believe that students will become brighter and better in the work world when they are given diverse perspectives," Sills said.
Jason McDonald, director of admissions, explains that UP's admissions department works to recruit minority students to UP.
"We try to attend all college fairs that are run by independent foundations that support diversity," McDonald said.
This year's freshman class has the highest number of minorities yet. In 2005, 16.4 percent of incoming freshman identified themselves as a minority. In 2009, it was 24.9 percent.
"The demographic changes and the outreach programs at UP account for the increase in minority students," McDonald said.
Because minority students are in shorter supply at UP, admissions and programmers like Sills do what they can to encourage minorities to attend UP and stay here.
"My role is to focus on what we should do now," Sills said. "The more multicultural clubs we have on campus, the more likely minorities will be on campus."
