BSU holds forum in St. Mary's, discuss issues concerning diversity on The Bluff
By Laura Frazier
Of the 3,037 students enrolled at UP, 1.4 percent are registered as African-American, according to Institutional Research. This statistic compares to other similar schools, as 1.8 percent of Gonzaga's population is African-American, and Portland State University's enrollment is 1.9 percent African-American, as documented by each school's official statistics. Though for UP, 1.4 percent represents an increase over the last few years, the Black Student Union is making an effort towards being a stronger presence on campus.
On March 25 in St. Mary's Lounge, BSU offered UP students the chance to pose any question that they wanted to ask. BSU members participated as panelists during the forum.
When asked if the lack of diversity at UP was an issue for the panelists when choosing which college to attend, freshman Andriana Alexis admitted that UP was a fallback school because she wanted to go to a more diverse college.
Junior Jasonn Hannibal, from Toronto, attended UP solely to play basketball. He was nonetheless surprised at the lack of diversity on campus.
"In Toronto, we had people from all over the world," he said.
However, for freshman Kaileah Baldwin, the lack of diversity at UP seemed more natural because she has always attended predominately white schools, her mother is white, and she is used to spending time with that half of her family as well as her African-American relatives on her father's side.
"I have always felt more comfortable around white people," she said.
Senior BSU co-president and ASUP vice president Alyssa Schmidt-Carr, who was not a panelist, chose UP partly because the level of diversity was similar to her previous schools.
"Looking back, I was making a choice to make myself more comfortable," she said. "It was an easier adjustment because it was what I was used to."
Though there are still few African-American students on campus, Hannibal said he has noticed that the number of African-American students enrolled at UP has increased over the past few years.
"When I first came here, I knew all of the black people," he said. "But now we are growing. We are still few and far between, but we are growing."
Schmidt-Carr agrees that the demographics have improved. Since she was a freshman, Schmidt-Carr said that she has also noticed the growth of the African-American population, though the change is not as evident as the increase in Latino and Middle Eastern students.
"There are more African-American students, but it's still sprinkled," she said.
The lack of African-American students is a key concern for BSU members, and they hope to continue to strengthen the club and help bring in more diversity.
Sophomore and BSU co-president Marshawna Williams said that the club needs to take action to make progress.
"We can rant and rave and do what we do, but we are still one percent," she said. "We have to establish our club on campus."
Schmidt-Carr is aware that the diversity on campus does not match the diversity in the surrounding North Portland area.
"You can't ignore the fact that the university's population does not reflect the population of the community as far as the levels of diversity," she said.
Schmidt-Carr said that BSU is working on reaching out beyond The Bluff.
"This year we are really getting out there," she said. "BSU members have been going out in the community and exposing the fact that there are black students and UP is an option for them."
Hannibal agrees that recruiting students from predominantly African-American high schools will help increase diversity.
"You have to go out looking and selling our school to that kind of pubic if you want people to come here," he said.
Hannibal said that UP should focus on bringing in more minority students to prepare all UP students for life after college.
"The world itself is diverse," he said. "If you go through college without diversity, it's going to be so much more of a shock in the real world."
However, the success of UP's multicultural clubs has spurred the formation of more clubs that generate diversity awareness, said Assistant Director and Multi-Cultural Programs Coordinator Bethany Sills.
"We have an increase in multicultural clubs that have just been founded in the last few years," she said.
Also, last Monday, ASUP passed a resolution urging the administration to develop an action plan for diversity that would help foster more of a multi-cultural climate on campus.
In the meantime, BSU members plan to keep doing the best they can to be a positive influence on other students.
Baldwin hopes to continue to show other people that race really should not matter.
"Of course I am different that you," she said. "But so is the other white person next to you."
