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The changing faces
of the university
By Michael Watanabe
On-line Forty-Niner
Diversity. That
is one thing Vincent Novack likes as director of Institutional
Research at Cal State Long Beach.
"It was actually very pleasing for me to come here,"
Novack said. "The private universities are always talking
about diversity but to come here and experience it [was nice.]"
He should know. He worked at the Claremont universities until
1998, and the University of La Verne before that. Some private
colleges are more than 80 percent Caucasian, he said.
But, diversity in the college atmosphere may help students
find democratic ideals by forging a deeper unity, according
to the Association of American Colleges and Universities,
a group striving for educational improvement and reform.
"Having diversity gives different points of views and
different experiences," said Armando Contreras, executive
assistant to CSULB President Robert Maxson. "And that
makes people view their differences and lets people grow.
In which case, CSULB must help students find democratic ideals.
Caucasians represent 35 percent of the campus, and have been
on the decline for the past five years. The Asian population
on campus is the largest minority population with 23.6 percent.
Latinos comprise of 21.8 percent, the African American population
on campus is 6.4 percent and American Indians comprise of
0.6 percent of the campus.
Though Asians have the highest numbers, Latinos are the fastest
growing population at CSULB, increasing from 19.3 percent
within the past five years.
A reason for the increase may be greater representation within
the state, according to Alan Nishio, associate vice president
of Student Services.
Latinos are, in fact, now the largest minority in the United
States, California and Long Beach, according to the 2000 Census.
Since 1990 Latinos have increased by 57.9 percent, from 22,354,059
people to 35,305,818.
Fifteen or 20 years ago, this would not have been the case,
Novack said. Colleges and universities were predominantly
white males. Times have changed, admitting the diversity on
campus is not perfect, CSULB is striving to do better.
"There are many factions on campus that are trying to
address the many educational issues that our students face,"
he said. "I think [CSULB] does a very good job in reflecting
the very diverse community they serve."
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