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When Shelly Williams, a junior at Cal State Long Beach walks around the campus, she sees what most students see, a colorful array of people, each with different appearances, expressions and character.
Cal State Long Beach has long been known as an ethnically diverse campus. Departments such as Chicano and Latino studies, Asian American studies and American Indian studies at CSULB offer a wide range of classes that led many students to pursue degrees in these concentrations.
Williams took a black studies class at CSULB and said it was remarkable that the class embraced cultural diversity so intently.
"It was nice to see black, white and Latino students in the class," Williams said. Williams also said that CSULB had a great variance in student population, but division among the different minorities can still be seen.
- Shelly Williams
"I came to this school because of the diverse campus, I like that there is opportunity to meet so many different people," Williams said.
Williams said she does not stand alone in his opinion of CSULB. According to reports published in The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education and Black Issues in Higher Education, California State University
campuses have been named the nation's most diverse campuses.
According to a report in Black Issues in Higher Education, CSULB ranked second nationally in terms of number of degrees awarded to Asian Americans in the field of engineering related technology.
The report also said CSULB is ranked fifth nationally in awarding the most bachelor degrees in English language and literature to Hispanics.
These numbers were not surprising for many people, including Ken Swisher, media relations manager for CSU campuses. CSULB, like other CSU campuses, has seen a rise in foreign student enrollment and minority enrollment. Swisher said that in 1980, minority enrollment consisted of just 27 percent of the student population. In 1990, that percentage went up to 36 percent. As of the 1997-1998 period, 52 percent of the student population at CSU campuses were non-white.
"CSU campuses are the most diverse in the nation, minority enrollment has been increasing since the 80's," Swisher said.
The diversity at CSULB cannot be seen through percentages alone. Cultural clubs such as Afghan Student Union, Indonesian Student Association and International Student Association bring versatile students together while promoting the preservation of minority culture.