Diversity has always been a major issue on college campuses like Cal Poly and now with drastic budget cuts and measures to limit enrollment, it can be expected that the already small populations of women and minorities amongst higher education faculty and students will also be diminished.
CSU Chancellor Charles B. Reed has said that the percentage of minority students is not expected to drop if the CSU system cuts the number of transfers and existing students by almost 1,600. But increasing educational costs will limit the options for many non-white students with limited incomes. They now will be forced to live at home or attend community college and by putting off acceptance to a university they could hinder their chances of being enrolled as their application will be placed in the transfer pile looking to be cut.
Even if minorities do decide to go to the school of their choice, the limited federal funding could be a factor. Beginning in 2008, caps were placed on the amount of financial aid and scholarships available. According to the Cal Poly Factsheet of 2008, of the $89,815,419 distributed in financial aid, 44 percent went to women and 34 percent went to minorities. Despite the reassurance of Reed, the increasing cost of tuition is still obviously a major deliberator for minorities applying for college.
In recognizing the presence of diversity on campus we must also look to new faculty who bring new curriculum that broadens the topics students explore within the classroom. In 2008, 29 percent of higher education faculty were non-white and within this year alone women will earn 59 percent of bachelor’s degrees and 61 percent of master’s degrees, as well as half of all Ph.D.s., according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Yet for many looking to teach on CSU campuses such as Cal Poly the opportunity will not be available.
According to the 2008 Cal Poly Factsheet only 34 percent of the faculty were women and only 13 percent were non-white. However, when examining statistics of those working as lecturers, a non-tenure position, 45 percent were women and only 6 percent were non-white. Ultimately if the furloughs are not extended to next year CSU’s qualified minorities and women working as associate professors and lecturers will be among the first let go. By following the “first hired, first fired” protocol to conform to the budget, Cal Poly student and faculty can expect to see the lack of diversity increase.
On a campus such as Cal Poly where diversity is already minimal just the presence of a diverse faculty reminds students of the contributions of minorities and women to American society as well as the conflicts in existing policies. As individuals they bring new ideas to develop curriculum and discussion intended to develop well-rounded individuals entering a society that is becoming increasingly more multicultural.
Structural problems within the education system will also develop without a faculty of various ages, genders and ethnicities, which allow students to be exposed to a variety of material and teaching methods. Professors will be taken away from teaching their specialty in an upper division course and be asked to teach a general lower division class. Also, as more courses are cut, classes become overcrowded and students will be forced to follow a one-size-fits-all curriculum.
Cal Poly’s diversity level pales in comparison to other CSU campuses, and as administrators cope with cutbacks while still providing a quality education, we might ask ourselves if diversity is what we’re willing to let go.
Jessica Barba is a journalism senior and Mustang Daily guest columnist.
1.”Budget threatens non-existent diversity”.
Please explain to me how something “non-existent” can even be threatened. If diversity is non existent to begin with, the budget cuts couldn’t possibly make it worse. This statement completely contradicts itself. The rest of the paper seems to follow this thought pattern that lacks the development of logical and coherent arguments.
2.”Diversity has always been a major issue on college campuses like Cal Poly and now with drastic budget cuts and measures to limit enrollment, it can be expected that the already small populations of women and minorities amongst higher education faculty and students will also be diminished.”
A) Define “campuses like Cal Poly”. By this, do you mean campuses/ institutions that are the #1 Public Master’s University in the Western United States for the 15th consecutive year? Or how about campuses where alumni boast the 3rd highest earning power of all United States public institutions.
B) While our racial diversity may be less prolific than other state schools, there is no denying the success Cal Poly has had in serving minority students. This is evidenced by the fact that in 2009, the magazine “Diverse Issues in Higher Education” placed Cal Poly among the top 10 of its “Top 100 Degree Producers 2009” ranking. This places the university in the top 10 schools in the nation in granting degrees to Hispanic, Asian and other minority students in agriculture, architecture and engineering.
C) Furthermore, your claim that “Diversity has always been a major issue…” is completely false. The presumption that diversity has “always been a a major issue” is incorrect, unjustified, and undefended in your piece. Diversity becomes an issue when things like the crops house incident happen. Fiascoes like this one create a media shit storm that only serve to turn people’s attention to these hot button issues, and lead writers like yourself to create false connections where none need to be made (ie the connection between budget cuts and the “non-existent diversity” at Cal Poly).
3. “According to the Cal Poly Factsheet of 2008, of the $89,815,419 distributed in financial aid, 44 percent went to women and 34 percent went to minorities.”
You presented this statistic to make it seem unfair or skewed to benefit white males. Lets take a further look at this statistic though. Calpoly.edu shows that the enrollment of women at Cal Poly comprises 44% of the student body, and csumentor.edu lists 65% of Cal Poly students as white. Presumably this means that the remaining 35% fall into the minority category. Does it seem unfair to you that these statistics EXACTLY match those of the demographic breakdown of the school? To assert that a person from a minority background holds a greater claim to the available funds strictly because of their skin color is the real injustice, but beyond that I would consider it a racial attack on whites who are in equally dire financial situations as many minorities and are equally deserving of the funds.
4. “Despite the reassurance of Reed, the increasing cost of tuition is still obviously a major deliberator for minorities applying for college.”
A) Is Deliberator even a word? Seriously, look it up. I don’t think deliberate is supposed to be made a noun.
B) Minorities are just as eligible for student loans as the rest of us. Any student can take out varying amounts of federal stafford loans (the amount of which, believe it or not, fluctuates depending on your year in school and not race or gender). If someone is in a situation where money is that tight, they can always take out one of these loans which cover a substantial chunk of annual education costs. If these aren’t enough there are always private loans, scholarships, and the whole idea of getting a job to provide income. As a result of the above options, its my personal belief that for our generation, a “lack of funding” is just a lousy excuse not to attend a university.
Budget cuts on this campus affect everyone, not just minorities and females. While I understand these cuts obviously have a greater impact on socioeconomic groups with lower incomes, the fact that someone is a white male, or a black female, or an Asian transsexual, or any other combination of race and sex you could come up with does not assume an economic status. The issue at hand is funding, not race, not gender, not diversity. The funding should go to those who need it, and deserve it most. The best way to do this and ensure unbiased distribution of funds is to make the allocation as representative of the student demographics (which our school does).
Sources:
http://calpolynews.calpoly.edu/quickfacts.html
http://www.csumentor.edu/campustour/undergraduate/26/Cal_Poly_San_Luis_Obispo/Cal_Poly_San_Luis_Obispo5.html