Last week the campus announced that Berkeley has just admitted the most ethnically diverse cohort of first-year students in more than three decades. “Freshman admission offers to African-American students increased by more than 40% and offers to Chicanx-Latinx students increased by 45%,” it reports. We will see whether these admissions percentages translate to actual enrollment numbers, but in any case, the apparent success of outreach is welcome news.
Some historical perspective: the percentage of under-represented minorities (URMs) has increased from 16% to 19% over the last 20 years. While the Latinx student population has expanded from 10% to 15%, the percentage of African American students has shrunk from 5% to 3%. Asian students enroll at a steady 39-40%; white students now constitute 24% rather than 30% of Berkeley undergraduates. The percentage of international students has jumped from 4% to 13%. Even more striking is the increase in the enrollment of first-generation students — from 7% to 26%.
On the other hand, we should keep in mind another, more depressing curve. Chris Newfield has shown that state funding per student, has steadily dropped as the percentage of white and middle-class students has fallen. So as student access to Berkeley has broadened, the resources that support the quality of their education have diminished. Indeed, departments with the greatest number of under-represented minority and first-generation college students are often stretched thinnest. If the administration is serious about a financial reform plan that redistributes resources among departments more equitably, it needs to think more broadly, both about advocating for greater state support, and about taking into account the equitable inclusion of URM students.
Michael Burawoy and Celeste Langan for the Board of the Berkeley Faculty Association.