Though the demographic make-up of the newly admitted freshman class is slightly more diverse than that of 2006, some students say there is still much improvement to be made in diversifying the campus' population.
Statistics compiled by the university admissions office report a slight increase in admission of applicants who identify themselves as "African American" and "Latino/Hispanic" and a 10 percent jump in admission among "Asian" students. About 7 percent less "Caucasian/White" students were admitted this year.
Jeff Murakami, director of Asian Pacific American Student Services, said some of the statistics reflect expected enrollment rates.
"(The Asian-American population loses) five to six percent in representation by the time we get to who actually comes," Murakami said. "The percentage of admitted Asian-American students is almost always going to be higher (than those who enroll) because of the academic quality of certain segments of the population."
The freshman class enrolled in fall 2006 was 21.9 percent "Asian."
"We all know that some students chose to go to Berkeley instead, or Harvard or Stanford," Murakami said. "But to look at the Asian-American population as a whole is problematic because clearly we have some of the highest-performing and the lowest-performing students in terms of standardized preparation."
About 6 percent of the freshman class in fall 2006 identified themselves as "African American." Murakami said the conversion rate of admittance to enrollment for black students is typically higher.
"A small percentage get admitted," he said. "But of those that get admitted, more of them come. They convert at the same rate as white students."
Michael McTaggart, a Jamaican-American freshman guitar performance major, said he was disappointed with the number of black students on campus.
"It's just so disproportionate," McTaggart said. "Especially among African-American students. It's gone down when it should be going up."
He said he believes groups on campus hold some of the responsibility.
"When you think of the USC community, the first thing that comes to mind is not African-American students," McTaggart said. "I've seen groups lately trying to bring in students, but if they don't make more of an effort then it's going to remain the same."
Other students believe that merit is what matters most.
"It might look bad that so many more white people are being admitted than minorities," said David Jacobs, a junior majoring in fine arts. "But as long as the better students are being admitted, then it's fine."
Brittany Koenke, an undeclared freshman, agreed.
"I think that there should be diversity," Koenke said. " But I don't think they should admit a person based on race."
Jacobs believes the issue is more of a problem for the outside community than an issue for USC.
"I don't think it's USC's responsibility (to even out the racial distribution)," Jacobs said. "I think it's the community's responsibility to make sure people have a good-enough education to get into a school like this."
The fall 2007 numbers cited in this article are not yet official, but were current as of April 12 and are subject to change pending the appeals process. Official figures are reported in the third week of fall classes.
Corliss Bennett, director of the Center for Black Cultural and Student Affairs, and William Vela, director of El Centro Chicano, declined to comment until the numbers are made final. Rakin Hall, associate director of multicultural admissions, declined to comment.
