Students of Color Used to Enhance the White Experience

Students of Color Used to Enhance the White Experience
By Michael Rush
Contributing Writer for Pomona College's The Student Life

In an attempt to evaluate and eventually hasten its progress toward a more diverse student body, Pomona has used surveys, studies, and of course its favorite medium, the committee, to tackle the diversity initiative and understand issues of race and class on campus. Part of the initiative is to develop a culture of data and evidence, which is theoretically an effective step in approaching such issues—but what if there were two sets of data, and the goals for constructing/gathering one set was antagonistic to the goals of the other set?

The dichotomy of such goals becomes an issue of statistical evidence versus anecdotal evidence, an issue that can be attributed to the difference in objectives between Pomona's Admissions Office and the Office of Student Affairs. Admissions interacts with a world of paper and numbers, recruitment and quotas, and represents a culture of data centered around such publications as the U.S. News and World Report. Student Affairs interacts with a world of students, and represents a culture of data concerning issues of individuals and groups in the larger community. Ideally, paper should predict actuality, but the boxes one checks to state racial identity are more indicators of one's genotype than phenotype, and visually, a Pomona class on paper can differ greatly on paper as opposed to in person. Additionally, neither genotypes nor phenotypes are indicators of culture, which is the real objective in diversifying the student body.

The truth of the matter is that Pomona is not nearly as diverse as it purports to be. The College's student body appears racially diverse on paper, but in actuality, some incoming students arrive on campus and don't necessarily identify socially or culturally with the boxes they checked during the admissions process. Anecdotal evidence suggests that there is an increase in the number of freshmen who choose not to participate in mentor programs. Mentors assigned to incoming freshmen based on race have reported that the freshmen sometimes decline their mentee status. This issue is now addressed in mentor training: "What if my mentee chooses not to participate in the program?"

Anecdotal evidence also suggests that such groups on campus as the Pan African Student Association (PASA) have had an increase in upper-classmen joining the organizations due to a need for community and a general sense of alienation on campus. Research conducted by the Office of Institutional Research shows that underrepresented students of color, low-income, and first-generation students generally report lower levels of satisfaction within campus community, social life, and diversity. The data also showed that black students in particular report a much lower sense of belonging on Pomona's campus than other groups.

Pomona admissions reports a slight increase in student of color enrollment for the class of 2007, and the College boasts that 40 percent of the student body is of minority representation; it is such misleading statistics that have students worried about the fate of their community. In actuality, 13 percent of the 41 percent of student who identified as non-white in the Class of 2006 actually chose to give no response, as opposed to identifying as a minority student. It seems that such numbers are being tossed about to bolster the veneer of our college bubble so that applicants, parents, and guidance counselors will presume that Pomona offers a melting-pot of perspectives and "multiculturalism." Moreover, is the white experience somehow enhanced by presenting a ruse of multiculturalism through statistics? Perhaps we can educate ourselves with less cognitive dissonance knowing that the token 'perspective of color' is represented.

Regardless, the college uses such statistics to its advantage (for overall ranking, recruitment purposes, etc.), while the reality of the community reflects much discontent. Why attract more students of color through a mirage of statistical diversity if they will only end up dissatisfied with their experience? For example, admissions weekend for each racial group paints Pomona's campus as an ideal community for students of color. But students of color report feeling somewhat duped at the beginning of their Pomona experience. The statistics of racial diversity that the college promotes, in addition to the campus's inundation of people of color on Admit Day, creates an attractive yet artificial atmosphere for applicants. The reality of Pomona's atmosphere differs greatly from the way in which it is constructed to feel on admissions weekend, and students of color are frequently surprised by the burden of representing the token minority perspective.

Institutional data reveals a trend toward affluence in Pomona's enrolled student body—the number of white applicants with parental income of over $90,000 has steadily (and significantly) increased over the past seven years, perhaps due to Pomona's increasingly prominent reputation. The institutional data also shows that although the number of affluent white applicants has increased, the number of applications received by Asian, multiracial, and underrepresented (Black or Hispanic) students in this same income bracket has remained the same. This statistic may seem to imply that Pomona is simply not targeting or attracting affluent students of color, but institutional data shows that an overwhelming number of enrolled black students in 2002-2003 (60% of those who participated in a campus-wide survey) reported that they agree that the demographics of Pomona's student body are similar to the demographics of the high school from which they graduated. Although Pomona has constructed a somewhat racially diverse student body, it lacks socio-economic diversity within those racial groups—an issue that may be related to students of color not identifying socially or culturally with their checked box. Perhaps the true goal of making Pomona racially diverse should include more recruitment of students of color from various socio-economic backgrounds.

The Office of Institutional Research has combated lower levels of satisfaction and belonging among students of color with another statistic: that underrepresented students of color, low income, and first generation students are taking advantage of research opportunities with faculty at much higher rates than other groups. Although such data suggests that students of color are thriving academically and pursuing individual interests despite their lower levels of satisfaction, the data also shows that faculty of color report spending more time on advising and counseling students than other faculty and generally report higher levels of stress around professional duties like research and teaching. A possible explanation of these findings, based on anecdotal evidence, is that students of color have interests in pursuing issues that are personally important as well as pertinent to their racial community outside the realm of Pomona. Faculty of color also serve as role models and a link to the outside community even if they're not a professor of specialized racial studies. Lower levels of satisfaction and a lack of a sense of belonging can often manifest itself in a desire to explore academic areas that involve interaction with the outside community and address issues not discussed in the immediate college community.

The ivory tower from which we examine the outside world shields us from reality, yet allows us to process and intellectualize world issues. The artificial nature of this academic environment strives to reflect issues and perspectives of race, class, gender, sexuality, and religion in an effort to benefit students' pursuit of knowledge. The diversity initiative intends to enhance the educational experience of students by creating a multitude of perspectives on campus, but it intends to do so through a culture of data. Somewhere in the process of diversification, the numbers betrayed the students. Is the educational experience that we are referring to solely a white experience? Is racial or socioeconomic diversity merely another mechanism, aligned with the vision of Pomona's founders, to enhance and exoticize the white experience? As shown through institutional data, the demographic of individuals attracted to Pomona displays increasing levels of white affluence: the College is an environment catering to privileged individuals in the upper echelon of society. A diverse student population is inarguably vital to the College's success, and if the College continues to use such diverse statistics to its advantage, then it should first make greater efforts to construct a student body with more socio-economic and cultural diversity and to appease any dissatisfaction and alienation of students of color.

*All institutional data gathered from the James Irvine Foundation Campus Diversity Initiative: the Progress Report to the Steering Committee surveying 848 students, 578 who identified as white, 270 considered students of color (Office of Institutional Research)