Cequila White knew she would see little change when she arrivedat Ball State as a freshman in 2003. She had just left a highschool with few minorities, and she knew that the population herewould follow suit. With this in mind, she looked forward toMulticultural Center's Excel Program, which was created forminority students.
"I was already used to the situation, but this program was ahighlight," White, a sophomore from Indianapolis, said. "It showedwhat the minority population was doing and that they were there tohelp."
Now, White, along with other members of Excel, works to helpfind new ways to bring other minority students to Ball State.
That summer, the group of 20 toured campus and had dailyworkshops that focused on encouraging diversity at the university.The program is geared toward students of African, Asian, Hispanicor Native American descent, White said.
"It was a great chance to get to know people of differentcultures." White said.
Since being at Ball State, she has traveled back to her highschool and other schools in Indiana to offer insight about being aminority at the university. She said the biggest reward came whenshe actually saw a student here from a high school she visited.
"I was glad to be able to share my experience with others whomight not know of the programs for minority students," Whitesaid.
Diversity enriches the learning environment and presents uniquechallenges for all students, Derick Virgil, Multicultural Centerdirector, said.
"The university must work to unify students of all cultures andbackgrounds." Virgil said. "Students need to gain a mutual respectand an understanding of different experiences and values fromvarious cultures."
He said the Excel program was designed to work with high schoolstudents who might not know about minority programs at Ball State.The program plans to expand its efforts through working with theuniversity admissions office to create brochures to betterrepresent what is offered at Ball State for minorities, he said. Inorder for the university to compete in a global community, it mustrepresent the diversity in society, Virgil said.
"We are working to try and create avenues for the university toadvertise to diverse students," Virgil said.
Ball State's Office of Admissions works with high schools toinform prospective and incoming students. The office also workswith schools and counties with a high population of minorities andunder-represented students, Mandi Trevino, an assistant director inadmissions, said. Members travel to Allen, St. Joseph, Marion andLake counties with statistical information from the EnrollmentPlanning Service from The College Board Web site, she said. Theytravel to schools to inform minority students about theuniversity.
"The goal is to inform the students before they make theirdecision," Trevino said.
The university offers scholarships and programs to encouragediversity at Ball State. The Academic Recognition Award pays forout-of-state fees for minority students. The university offers theSummer Scholars Residential Program for middle and high schoolstudents to come to Ball State for a week to take a non-creditcourse, in order to get them acquainted with the university.Another program, College Awareness Day, is open to minoritystudents nominated by faculty from their high school.
Another group, Multicultural Ambassador Core, works with theadmission office to tour high schools and give panel discussions toaddress question someone may have about the university.
"It's important to have different racial groups represented withthe group because it shows the diversity of the campus," KentRoberson, a member of Multicultural Ambassador Core, said.
Ball State's Office of Academic Assessment and InstitutionalResearch issued a report in October 2003 with the total ofenrollment of students and faculty broken down by racial/ethniccategories. The university has 17,641 undergraduate, full orpart-time, degree and non-seeking degree students. Of that number,8.4 percent are categorized according to the federal categorieswithin the racial/ethnicity minority group.
According to the U.S. Office for Civil Rights, the federalgovernment has five standard categories established in 1977 forrace and ethnicity established by the state departments ofeducation. They are: white, non-Hispanic; black, non-Hispanic;Hispanic; Asian or Pacific Islander; American Indian or AlaskanNative.
"When students graduate, regardless of ethnicity, they must beprepared for a world that is diverse and made up of cultures unliketheir own," he said.
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