tl20031020-000 "ris some-in all oopla sur-ding oming dedi-of n fly t a s a is team, off 11 n con-im has ?. field a four-ice to a few iletics. i't the !ives it m has in the in the finish Eason, two of team y sea-ampi-t they lough . look Ln all-has prove e and cur-itting and and their ently rvice S the one pres-atin-nen, was man age. man ?.ady the cing to a iion 7.ker eh ThwerIihft Baltimore's #1 College Paper - Published Twice-Weekly - www.thetowerlight.com Monday, 10/20/03 One year later: Paws vs. VIP's Greeks discuss TU community 5 'Jury' ought to stick to the script 15 Tarantino shocks with violent flick 15 Departments Opinion 2 News 5 Nation 6 Campus briefs 9 Arts 13 Entertainment briefs 14 Sound Bites 15 Sports 20 In this corner 20 Athlete of the Week 18 Classifieds 16 Towson reaches out for diversity Photo illustration by Lisa Johnson/The Towerlight Towson University works to increase diversity through outreach initiatives to areas with high minority populations, including the city of Baltimore. Minority enrollment remains steady in spite of diversity initiatives; focus on regional outreach Cailin McGough The Towerlight Despite its proximity to Baltimore City, which is 65 percent African- American, Towson University is com-prised of only 10 percent African- American students. All other minori-ty students make up only an addi-tional 5 percent. President Robert Caret called attention to this fact in his fall address, noting that he hoped to increase African-American enroll-ment. In the last 40 years the University has made strides in creating pro-grams to embrace diversity and encourage multiculturalism on cam-pus. But as they praise the University's intent, some administra-tors voice frustration with the fact that the percentage of minorities enrolled and employed at Towson has largely held steady for years. In fall 2002, 77 percent of under-graduate students were white, 10 per-cent African-American, 3 percent Asian-American, 3 percent interna-tional, 2 percent Hispanic-American and .2 percent Native American. Students of other ethnic background make up the final 5 percent. Camille Clay, assistant vice presi-dent for diversity, said the University has embraced diversity in some ways since she came here in 1978, citing. the African American Cultural Center, the Asian Arts and Culture Center, the Multicultural Institute, and the concentration offered in African-American studies. However, it does not embrace diversity in the fact that the University has not increased minority or students of color enrollment in many years, she said. ""We've never been above 10 per-cent African-American and 5 percent all of the other minorities,"" she said. Over a five-year period, enrollment of students falling into the category of ""other/unknown"" increased by about 3 percent, Hispanic students doubled from about 1 percent to 2 percent, and white students decreased by 3 percent. Enrollment of other ethnic groups remained rela-tively steady. Clay also feels Towson should bave far more people of color in its faculty and professional staff, noting that with few exceptions, all of the top leadership in the University is com-prised of white males. ""It's clear if you look at the num-bers we have not made tremendous elephant steps forward,"" Women's Center director Phyllis Freeman said. ""But I think we're headed in the right direction."" The University is continuously involved in conversations about ways to increase the minority population in terms of admissions and retaining students of color through involve-ment, she said. But because it takes us a substan-tial amount of time to create an envi-ronment where both the numbers and the intent are balanced, the University is currently more diverse in its intent than its numbers, Freeman said. Transition over decades The idea of creating a diverse cam-pus did not take hold until the 1960s. In 1962, the University admitted the first African-American student. The Office of Minority Affairs was created seven years later, and in 1970 the African American Cultural Center was established as the programming arm of the office. Also that year, the Black Student Union was founded, followed by the Women's Center in 1971. As it transitioned to become the Office of Diversity Resources, the Minority Affairs Office broadened its scope from a focus on the needs of African-American students to include other facets of diversity such as abili-ty, age, gender, race, religion, ethnici-ty, class, sexual orientation and national origin. In 1987, the University conducted its first campus-wide survey to gauge the campus environment. ""We do those from time to time to get an idea of students' reaction to the climate, how they perceive the climate and what their needs are,"" explained Clay. See DIVERSE, page 8 Today High 61 Low 49 Tuesday High 71 CD S Low 47 .1.2.20 Wednesday High 57 Low 39 Thursday High 55 Low 41 Friday High 55 Low 41 "