By JESSICA D. LEE
lee@du2.byu.edu
BYU is a university of diversity.
At least in the West and Midwest.
According to statistics from the BYU Institutional Analysis and Data Administration, 11.3 percent of the BYU population are people of black, Hispanic, Asian and Native-American background.
In contrast, the University of Utah's information department provided statistics showing that only 6.7 percent of the University of Utah students are of minority origin.
This is significantly lower than BYU. And significantly surprising.
Some BYU students thought BYU was less ethnically diverse than the University of Utah.
'I've never actually been to the U, but I would suspect that BYU is less diverse,' said Aimee Hall, a senior from Grapevine, Texas, majoring in biology.
But some students weren't surprised when they found out that BYU is more diverse.
'We are probably more diverse than the U, but less diverse than other universities, such as Berkeley,' said Crystal Lynn, a junior from Page, Ariz., majoring in microbiology.
In research done by the Wintergreen/Orchard House and Riverside Publishing Co., the most ethnically diverse university in the nation is the University of Texas-El Paso with 74 percent of the student population of minority background. Of that 74 percent, 70 percent originate from a Hispanic background.
According to conclusions drawn from this same research, urban and state schools are more diverse than Midwestern and private schools.
Rutgers-Newark, N.J. has 56 percent of their student body of minority background; University of California-Los Angeles has 51 percent ethnic minorities; University of Illinois-Chicago has 48 percent; New York University is 38 percent minority; and both University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor have 25 percent.
Private and Midwestern schools are generally less diverse.
This is apparent with BYU at 11 percent; University of Kansas with only 9 percent of its student body of minority descent; University of Kentucky at 8 percent; and University of Nebraska with 6 percent.
But in some students' minds, BYU isn't diverse enough and is a long way from achieving the type of demographics common at state and urban schools.
There is a variety of ideologies that reside in BYU concerning the apparent lack of ethnic diversity.
There are not enough (multicultural) people here, said Jeanelle Carden, a senior from El Paso, Texas majoring in public relations. 'Last year, there were only 90 black people here.'
Carden, a Multicultural On-Campus Education Student Assistant, says that statistic is better this year, but there is still a lack of multicultural students attending BYU.
Others agree that there are not enough minorities at BYU.
'If you can walk across campus and recognize the faces of minorities, you know BYU is not diverse,' Lynn said.
Carden said it is hard to get multicultural people to come to BYU.
To remedy this problem, the Multicultural Office has implemented a program to give incentives to minority students who desire but are wary of coming to BYU.
'The Discovery program is a summer program where minority students come and take classes. If the students do well in those classes, they are given a scholarship as an incentive to stay,' she said.
She also believes minorities that come here feel uncomfortable and stereotyped.
'I've heard stories that some people come up and talk to (Hispanic-looking) people in Spanish, assuming that since they look Spanish, they speak Spanish,' Carden said. 'Others feel that when people see them and see that they are a minority, that they go out of their way to talk to them and be friendly. The multicultural student can pick up on the insincerity and it hurts them.'
But she acknowledged some people use this situation as a chance to share and teach people about their background.
'The only way to stop this is to get more (multicultural) people on campus,' Carden said.
On the other hand, there are many minority students who don't feel anything strange at all, Carden said.
But Lynn, who is half Navajo, believes ethnic minorities need to come to BYU with an attitude of openness and friendship.
The multicultural wards and the Multicultural Office offer support for minority students who feel out of place at BYU. But there is a down side to these services.
'(Minorities) come to BYU and don't end up making friends outside their group,' she said. 'BYU has everything. It's up to the individual to put forth the effort.'
Students shouldn't fear offending a person from an ethnic minority.
'People worry too much about being politically correct,' Hall said. 'Most people wouldn't care.'
As BYU gets larger and accepts more and more ethnic minorities, students will get more comfortable and will know that all people are children of God, Hall said.
'BYU does a lot of good -- building diversity and celebrating that diversity,' Hall said.