JESSICA MERTURI
Staff Writer
At a university with an overwhelming majority of Caucasian students, national publications have raised questions about whether it is appropriate to dole out scholarships and financial aid packages based on race.
According to the Feb. 3 edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education, colleges nationwide have had to stop offering some services or benefits to minority students in light of U.S. Supreme Court rulings that defined the limits of affirmative action among undergraduate admissions in June 2003.
The Chronicle also mentioned Pepperdine University as one of the schools that was still in negotiations over financial aid programs reserved exclusively for needy minority students. The office of financial aid would not comment on these negotiations.
In 2003 the Supreme Court ruled that the University of Michigan had to take race as a criterion for consideration out of their undergraduate admissions policy.
Until that point, Hispanics, blacks and Native Americans were awarded 20 points, based on race alone, on the university’s admissions rating scale. However, the university was allowed to keep race in the admission’s process for students who were applying to the law school. Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the swing vote in the case, said affirmative action was still needed in America.
Since the new rulings were put into affect, schools like Harvard, Caltech, Saint Louis University and Carnegie Mellon University have made programs that were once set aside for specific minority races available to all.
With the tuition and room and board at Pepperdine reaching $42,120 a year, the cost of college can be a huge strain on the families who send their children here. And because of this, more and more families have been depending on financial aid.
According to the Seaver Web site, white/non-Hispanic students make up a majority of the student population at 59.7 percent. Behind them is the Asian population at 11 percent, followed closely by Hispanics who make up 10.1 percent. African Americans account for 7.8 percent of the student population and Native Americans are at 1.9 percent.
According to the Office of Financial Aid, about 75 percent of Pepperdine students are receiving some type of financial assistance via university, federal, state or private bank loans.
However, Israel Rodriguez, director of Hispanic Affairs, did stress “the need to continue to make great efforts to recruit and retain Hispanics and African-American students at all levels.”
Rodriguez said less than 20 percent of Hispanic high school graduates attend college. Of that number, more than 50 percent do not complete their degree. The statistics attributed to some black communities are even worse, he said.
“Hispanic Affairs works hard to create a greater awareness of educational needs among the Hispanic community,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said he believes that society at all levels of nation, state and community “needs to provide proper resources to support and increase the number of Hispanic and African-American students in colleges.”
The Office of Hispanic Affairs does this by awarding Educational Savings Bonds to 4th grade students in the Los Angeles area who show academic achievement and leadership. The office also invites 4th and 6th graders to campus to give them a glimpse of college life.
Rodriguez suggests we have to start at an early age because it is too hard to reach them when they are older.
“This is a social problem, and it will take a social initiative to correct,” Rodriguez said. “It takes a nation to educate a child.”
Meghan Sanchez, a bi-racial student at Pepperdine, said she believes it to be a social problem. Still, she is concerned about the effects any changes in financial aid will have on her. Although she is not receiving financial aid, she said she wonders if her chances will increase if things change.
Sanchez said thinks it makes sense to have an equal playing field. But she thinks the need for financial assistance is great among groups such as Hispanics, black and Native Americans because it is difficult for most of those families to afford a college education for their children.
However, there are students who feel that race should definitely not come into play when making decisions on who gets money.
Laura Troolines, a Caucasian senior who receives financial aid, said she believed race should not be a factor when deciding who gets financial aid. “If you’re a good student and happen to come from a low income family,” Troolines said. “You deserve aid no matter what your skin color.”
Alexander Lawson, a sophomore, agreed.
“At this point in time people can’t use race anymore to determine who gets benefits and who doesn’t,” Lawson said. “I think America needs to get past that.” As a black student, he said believes that the qualifications for financial aid should rely solely on individual financial situation.
There has been no word on whether Pepperdine has made a decision regarding race-based financial aid.
03-16-2006
