In-State Minority Applications Drop Again at Berkeley

Black Issues in Higher Education, Feb 18, 1999

BERKELEY, Calif. -- While most schools in the University of California system saw an increase in minority in-state applicants for the fall semester, UC-Berkeley watched its numbers plummet.

UC-Berkeley had noticeable decreases among Black, Chicano, American Indian, and Latino applicants, the biggest drop among all eight UC schools.

"The numbers leave us unequivocally dissatisfied," the university's vice chancellor, Dr. Genaro Padilla, says.

The UC system recorded a 2.6 percent decrease in applicants from American Indians living in California, the only overall, systemwide decrease among minority students.

UC-Berkeley officials said they were discouraged by the low number of applications from "underrepresented minorities," although Admissions Director Bob Baird said there was no set figure on what would be an acceptable number.

In 1995, UC regents voted to drop affirmative action, a change that took effect for undergraduates this past fall.