Kidi Amanuel stands out in her biology class. She is the only black student in her class, which isn’t unusual for SMU.
“Personally, I don’t let things like that really affect me, other than noticing the fact, so I don’t dwell on it much,” Amanuel said. “But maybe it shows that I’m getting used to being a minority.”
Amanuel is not alone. According to the Blanton Division of Enrollment data, Southern Methodist University is currently 29 percent minority for the 2006-2007 school year. During the 1996-1997 year, minorities made up 17.8 percent of the student body.
Even though the minority population has increased by 63 percent over the last 10 years, many students and administrators feel that social and economic reasons are keeping minorities away.
Fernando Salazar, coordinator of Hispanic services at SMU, believe financial reasons are keeping many minority students away. Tuition, fees and room and board at SMU currently cost $41,700 annually.
“It’s expensive here. A student may get a nice financial aid package the first year, but it goes down during the junior year,” Salazar said. “By the senior year, students are asking, ‘What should I do?'”
Amanuel agrees that many minorities don’t know about their financial options.
“Lots of minorities don’t try to come here because they don’t know about the scholarships. There’s not a lot of advertising,” she said. “After all, SMU is one of the most expensive schools in Texas.”
In addition, many minority students believe SMU has a reputation as an elitist institution.
The campus is tucked safely into Highland Park which boasts a median household income above $150,000 and the population is over 95 percent white.
In fact, the university is commonly referred to as Southern Millionaires University because of its abundance of affluent students.
“Some students ask, ‘Do I see myself here? Do I feel comfortable here?'” Salazar said.
Tallia Burris, a senior business major, said some students see SMU as out of their league.
“Some minorities still think of it as a white school and don’t bother to apply. People need to actually come onto campus and see that there is some diversity,” she said.
Some white students agree with this consensus.
Sabina Celebic, a senior journalism and Spanish major, believes that some minorities choose community colleges over SMU to feel more comfortable.
“Many minorities don’t think they belong because of SMU’s prestige,” Celebic said. “They would rather go to a community college where they can be in a comfy zone.”
She said SMU needs to reach out more to make every student feel included.
“They should have some sort of program welcoming students to show that everybody with a certain academic standing is welcome. There should be more outside work involving SMU students,” Celebic said.
Lan Anh Nguyen, a senior sociology major, said perspective plays a major role in whether people feel included or not.
“Yeah, there can be some isolation, but I think it’s more along the lines of background and circumstances and socioeconomic reasons. I think personality plays a role, too,” Nguyen said. “Being at SMU sort of reflects the ‘real world.’ At times, it really feels like a person has to fit a certain criteria to be fully accepted.”
SMU is actively reaching out to minority students, even though many choose not to attend, Salazar said.
“There’s a good number of recruiting done to attract minority students. However, SMU needs to find a better way of marketing,” Salazar said. “You hear the talk, but what is this institution actually doing to keep minorities? What’s the game plan?”
Associate Director of Undergraduate Admission, Rod Jackson, said that SMU indeed is reaching out and has several ways to recruit minority students.
“We work with other departments on campus to recruit and retain students,” Jackson said. “The academic schools work with us in hosting groups from high minority schools to give them a better perspective of life at SMU.”
Admissions not only work with the campus but involve community organizations and civic groups as well.
Current SMU students are incorporated into the recruiting process through a mentoring program.
“We also work with the CONNECT program, which is a mentoring program designed to help the transitional process for minority students,” Jackson said.
Student ambassadors help by teaching potential students about the campus.
Jackson said that admissions work with financial aid to host workshops to teach students and their parents about financial aid.
He said that because of these programs, SMU is currently above the national average for minority students at a predominantly white school.
Texas Christian University currently has a minority population of 15 percent, according to its Web site. SMU, with almost double that percentage, has 611 black students, 772 Asians, 57 American Indians, 856 Hispanics and 715 not specified.
Some potential minority students still consider SMU as a viable choice.
North Dallas High School freshman Elizabeth Rodriguez, 14, considers SMU as a potential option even though she says that she still thinks whites are dominant on campus.
“I do believe that the majority is white and there are less Hispanics and blacks,” she said.
Rodriguez said she would still feel comfortable attending, as “race shouldn’t be an issue; it shouldn’t be an obstacle.”
Even though diversity could be higher, Amanuel still has hope for the future.
“In general the country is getting more diverse, so the campus will get more diverse,” he said.
