Only 692 Hispanic freshmen enrolled at Texas A&M in 2003, while 158 Black and 234 Asian American freshmen entered the same year.
Using Gates’ strategy, Texas A&M recruiters have had more success with persuading Hispanics — the largest segment of the state’s population — to attend the university than they’ve had with other minority groups. Preliminary university data show 1,097 Hispanic freshmen entered Texas A&M this fall, versus 399 Asian Americans and 280 Blacks.
But even with more minorities on campus, racial tensions persist.
Shortly before President George Bush nominated Gates to replace Donald Rumsfeld as Secretary of Defense earlier this month, a video featuring A&M students surfaced on the Internet. The video depicted a White student in Blackface acting as a slave while being whipped and later sodomized by his “master.”
Both Texas A&M and the University of Texas have quite a long way to go, Flores says.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
