Bent Tree News

Providence has been pleased to give this one connected country to one united people – a people descended from the same ancestors, speaking the same language, professing the same religion, attached to the same principles of government, very similar in their manners and customs…
– John Jay, First American Supreme Court Chief Justice

Providence, according to Chief Justice John Jay, has proven wrong. The United States has become a prosperous land largely due to the different races that compose our great nation. Clayton State University seems to be evidence of this error.
U.S. News and World Reports’ America’s Best Colleges 2008 issue claimed that, once again, Clayton State University is one of the most diverse campuses in Georgia. In fact, Clayton was named the most ethnically diverse baccalaureate college in the South. The categories used to calculate these rankings were American Indians and Native Alaskans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, African-American who are non-Hispanic, whites who are non-Hispanic, and Hispanics.

This level of diversity is not a new occurrence here at Clayton State. For example, in the fall of 2005, with a total student enrollment of 6,212 students, the campus consisted of 64.6% minorities. These numbers break down to 4.9% Asian/Pacific Island, 51% Black, 2.7% Hispanic, 5.7% Multiracial, .2% Native American & 35.4% White. In 2006, these increased slightly to 66.4% minorities. The current enrollment on campus almost mirrors these numbers although exact figures were not available by press time.

Unfortunately, U.S. News did not include international students such as Native Africans, West Indians, Middle Eastern and Asians who are non-Pacific in their calculations. There were several other groups that were not used to calculate diversity that Dr. Wendy Burns-Ardolino, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Integrative Studies, felt should have been taken into consideration. “The article does not discuss any other types of diversity - e.g. non-traditional students, women, etc. I would like to see some data on these groups as well.” For example, Clayton State’s student body is 70.3% female and 48% are non-traditional.

The importance of diversity on campus was best summed up by Dr. Steve Spence, Associate Professor of English and Media Studies when he said, “one of CSU’s real strengths is its diverse student body. Attending classes with people of different backgrounds, races, ethnicities, ages, religious beliefs, and sexualities benefits all of our students.”

Many students on campus feel that being a diverse campus is a benefit to their education. “I prefer diversity. The benefits are the knowledge and the one on one personal experience with different cultures,” says Phebe Rameau, a sophomore asked about her feelings on the article’s findings. Krysta Nelson, a senior, did not share Rameau’s enthusiasm towards diversity. Nelson explained “that [the diversity on campus] was not what really attracted me to the college, but it may attract a lot of other people. I came here because I believe it was the best school for me.” Not all students feel that the diversity on campus comes without difficulties all its own. Student Government Association (SGA) Vice-President & Sophomore Brandon Johnson adds that, “it’s a great thing but it’s so diverse that it’s almost segregated, you know….being that clubs stick with clubs. Like the Vietnamese Student Association only stick with other VSA members. It’s so diverse that each clique seems like its own country.”

Jesseka Gooding, Junior & Campus Events Council (CEC) Entertainment Chair, responds to Johnson’s statement by saying that she “agree[s] to some extent…academic wise, but when it comes to campus involvement…I don’t feel that all the groups on campus participate. Maybe, it’s because they feel that they don’t have events that cater to them.”

This reporter has no problem admitting that the make-up of the student body is very diverse; however, the numbers on the faculty at Clayton differ greatly from those of the student body or as Dr. Spence put it “in a word, we are much whiter.” According to data provided by the university, our faculty was 81% white in 2005 and 75% white in 2006. Dr. Spence continued, “we should be working to change that, and we are. One encouraging recent change has been a move to begin searches for new faculty much earlier.” Dr. Burns-Ardolino shared Dr. Spence’s optimism towards the future asserting that “I can see that we are moving toward more diversity. Change of this kind is often slow, but it is palpable.”

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