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White Students on Campus: At Tennessee State, "Minority" Enrollment Dips Slightly

By Ashley Northington
Black College Wire

Photo credit: Tennessee State University Photo on the university's Web site shows an integrated scene in the library.

Though it is under a desegregation order to increase non-black enrollment, the number of "minority" students has decreased slightly at Tennessee State University. It stands at 1,924, down from 1,985 last year, according to the 2003 Tennessee State University Fact Book and the Office of Institutional Effectiveness and Research.

However, there are no signs that the decreased non-black enrollment is part of a trend.

In 2001, a federal court issued the Geier consent decree, which gives Tennessee's public higher education institutions until 2006 to meet detailed minority recruitment and retention goals. The order was issued in response to a desegregation lawsuit filed in 1968 by Rita Sanders Geier, a black former history instructor at Tennessee State, to eliminate the state's dual system of higher education. Although schools were legally desegregated, blacks and whites still went to separate schools.

If Tennessee State follows the Geier mandates, the state has agreed to contribute $1 million annually for 10 years to a Tennessee State endowment. And for the endowment's first 10 years, the state also expects to match every dollar raised privately, up to an additional $10 million.

Just as Tennessee State must attract white students, institutions such as the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, the University of Memphis and Middle Tennessee State University have to enroll more black and non-traditional students.

At Tennessee State, a director of minority student affairs, Mark Gunter, has as his job the retention of minority students.

Tennessee State has awarded scholarships to quality white students, renovated the Avon Williams campus in downtown Nashville, changed its Web site to make administrative procedures smoother, and hired a marketing firm, all per the Geier consent decree.

The university also raised first-time freshman admission requirements. In-state students are now required to have a minimum ACT score of 19 or an SAT score of 900, and a 2.25 grade point average, while out-of-state students must have a minimum ACT of 19 or an SAT score 900, and a 2.5 GPA.

�Although this is a historically black college, I must agree with the changes made for white students to come here,� said Demetria Curry, a senior from Fort Wayne, Ind., majoring in health information management. �School have quotas to reach and they have to do whatever is necessary to reach them.�

�Minority students who attend TSU will give them an opportunity to erase any myths or stereotypes that may be associated with African-Americans,� said Wauna Coleman, a senior from Nashville who is majoring in English. �By coming here, they will be able to see the diversity of our culture and the richness of our history.�

�I came to TSU for two reasons,� said minority student Amy Thomas, a senior from White House, Tenn., who is majoring in nursing. �I was told this school had a very good nursing program and they gave me a scholarship when no one else would.�

Institutions that have a problem attracting minorities, such as the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and Middle Tennessee State University, offer minority scholarships and have established programs geared toward minorities.

Middle Tennessee State has an African American Students Association, one of the oldest addressing the needs of black students, while the University of Tennessee at Knoxville has an organization called the Minority Advisor Program that has 30 members and aims to make the transition to college life easier.

�Our program advises minority, transfer and freshmen students to help them adjust to the predominately white environment,� said MAP President Crystal Ellis of the Knoxville campus. �We just want students to feel comfortable, like they belong at our university.�

Ashley Northington is a student at Tennessee State University who is editor in chief of The Meter. She can be reached at [email protected].

Posted Oct. 25, 2004