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Friday, February 28, 1997

UT minority applications down

AUSTIN (AP) - Minority applications for enrollment at the University of Texas at Austin are down sharply for next fall, despite a late rush of applicants.

UT figures released Wednesday showed that before the late surge, undergraduate applications from black and Hispanic students were down 52 percent from fall 1996 numbers.

Similar trends in 1997 applications were reported by Texas A&M. Undergraduate applications from black students fell declined 15 percent from last year, five times the decline in applications from white students. Hispanic applications dropped 7 percent.

The numbers are the first indication of the fallout from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling in the Hopwood case, which effectively struck down affirmative action in minority student recruitment at the state's largest universities.

While incomplete, the totals represent 90 percent or more of the total undergraduate and law school applications the university expects to receive by the March 1 deadline.

"We're in much better shape today than two weeks ago," said Augustine Garza, the university's deputy director of admissions. "We're very concerned, however, that our minority applicants have decided to apply in fewer numbers."

Total applications for 1997 were down 9 percent from last year, but the declines were sharpest for minority applications. Black applications dropped 21 percent decrease, while Hispanic applications fell 17 percent. White applications fell 14 percent.

At UT, black students make up 4 percent of the 48,008 who are enrolled this year in graduate, undergraduate and law school programs. Hispanics make up 13 percent, Asians 10 percent and whites 65 percent.

At Texas A&M, blacks are 3 percent of the 41,892 students enrolled in graduate and undergraduate programs this year, Hispanics 9.7 percent, Asians 4 percent and whites 77 percent.

"In light of the fact that the state of Texas has had an increase in the population of Hispanics and African Americans, we would expect to see an increase in applications instead of a decline," said Marco Portales, executive assistant to A&M President Ray Bowen.

Officials blamed the overall drop on new requirements, including three written essays. Garza said minority students are forgoing UT because of that and because of the effects of the Hopwood ruling.

The drop reverses a steady increase in black and Hispanic applications over the past three years. White applicants leveled off during that period.

"Minority kids are making other decisions," Garza said.

The ruling has hurt UT's image with minority students and has directly affected affirmative action by wiping out scholarships for minority students in Texas colleges, Garza said.

Although university officials are continuing to give the scholarships, they no longer can consider a student's race in awarding them.

The Hopwood case is named for Cheryl Hopwood, one of four white students rejected by the UT law school who challenged the school's affirmative action program in 1992.

Although the decision was appealed, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case.

At the UT School of Law, minority applications were declined more sharply than for undergraduate programs. Blacks decreased 42 percent, Hispanics 15 percent and whites 8 percent. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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