SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Syracuse University is taking steps to address a 4 percent decrease in the number of students of color who enrolled this year.
The class of 2020, whose approximately 4,000 members started their first day of classes this week, is made up of 24 percent students of color, according to SU. That’s down from 28 percent last year.
The decrease comes after two years of debate on campus about whether diversity is a priority. The campus was rocked two years ago when a video surfaced online of a women’s soccer player using homophobic and racial slurs.
Student advocates and the group THE General Body have held protests and raised concerns about diversity on campus, mostly in the 2014-15 school year. One of the protestors told a Syracuse.com reporter that students of color “feel like the campus isn’t built for us.”
Chancellor Kent Syverud came under fire that year after funding cuts were made to programs students said were primarily used by racial minorities.
Source: http://blog.syracuse.com/sports/2014/09/syracuse_womens_soccer_player_hanna_strong_suspended_after_using_slurs_in_video.html
