Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Tom Parker was excited about the increase made in the diversity of the student body. "I think that a diverse student body serves a whole host of educational purposes," he said.
Statistics from the Office of Admission show that the class of 2010 consists of 43 African American students, 52 Latino students, 46 Asian American students and 26 students of mixed heritage. The number of Latino students is also the highest of any class in the history of the College.
La Causa Co-Chair Antoinette Flores '08 expressed measured support for the increase, seeing it as an opportunity for the school to better meet the needs of Latino students. "If Amherst is committed to diversifying the student body racially and socioeconomically, it needs to be prepared to support these students and meet their needs as well," she said.
Flores specifically addressed issues that La Causa has advocated, including the hiring of more Latino professors and staff, as well as the creation of a Latino studies department.
Parker emphasized that this milestone was not the result of a new effort on the part of the College, but the product of a long-standing commitment. "It's very clear that the College wants to be more racially and socioeconomically diverse," Parker said. "What you see is a trend over time of Amherst becoming ever more diverse, so you can say there's been steady growth."
The historical trend towards diversity at Amherst is pronounced. Just over 20 years ago in 1985, the percentage of minority students in the freshman class was 13.3 percent, and the number did not exceed 30 percent until 2000.
Parker also emphasized that these numbers were not an indication that Amherst uses specific goals or quotas for minority admissions, but that the increase was the result of the College's long-term priorities and a particularly strong pool of minority applicants who decided to attend Amherst this year.
According to Parker, the College's goals in pursuing diversity in the student body are to emulate the diversity of the society at large-in every sense of the word. "If you want to attract leaders for a society two decades from now, it's impossible to assume that role and not look like the rest of America," Parker said. "[Our goal is] for Amherst to look as much like American society as we can, socioeconomically and racially."