Iowa State is the home of 25,384 students, and of that number a mere 1,678 are considered minority students. With this ratio it is not unusual for many minority students to walk across campus without seeing a face that resembles their own.

Enrollment figures for fall 1997 showed total enrollment had increased by 485 students. An increase in undergraduate enrollment makes up most of the overall enrollment increase.

Although undergraduate enrollment was up this semester, enrollment of minority students fell almost 1 percent.

David Bousquet, director of enrollment, said the total numbers not only include new minority students, but also those who did not register for another year at ISU.

In recent years there have been many discussions about the campus climate and how the university helps or fails to make minority students feel welcome.

Robert Lewis, sophomore in animal science from La Marque, Texas, said the university does the best job it can during orientation to prepare minority students for life at ISU.

“How can they prepare a person who is used to being around all black people to being around all white people?” asked Lewis, who is African American. “You can’t prepare a person for that.”

But university administrators say they will try to prepare students by making ISU a more welcoming environment for all cultures.

Thomas Hill, vice president for student affairs, said the university is constantly working to increase minority enrollment.

Bousquet said, “There is quite an extensive effort underway, which is dispersed throughout the university, that touches a wide range of students.”

Bousquet also said the university is recruiting aggressively from a number of areas in an effort to increase minority enrollment. The enrollment office’s targeted areas for recruiting minority students include the Chicago area, Denver and other major Midwestern cities.

Many minority students are attracted and come to ISU for different reasons.

Robert Lewis said he came to ISU because of it College of Agriculture program.

Lee Love, freshman in sociology, said his reason for picking ISU was that he was able to go here for free through a scholarship. Love, an African-American point guard for the Cyclone men’s basketball team, said he likes ISU because it is different from his hometown of New Orleans.

Love said when he visited ISU during recruitment, he knew there would not be much to do. “I don’t go out a lot, but [the team and I] have been having a lot of fun together,” he said. “Everything is pretty much what I expected it to be.”

Recruiting minorities to come to ISU is only one solution to the dilemma. Getting them to stay is a problem the university plans to solve.

Edwin Lewis, associate provost, said the university knows the dropout rate is highest at the beginning of the freshman to the end of sophomore year. He said there is research indicating that a lot of students decide pretty early on whether they want to stay at a place or not.

Shamara Humbles, of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was one of those minority students, who at the end of her freshman year had filled out an application to transfer to the University of Iowa.

Humbles, who is now a junior in finance, said she wanted to transfer from ISU because she didn’t like it.

“I wasn’t getting along with the minority students because they thought I was white,” said Humbles, who is African American. “The university could never prepare me for the people I was going to encounter.”

Although Humbles’ situation may be opposite from that of most minority students’ who come to ISU, she said she understands how ISU would be a culture shock to most black students.

“I think a lot of black students who come to ISU have a hard time accepting people who come from different backgrounds,” Humbles said. “Students here at ISU are like cookie cutters — everybody’s all the same.”

She said there is a big difference culturally between black students who come from Des Moines and those who come from Cedar Rapids because of the Cedar Rapids’ lower minority population.

Robert Lewis said one of the reasons adjusting to ISU was easier for him was that he had a lot of interaction with white people at home.

Even though Humbles is now a junior, she said she thinks about transferring every day. “I think if I had not attended here I would have graduated earlier and would have enjoyed college more,” she said.

To help keep students like Humbles from transferring to other colleges, many programs have been implemented by ISU.

In an October report, the Task Forces on Undergraduate Education considered the increased use of “learning communities.”

Edwin Lewis said learning communities involve small groups of students who have the same areas of interest for their majors. The students participate in the learning communities by living and taking the same courses together.

Humbles said that depending on a minority student’s major, ISU has good support programs.

A chemical engineering major her freshman year, Humbles participated in a Women In Science and Engineering learning community. In addition to WISE, she said, she also took part in the LEAD program through the College of Engineering, under which minority students have mentors and receive guidance.

“In general I think there’s support for minority students at ISU. You just have to know where to go,” Humbles said.

Bousquet said the Minority Student Affairs Office, the Dean of Students Office and the individual colleges are promoted when recruiting minority students.

One of the programs targeted toward incoming freshmen minority students is Carver Academy, which Humbles and Robert Lewis participated in during the summer before their freshmen years.

In addition, there is also the Early Success Program that helps freshmen minority students adjust to college life by providing students with time-management and study tips.

Love, who is in the EXCEL Program, said he thinks the university does a lot for minority freshmen as far as programs are concerned.

According to Kathy Jones, registrar, the main reasons students leave ISU are because they are falling behind in academics, have inadequate study techniques or are undecided about a major.

Kathleen MacKay, dean of students, said students leave for many reasons. “Some of it is that it isn’t the right place for them,” she said.

In an effort to make ISU the “right place” for minority students, the Task Forces on Undergraduate Education discussed ways to make ISU more culturally-friendly.

One recommendation by the task force was to establish a physical location that would serve as a gathering spot for minority students as well as provide office space for various student organizations. According to the task force, “such a facility would provide a ‘safe haven’ for students sometimes overwhelmed by the homogeneity of Iowa State’s campus.”

Turning Morrill Hall into a multi-cultural center has been discussed this year by the university and the Government of the Student Body.

Another recommendation was to create an “Info Center” staffed by Cyclone Aides. The center would be acquainted with services that suit the needs of special student populations, such as places to get ethnic foods.

Homesickness is another factor that affects minority students’ adjustment to ISU.

Gene Deisinger, assistant director of clinical services at the Student Counseling Service, said the first part of the year is usually when counselors see the most students who come in because of homesickness.

“We see a fair number of people early on in the year that think about dropping out, but don’t actually do,” Deisinger said.

Some of the most common things missed by minority students who come to ISU from more diversified environments are music, food and services such as hair salons.

“There’s certain things at home I miss, like some types of music and seafood,” Robert Lewis said. “Home is just different from up here.”

Warren Madden, vice president for business and finance, said his department is trying to meet the needs of minority students. He said the university is currently looking into providing a wider array of ethnic books in the University Bookstore and around campus.

Madden said he receives a report of a variety of goods and services preferred by minorities. “We’re now trying to see if that addresses the major interests of people,” he said.

The university also has taken action to involve the Ames Chamber of Commerce to work with the university to help increase diversity training, Madden said.

Whether it’s food products or access to services from haircuts to cosmetics, Madden said the purpose of making them available is to make it more convenient and accessible for minority students.

“Our hope is that it will make Ames a community that [minorities] can live comfortably in,” Madden said.

A barber shop and radio station for African Americans are just some of the things Robert Lewis said he’d like to see in Ames.

Love said he’d like more stores to stay open later at night. “There’s only a few things that close in New Orleans before 2 a.m.,” he said.

But getting things changed will be a challenge, Madden said.

“You have to have goods and services for minorities to stay, and you have to have a certain amount of minorities to create those goods and services,” he said. “It’s kind of a chicken and egg dilemma.”