University Studies 114C: Ways of Knowing in the Social Sciences
Jessica Pham, Yunas Jawed, Elizabeth Phan, Hoang Nguyen
October 19, 2011 Group Report on Higher Education in Oregon
Starting in the late 1900s, enrollment in colleges has increased due to other ethnic races besides Whites. American universities are forming a melting pot that incorporates all ethnic groups. Jobs now have higher expectations for their employees and will hire those with more education than those without any. Historically high levels of unemployment....appear to have served as a stimulant to college enrollment (Fry, 2009). When it is required to have more education to get a job in the market, people are more motivated to get a degree. Education is especially important to groups such as Hispanics, Native Americans, African Americans and Asians, because they are minorities and are classified with little potential and are discriminated against. College enrollments have been rising steadily for Hispanics over the past couple centuries. There are many reasons why the growth has increased greater than usual in recent years. Increasing Hispanic college enrollment can be attributed to rising Hispanic high school graduation rates, rising enrollment among college-eligible youth, and the 7 percent growth in the overall Hispanic population. There has been an increase in the population of young Hispanics. This would then enable more young Hispanics to attend college and add to the number of enrolled students. To attend college, a high school diploma is preferred and so in recent years, the high school graduation rates of Hispanics have grown so their eligibility to attend a college has also risen. After interviewing Daniel Crane, a member of the Black Feet tribe of the Browning Reservation in Montana, I have come up with a few ideas as to why there has been numbers of Native Americans attending school. Increase in college enrollment for Native Americans for the period from 1989-2011 is due to lack of quality careers and employment on reservations. Native Americans lack education for the careers they are seeking in the reservations. They are not educated enough to fulfill the job requirements and hence they are enrolling in colleges to better their career future. Also better education means that they will be more competition with others who are looking for high paying jobs. Enrollment for Native Americans has also increased due to grants and scholarships which are available for minority students. Funds are available to them when they qualify and hence achieve goals for future careers. For many years African Americans have fought for equality in schools and colleges; however college enrollment for African American has only been slowly increasing. So why hasnt the enrollment of African American increase at a higher rate? According to Doctor Boyce Watkinss interview with CNN, colleges and university are not hiring enough qualified African American professors to teach. The reason behind this is that Doctor Boyce Watkins insists that many African Americans students do not have a potential role model to follow. Not only has there been lack of higher education role model for the black community, but there also arises many obstacles in the black community. According to Nikole Hannah-Jones, of the Oregonian, study reveals a community that falls near or at the bottom of almost every quality of life indicator in the state, including infant mortality, high school graduation, and proximity to environmental toxins, incarceration and poverty rates. With a community in such chaos it remains difficult for many young African American to pursue a college education. With the increasing tuition and decreasing college funding many African-American simply cannot afford college. In the mid-20th century, many Asian countries dealt with conflicts with the government. China was ruled by Mao Zedong, the government would change to communism, and soon would Vietnam change as well to communism. Those who did not agree with the government could no longer live there, therefore many fled to America. At that time, America would recently open up again to immigration. The Immigration Act of 1965 permitted residents of the Asia Pacific Triangle to enter the United States as quota immigrants, which resulted in heavy emigrations from Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Indochina. From Southeast Asia came about 130,000 refugees after the Vietnam War ended in 1975, and five years later the number increased to more than 560,000. Because many Asian immigrants came around the 1970s, their children grew up and would be around the appropriate age to go to college around 1990s-2000. Asian Americans population increased greatly in school. Many are strongly influenced by the ancient legacy of their parents, whose traditions emphasize family solidarity, discipline, hard work, and schooling. Asian-Americans are outstandingly successful and the reason why is from their old- world ethics from their parents, who had to work hard to fit in and find a career in America with little English. The reason for the increase in enrollment in universities varies for each minority. Overall, minorities have a harder time enrolling in college because they are discriminated against. Economist Gary Becker says that discrimination against minorities may cause them to underinvest in education and training. However, in recent years there has been an increase in college enrollment. More opportunities are given to minorities and favor them into attending school so that there will be a more diverse workforce and society. Works Cited Fr y, Ri char d. "Pew Res ear ch Cent er . " Hi s pani c Col l ege Enr ol l ment Spi kes . Pew Res ear ch Cent er , Thur s day, Augus t 25, 2011. Web. 19 Oct 2011. <ht t ps : / / docs . googl e. com/ vi ewer ? a=v&q=cache: j cT7f _U1gEUJ : pewhi s p ani c. or g/ f i l es / r epor t s / 146. pdf r eas ons f or hi s pani c enr ol l ment i n col l eges &hl =en&gl =us &pi d=bl &s r ci d=ADGEESj hzPz AUbI Yf j K7g4I 3XS VRZs 3V4GbqRL9v02O0dWUvad_z8cggFoL9YPhu6vi Fl hW7SuFs UTl uj M _0PRi Xwy00Ryn_l U14aXqq5OUNCs es 2FgU76i er L7J I mI l t yo2i SHa - 9j j &s i g=AHI Et bSf XnC84z hr I 8ZEvQVO6Ny- M3EOMw>. Hannah-Jones, Nikole. "State of black Oregon: precarious." Oregonian Saturday, July 25, 2009, 10:00 AM. 1. oregonlive. Web. 18 Oct 2011. <http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2009/07/for_oregons_blacks_miseries_mu.ht ml Lauer man, J ohn . "Bl oomber g. " Hi s pani c Gai ns Pus h U. S. Col l ege Enr ol l ment . Bl oomber g LP, Aug 25, 2011 9: 00 AM PT . 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