Low population disqualifies minority status

Melissa Gonzalez was more than shocked when she learned that if she attended the University of Kentucky, Lexington she was not eligible for a minority scholarship, even though she is a Latino.

Now, as a Penn State student, Gonzalez, president of Latino Caucus, is eligible for diversity scholarships because the University and the commonwealth recognize Latinos as minorities. But in Kentucky, and several other states, this is not the case.

The Kentucky Kernel, the University of Kentucky's student newspaper, reported that Kentucky gives away $3.3 million in scholarships every year. However, the only minority students able to receive this aid are blacks.

Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans and Indian Americans are not recognized as minorities because the minimum percentage of people needed for recognition is too low.

Less than 200,000 Latinos are residents of Kentucky, the Kernel reported, according to the 1990 census. This figure is less than 1 percent of the population.

The idea that Latinos constitute too little of a population to be considered minorities is surprising to many University students.

"In my opinion, a minority is somebody who is underrepresented," Gonzalez said. "Even in a school where there are a good number of minorities represented, minorities are underrepresented."

Gonzalez wondered how the number of Latinos in Kentucky would ever rise if the students could not receive aid, she said.

"If they're never given assistance, the enrollment of these minority students in Kentucky is never going to rise," she said.

Latinos are one of the four groups of minorities Penn State recruits and offers scholarships to, said James Stewart, vice provost for educational equity. Scholarships cannot be granted solely on the basis of ethnic background, he said.

In Fall Semester 1996, Latinos composed the third largest group of minorities at the University Park campus, said Alan Janesch, assistant manager of public information.