Fewer minority students have applied to Penn State than at this time last year, according to recent estimates from the admissions office.

Some university administrators, however, say that the figures can be explained and that the gap might disappear as time progresses.

At the Jan. 29 University Faculty Senate meeting, Rodney Erickson, university vice president and provost, reported that applications from African-American students were down 15 percent at the time.

The gap is closing, said Ed Escalet, director of minority admissions. Escalet said the larger gap seen around the time of the Faculty Senate meeting has narrowed as time progressed.

As of yesterday, the gap in overall minority applications was at about 6 percent, and the gap in African-American applicants was about 10 percent.

"My prediction is that we may end up a couple of percentage points behind, but nothing significant," Escalet said.

Speculated reasons for the dip include the economic recession and last spring's death threat letters sent to a black student leader, which sparked a campus protest.

Joseph Selden, College of Communications assistant dean for multicultural affairs, works to recruit and retain minority students and acts as an adviser. He said during "phone-a-thons," in which Penn State students call prospective students, the concerns brought up most often were the economy and the death threats received by the Black Caucus president last spring.

Selden said the biggest concern of minority students is tuition, which is predicted to increase drastically if the state cuts the university's appropriations.

"When times are tough in terms of the economy, I think it hits the minority community even harder," he said.

Selden said some university employees might shy away from citing the events of last spring as a deterrent to applicants.

"If we say it's the racial incident, it may add fuel to the fire," he said.

Eric Pierce (sophomore-film and video) has helped with the "phone-a-thons." He tells prospective students racism can exist anywhere, and Penn State students have solidarity in support of victims of racial intolerance, as shown by the protests last spring.

"If something were to happen, you can be sure that you are going to have the rest of the student body to support you," he said.

Selden said that when prospective minority students visit campus in the spring, he hopes they will gain a sense of the community's commitment to diversity and safety.

The best way to recruit minority students would be a large-scale advertising campaign showcasing the diverse nature of the university, Selden said.

"It's just that thing (last spring's death threats) I think that has put a black eye on Penn State," he said. "That's really out of Penn State's control, because we still don't know who did it."

Escalet said a prior statistical bubble might also be the cause of this year's dip. A rumored school strike in Philadelphia last year caused many guidance counselors in that area to send in applications earlier than usual.

"Last year there was such a spike early on that what we could be seeing is a return to a normal time frame," he said.

Orain Walters was an accounting major at Penn State, but he transferred to Drexel University after last spring because he felt the university was not doing enough for him as a black student.

"I'm just tired of looking over my shoulder," he said. "I'm there to learn."

Walters, who studied at Penn State Abington before coming to University Park, said he only experienced discomfort because of his race at University Park campus. He said some classmates did not respect his opinion and he was afraid of getting death threats himself.

"Basically, the classmate thinks you're really stupid if you're African American, like your opinion doesn't count," he said.

David Davis, secretary of Black Caucus, was in his first year at Penn State when the racial incidents occurred. He was deeply involved in a student protest in the HUB-Robeson Center called the Village.

"It was not what I expected Penn State to be like," Davis said. "I expected 'Happy Valley' to be just that."

Davis said he would honestly tell prospective minority students about Penn State's past racial climate and let the students decide for themselves to attend.

"I think that no matter where we go, we're going to find racism or some act of discrimination or intolerance," Davis said. "It's there lurking in every corner."