In 1994, Kerri Baldwin, a New Jersey high school senior then, had to make a choice about college. The economy was vibrant, the academic options were available, and scholarships were tailored to her needs. She chose the University of Maryland in College Park, an out-of-state school, because it offered what few others could: diversity.
“Although it was a large White institution when I attended 11 years ago, it almost felt like it was an HBCU (Historically Black College or University) because we were so closely connected and lots of outlets for things to do on campus,” said Baldwin, who is African-American. “Maryland was always up there, ranked one of the highest institutions for diversity and that was such a huge factor why my sorority sisters and I enrolled there.”
Baldwin, a self-proclaimed die-hard “Terrapin,” will be married at the university’s chapel next month, making her wedding both a college reunion as well as a tribute to the years spent at the state’s flagship campus. The terrapin, a turtle common to the Atlantic coast, is the University of Maryland-College Park (UMCP) mascot.
But this month, the university’s institutional research office released startling numbers for alumni, students, and even school officials. Among first-year students, African-American students experienced a 28-percent drop in the number of enrollees. The drop is from 539 in 2008 to 387 in 2009, according to UMCP data.
