Boise State Trying to Bring Diversity to Almost All-White Campus
BOISE, Idaho
Walk across the Boise State University campus, and the diversity you’re most likely to see is a range of ages: White and young, White and middle-age, White and senior.
But Boise State has taken notice, announcing that all new students must take a diversity-focused class as part of their required coursework.
“American students, particularly Idaho students, tend to be monocultural and need to learn about other societies and other languages,” says BSU anthropology professor Bob McCarl. “The whole state suffers from a homogeneity that is not typical of even West Coast states or the rest of the globe.”
Roughly 82 percent of Boise State students are White, says Frank Zang, the school’s spokesman. Seven percent did not report their ethnicity, while 5.7 percent are Hispanic and 2.8 percent are Asian American. Roughly 1.3 percent are Black and 1 percent are American Indian.
The school does show more diversity than Idaho’s population of 1.3 million, which is 91 percent White. Nearly 8 percent of Idaho residents are Hispanic, while Black or Asian residents each make up less than 1 percent of the population. Roughly 1.5 percent are American Indian or Alaska Natives.
