Minority enrollment in U.S. colleges has increased 122 percent over 20 years, according to the American Council on Education. But during a similar period at Northwestern, minority enrollment grew by only 43 percent.

In 1987, 18.6 percent of undergraduates on both the Chicago and Evanston campuses identified themselves as minorities, or about 1,359 students on the Evanston Campus, Rebecca Dixon, associate provost for university enrollment, wrote in an e-mail.

In 2002, 24.7 percent, or 1,945 students, gave identifiable ethnic affiliations. This means that over the past 16 years, NU has gained about 586 students who identified themselves as minorities, a 43 percent increase.

But Dixon cautioned against comparing data from these two years because of differences in the way the data were reported in 1987 and 2002.

The 1987 data combined the minority populations of the Evanston and Chicago campuses, while the 2002 data reflect only Evanston. To calculate how many minorities were on the Evanston Campus in 1987, Dixon had to assume the minority percentages were the same on both campuses. Also, in 2002, 8.1 percent of the undergraduates reported mixed ethnicity or did not choose to report any ethnicity, an option unavailable in 1987.

The primary causes for changes in minority enrollment at NU and nationally from 1987 and 2002 still are debated.

Carol Lunkenheimer, dean of undergraduate admissions, said this growth can be attributed to the influence of organizations that want to encourage low-income minority students to stay in school, take college-prep courses and attend college.

“Various philanthropic groups (and) individuals, local school boards and metropolitan and state school system heads and government agencies have been working for years to try and increase the college-going rate among minorities and low-income people,” Lunkenheimer said.

“That’s what Head Start, the Bill (and Melinda) Gates Foundation, the ‘I Have a Dream Foundation’ … are all trying to do,” she added.

Bassel Korkor, Weinberg ’03 and the former president of Middle Eastern Students Association, acknowledged that organizations such as the “I Have a Dream Foundation” have contributed to the increase in college enrollment among minorities. But, he said, they are not the only factors.

Korkor said affirmative action continues to be an essential solution to minority under-enrollment.

“Affirmative action in admissions is great and should continue for at least the next 25 years,” Korkor said. “But other measures can be helpful, including recruitment in minority communities and specialized programs for minorities once they are on campus. When these programs are done well, nothing has to be taken away from non-minority students in order to accomplish these things.”

Others said they believe affirmative action is not the primary cause of increased minority enrollment.

“I actually don’t think it’s because of affirmative action, because (affirmative action) has been curtailed over the years,” said Tim Ahmed, the current president of MESA.

Ahmed, a Weinberg senior, said he believes increased enrollment is the result of “the increased opportunity for minorities to succeed and the increase of affluence of minorities overall.”

Regardless of the cause, this substantial change in collegiate demographics has had a strong influence on many aspects of college life.

Rosa Nguyen, president of Asian American Students United, said she thinks the significant change in diversity on college campuses across the country created a sizeable impact on things less tangible than statistics.

“Different religious and racial backgrounds increase the possible viewpoints in discussions inside and outside of the classroom,” said Nguyen, a Weinberg junior. “It enriches the college experience for all students because they can learn from each other.”

The dramatic increase of minority enrollment in some U.S. universities represents is a trend that many want to continue.

“I think that a lot has been accomplished … but more is necessary,” Ahmed said. “It’ll be great when we get to the point where significant minority enrollment is taken for granted.”