Erika Wilhite
Published: March 8, 2006
As minority enrollment in U.S. colleges continues to increase, the number of male students enrolling is on the decline. This gender disparity is most evident among African American students.
In 2004, American Council on Education found that only 25 percent of all black men of traditional college age (ages 18 to 24) were seeking a college education, contrasted with 35 percent of black women in the same age group.
Dr. Marshall McLeod, PJC’s director of institutional research and effectiveness, reported statistics for PJC reflect the national trend. According to McLeod, 4,333 of the 26,608 students enrolled at PJC in 2004-2005 were African American, but only 34.7 percent of those students were male.
PJC actively encourages minority enrollment, said Saundra Colville in advising and Career Connection.
“We have outstanding opportunities for this population of students,” Colville said. “[For example], in the Summer D term of each year, we gear up for the Project Challenge Program. This program enrolls 25 to 30 African-American students (primarily males) who would otherwise not have the opportunity to attend college.
“We recruit [them] from area high schools, churches and community organizations [and enroll them] for Summer D term into a College Success class. Their tuition is paid as well as their books and supplies needed. We keep in constant contact with these students [through subsequent] terms to keep abreast of their academic success.”
However, the apparent lack of interest in college among black males might have more to do with their early education than how vigorously they are recruited out of high school.
Kermit Harrison, who teaches philosophy at PJC, believes that the disparity is linked to the early education environment, as far back as primary school; if a student receives inadequate support for “pursuing intellectual activities” early on, then that student is less likely to pursue college.
“People are often tracked for college 10 to 15 years before they get there,” Harrison said. “You need to see what’s going on in elementary schools. Research suggests that if you’re behind in reading in the third grade, you’ll stay that way.”
Latricia Gill-Brown, who teaches history at PJC, agrees that lack of encouragement in schools is an issue, but also believes that parents share the responsibility for motivating their children.
“As a community, we push the girls to succeed, but with the boys we really drop the ball,” Gill-Brown said. “But encouraging them to be successful in academics is so important. They need to know that it doesn’t mean that they’re nerds. That stereotype really has to change – [the idea] that if you’re smart as a black male, you’re a ‘punk’ or you want to be white.
“As parents, we have to begin instilling in them, first of all, their histories – the fact that they come from a people who were once enslaved, but that’s nothing to be ashamed of – and second that academic skills are the ticket to life success.”