Rob Shimshock, DCNF

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo announced steps it will take to continue to decrease the percentage of white students on campus, a Tuesday report revealed.

The school’s white student population fell from 63 percent to under 55 percent from 2017 to 2011, but the administration says there “is still much work to do,” according to The College Fix.

Cal Poly SLO wants the school’s proportion of white students to come closer to parity with the state’s percentage, which sits at 39.7 percent.

“To further advance its goals of reflecting the demographics of California and creating a more diverse and inclusive campus community, Cal Poly administration has developed the following Diversity Action Initiatives document,” Cal Poly SLO said.

The school plans on amplifying the the criterion of race in its admission process. It is funding scholarships “aimed at recruiting more African-American and other underrepresented minorities.” The Cal Poly system granted Cal Poly SLO $150,000 “for a cluster hire of up to 10 faculty positions that focus on diversity and inclusion in a variety of scholarly areas throughout the university’s six colleges.” While the Trump administration rescinded race-based admission guidelines earlier in July, Cal Poly SLO has not indicated that it will alter its initiatives.

Cal Poly SLO indicated that its faculty recruitment team would be diversified and that candidates for positions at the school would be required to submit a “diversity statement.” Ambassadors who give prospective students tours of Cal Poly will also be required to undergo a diversity training.

Beyond race, the school plans on diversifying “traditionally male-dominated majors” like STEM, environmental design, and architecture.

Cal Poly did not respond immediately to a request for comment.

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