Pa° e 4 Section II Portland Observer, September 1,1902
Applications
vary
Dropouts decrease
The num ber o f blacks aged 20
and 21 w ho dropped out o f high
school declined by about 10 percent
age points between 1967 and 1977,
according to the U .S . Census Bur
eau.
HUD funds planning scholarships
The U.S. Department o f Housing
and Urban Development has award*
ed the University o f Oregon $69,320
to fund a program to help 12 minor
ity students obtain higher academic
degrees in community and economic
development fields, H U D Secretary
Samuel R. Pierce Jr. announced to
day.
The University o f Oregon is the
only educational institution in the
Pacific N orthwest to receive such
funding this year. N a tio n a lly , the
H U D C o m m u n ity D evelopm ent
W o rk Study Program w ill enable
276 econom ically-disadvantaged
men and women to spend a full aca
demic year at one o f 54 participating
colleges and universities. The stu
dents will also gain professional ex
perience by w orking to plan, de
velop or administer activities funded
by H U D ’ s C o m m u n ity D evelop
ment Block G rant (C D B G ) or U r
ban D evelopm ent A c tio n G ran t
(U D A G ) programs.
“ Our goal is to enhance the pro
fessional leadership abilities o f these
students, while enriching their un
derstanding o f urban and economic
development programs,” Secretary
Pierce said. “ This is also an oppor
tunity to attract a greater number of
minority men and women to careers
in state or local community and eco
nomic development.”
D r. Dean R unyan, head o f the
University o f Oregon’s Department
o f Plan n in g , P ublic Policy and
Management, called the H U D fund
ing “ crucial to meet the needs o f mi
nority students.” Runyan said the
program “ will really help students
who w ouldn't otherwise be able to
take advantage o f this kind o f edu
catio n al o p p o rtu n ity .” H e noted
that the funds will be used in con
junction with the University’s work-
study program, with the school pro
viding other resources such as coun
seling and adm inistrative support
services.
Men and women will be recruited
for the program throughout Oregon
by the U n iv e rs ity , which success
fully applied to H U D for the educa
tio n a l fu n d . In a d d itio n to their
graduate w o rk, students will com
plete internships with state, area
w ide, local governm ent agency,
Indian tribe or n o n p ro fit/p ro vate
organizations using C D B G or
U D A G funds.
“ This work-study program means
hands-on experience fo r futu re
problem -solvers,” said Stephen J.
Bollinger, H U D Assistant Secretary
for C om m unity Planning and D e
velopment. "T h e students accepted
into this progam will be among the
fu tu re leaders o f th e ir com m u
nities.”
Students will be selected based on
financial need; interest in and com
mitm ent to a career in com munity
developm ent; insight in to lo w -in
come and m inority concerns in ur
ban areas; academic ability and pro
fessional potential. Most will enroll
in graduate programs leading to a
m aster’ s degree, although a few
schools w ill focus on senior-year
students in bachelor degree p ro
grams.
The U niversity o f O regon’s D e
partment o f Planning, Public Policy
and Management offers two degree
program s w ith in the School o f
Architecture and Allied Arts. They
are both graduate programs o ffer
ing m aster’s degrees in U rban and
Regional P lanning, and in Public
Affairs.
Q u a lifie d students interested in
obtaining more inform ation about
these edu catio n al o p p ortu n ities
funded by H U D may contact the
University o f Oregon’s Department
o f Planning, Public Policy and Pub
lic Affairs by calling (503) 686-3635.
H U D funds totalling $1,993,414
w ill be used fo r stipends, tu itio n
support, tu to rin g , books, and an
adm inistrative allowance. M any o f
the participating colleges and uni
versities w ill contribute additional
financial or educational assistance.
At the University o f Oregon, clerical
support, counseling and administra
tive services will be provided in ad
d itio n to the work study program
funded by H U D .
Students who complete the pro
gram will be committed to work, for
a m inim um o f tw o consecutive
years, for a state, local government
or n o n p ro fit agency funded by
C D B G or U D A G funds. Those who
do not complete either the academic
or work component will be required
to repay the educational costs. Stu
dents in two-year graduate degree
programs w ill be sponsored again
next y a r i f funds are available to
HUD.
reaching their senior year at a higher
rate than whites do. M oreover the
jobless rate for non-white youths is
rising steadily. T w e n ty -fiv e years
ago, the rate was 16.5 per cent for
blacks aged 16 to 19; 15 years ago, it
was 24 per cent and this year it was
over 40 per cent.
About 455,000 blacks between the
ages o f 16 and 24 who said they
wanted work, did not Find it.
The Census Report also said more
people in general are in school these
days— including the very young.
The number o f children aged 3 to 4
enrolled in some type o f school has
more than doubled in 10 years, 14
per cent in 1967 to 32 per cent in
1977. Older students arc also show
ing up in greater num bers. The
Bureau said 36 per cent o f all college
students, were age 25 or o lder in
1977, com pared to 28 per cent in
,972. A copy o f the Census Bureau
Report, School Enrollments Social
and Economic Characteristics of
Students, October 1977, series P-20,
No. 333, costs about $3. Order from
the Superintendent o f Documents,
U .S . Governm ent Printing O ffice ,
Washington, D .C . 20402.
A m erica ’ s futu re professionals
are anxiously w a itin g to know if
their applications to m edical, law
and g raduate business schools
across the country have been accept
ed. Competition is so keen that the
In 1967, 35 per cent o f blacks
great m ajority o f the 350,000 appli
aaed 20 adn 21 were dropouts, the
cants w ill not be accepted. U n fo r
aged 20 and 21 were dropouts, the
tunately, a chance detail may swing
Census Bureau reported, but in
the decision the wrong way.
14 per cent. The proportion o f black
Ronald Schiller, who checked on
students enrolled behind their age-
admission procedures in more than
mates declined too. In 1967 about
a score o f campuses across the coun
18 per cent o f black 16- and 17-year-
try, writes in Reader’s Digest. "Less
old students were enrolled at least
than 10 per cent o f the applicants
two years below the grade for their
(constituting about a fifth to one-
age. By 1977, the p ro p o rtio n was
h a lf o f the entering class) w ill be
down 10 per cent. Once black stu
definitely tagged for admission; 50
dents receive high school diplomas,
to 80 per cent w ill be rejected.
they go to college at about the same
Choosing from the remainder who
rate as white students, one out of
have been relegated to the limbo in
every three high school graduates.
between is what gives selectors their
Blacks now account for 11 per cent
worst headaches.”
o f all college students, just slightly
Selection com m ittees are now
below their 13 per cent representa
faced w ith a group o f applicants
tion in the total population. In addi
with similar grades and entrance ex
tion 6 per cent o f all graduate stu
am scores. A t this p o in t, chance
dents are black. The Census Bureau
plays a m ajor role in the m ake-or-
found some evidence, however, that
break decision. According to Schil
blacks drop ou, o f college before
ler, “ Since they are all highly quali
fied, ‘tie-breakers* are looked for—
petty details such as an A-minus in
stead o f an A in a science course, a
less-than-superlative adjective in a
letter o f recommendation, a slightly
more impressive summer job or ex
tra-curricular activity.
Schools also seek in d ivid u als
from various social, economic and
geographic backgrounds, and o f
non-academic interests, to diversify
their student bodies. Schiller writes,
“ A farm boy, say, or a concert
pianist or an Alaskan, stands a bet
ter chance o f admission to a prestige
establishment than a city-bred New
Yorker or a Californian with no un
usual talents.” C om pounding this
process is the fact that no two
schools fo llo w the exact same
evaluation procedure.
The process appears haphazard,
especially to prospective students,
but Schiller points out, “ Faulty, in
exact and inconsistent though its
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EMANUEL HOSPITAL
2801 N. Gantenbcin Axe.
Portland, Oregon 97227
7«
Donny A dair
280-3963
Faye M eske
280-4164
Evelyn W illiam s 280-4164
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