April 6, 1998

The following statement by University of California President Richard C. Atkinson refers to the admission of freshmen to the University of California for fall 1998, the first undergraduate class admitted without the consideration of race, ethnicity, or gender.

Richard C. Atkinson
President, University of California

We knew this would be a year of especially difficult and complex choices in the admission of students to the University of California. The results reported by the Berkeley and Los Angeles campuses are an extreme example of this and a source of great concern for the university, as they should be for all of California.

However, the declines in students admitted from underrepresented minority groups at these two campuses are not representative of admissions for the UC system as a whole and not a true indication of the final outcome of freshman enrollment for next fall on a systemwide basis.

We have just completed one step in the overall process of admitting and enrolling the 1998 freshman class. By late spring, all eligible California high school graduates will be offered a place at one of our campuses and the campuses will welcome them with pride and provide them with the opportunity for a firstrate education.

I strongly encourage all admitted students to attend the University of California. They've earned the right to be here, and they will enrich the UC community by their presence.

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