April 6, 1998

The following statement by Meredith J. Khachigian 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.

Meredith J. Khachigian
Chairman, Board of Regents, University of California

The decreases in freshman admissions for next fall reported by the Berkeley and UCLA campuses is a cause for concern and it should be a call to action.

The clear message is that all of California, not just UC alone, must work harder to prepare greater numbers of children from all backgrounds to succeed in school and to motivate them to pursue a university education. This can happen only over time. And the effort must begin with families, extend through the school system and engage every segment of society, from individual volunteers and community organizations to private enterprise and the state and federal governments.

As chairman of the Regents, I want to emphasize our commitment to ensure that UC continues to serve California's diverse population in the admission of students to our campuses. This year will we again offer a place at UC to all qualified California high school graduates. We want them to come and we hope, in the years ahead, to welcome more young men and women from all ethnic and economic backgrounds to the university.

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