With an 82 percent white undergraduate population, UNCW has the third highest white majority and is among the least diverse of 17 state universities in North Carolina, according to statistics from the UNC System.

“We are among the fastest growing universities, and while we’re making progress on diversity, we find ourselves in a situation where the proportion of people from different groups doesn’t grow in tandem with the rapid growth of our campus,” said Dr. Lee Jackson, UNCW Diversity Council chairman.

UNCW recognizes that a diverse community prepares undergraduates for a global job market.

“In the workplace, intolerance is not tolerated,” said Dr. Jose Hernandez, associate provost at the Office for Institutional Diversity and Inclusion.

With the American minority population at 43 percent, the need for a multicultural education is growing, and students feel that the Diversity Council isn’t keeping up. Is diversity at UNCW in short supply?

“It depends on how you define diversity. Ethnicity-wise, we are less diverse,” said UNCW student and Vice President of Multicultural Affairs Quynh Rcom, who also runs the Breaking Down Hate program.

“But diversity has definitely went up in the past year,” Rcom continued. Dr. Hernandez agrees.

“In 2005, minority groups represented about 9.6 percent of students, but 2010 showed a minority group of 13.6 percent,” Hernandez confirmed. He emphasized that his department of 11 full time staff continue to encourage increasing diversity as a whole instead of focusing on race alone.

“We’re more similar than we are different, but it’s those differences that can sometimes create conflict,” said Hernandez. Currently the provost provides diversity training for 360 UNCW athletes, teaching them what Hernandez calls a broader sense of diversity that will help students learn how to dismantle prejudice.

But the staff and faculty aren’t the only contributors. For example, The Multicultural Student Organization offers a Social Justice Certificate that encourages leadership in diversity education.

“Students come up to me and say ‘I want more!’ because they are beginning to feel represented,” said Hernandez.

Julian Rivera of the UNCW Ritmo Latino Dance Club is among the optimists. As the vice president of the club, he encourages diversity by cheering on students of different races and cultures while they experience the Latin culture through dance.

“Since our world is full of people from different backgrounds, it is very important to allow students to encounter new cultures and the best way is on a college campus,” said Rivera.

In the past century the profile of a southern college student has had to evolve to breach these boundaries. The UNC school system now represents a variety of ethnicities, races, age ranges, sexual orientations, religions, languages and socioeconomic backgrounds. By making diversity a priority, students are given the opportunity to travel the world without leaving campus.

There are three common methods that college universities use to diversify their pool of applicants. Scholarships make it less expensive for disadvantaged minorities to attend, and clubs can make the school feel more inclusive and allow students to discover common bonds. Most importantly, intercultural learning is enhanced when schools offer offering weekly events like lectures and discussions in a safe environment that students feel comfortable in.

According to Emily Bliss, a financial aid counselor, there are 13 scholarships that target diverse students.

“Of all that apply for undergraduate scholarships, only .016 percent of students are awarded,” said Bliss. In total, only 118 scholarships were awarded this year to undergraduates.

UNC Greensboro has established a peer education program called Kaleidoscope that trains students to host open dialogue sessions covering sensitive topics in the absence of faculty. UNC Chapel Hill hosts a pre-orientation to jumpstart communication with minority students. UNC Pembroke offers a blog for their Office of Multicultural and Minority Affairs. Eastern Carolina University offers a mini-grant project that provides funding for ideas to increase diversity proposed by their faculty.