(KRT)-Few students realize that despite Howard University's status as a historically black university, its first graduates, the daughters of founder Oliver Howard, were Caucasian.
Whites comprise only 1 percent of the Howard student body, but they are becoming more noticeable.
Today, while whites make up 77 percent of the country's population, they comprise only 1 percent of the Howard student body, a percentage that seems to many students to be rising.
To maintain its accreditation, a historically black college or university must enroll a certain percentage of students who are listed as races other than black. In effect, these students are aiding the university in holding on to the legacy it has been building since 1867, when it was incorporated.
Still, many might wonder why non-black students chose this particular institution.
"It's better than Hampton," said Micheal Cericola, a freshman biology major who had originally planned to attend Hampton University in Virginia. Cericola said he opted to pursue a career as a doctor and minister at Howard because of the better tuition rate and the opportunity to carry out residencies at the Howard University Hospital."I'm from South Africa, so I've been under black influence all my life," he said, "I've never been the majority, so I'm staying in my comfort zone," continued Cericola, who came to the United States 12 years ago and has been living in Brooklyn, N.Y.
Though Washington, D.C., is known as "Chocolate City" for its high African American population, Cericola said he has had no trouble adapting. "I haven't really been treated any differently. For the most part, I feel I've had a warm welcome," he said.
"Before I got here, I expected that some people would judge me wrong and be unfriendly, but they're friendly and outgoing," said Jillian Johnson, a freshman health, human performance, and leisure studies major. Johnson said he was persuaded to attend Howard because of its prestige.
"I'm happy with the decision, because it was my own," said Johnson, who is from an area of California that is predominantly White, Latino and middle class. She said that the transition "hasn't been a big deal" and that coming here was not a shock because she is used to diversity.But not all non-black students say they are treated the same as their black classmates. This holds true even for students who give only the appearance of a different racial background.
"A lot of people treat me kind of strange, because they think I'm white, but I'm really mixed with black and white. I always joke that whenever I want people to know I'm black, I wear my hair in an Afro," said sophomore Angel Terrier.
"When we got here, a lot of people would say things that just made me laugh," Terrier said. "A friend told me that people used to refer to me as 'the really, really, really light-skinned girl,' because they didn't want to just say 'the white girl.' Nobody ever treated me badly; I could just tell everyone was being careful about what they said."
