A race crisis in Los Angeles: UCLA enrolls only 96 African American freshmen this fall.

HERE'S A SITUATION THAT WOULD MAKE UCLA GRADUATE ARTHUR Ashe turn in his grave: Los Angeles County has one of the largest populations of African Americans in the country, yet the University of California, Los Angeles, has the lowest number of African American students enrolling this fall of nine UC campuses.

Out of 12,094 students who received admit offers from UCLA for this fall, 244 were African American (a drop of 36 students from the previous year). Only 96 chose to enroll, down 30 from last year. "We are tremendously concerned about these numbers," says Janina Montero, vice chancellor for Student Affairs. "This time we are experiencing quite a bit of a dip."

State law--specifically Proposition 209, approved by California's residents in 1996--forbids the university from taking race into consideration. Is Prop 209 entirely to blame for UCLA's low numbers? That depends on whom you ask.

Some alumni and members of the African American community believe UCLA--which has enjoyed a skyrocketing profile in recent years--places too much weight on academic rank and test scores, putting students from low-performing high schools at a disadvantage. Ever since the UC system began allowing candidates to apply to more than one campus, UCLA's selectivity has grown; it is now among the more competitive public universities in the country. It is also the most popular, with an applicant pool that swelled by 12 percent this year.

The University of California, Berkeley, is also highly competitive, but it has seen its African American representation grow slightly. Susanna Castillo-Robson, acting associate vice chancellor for Admissions and Enrollment, credits several factors, including outreach to prospective students by Admissions staff and by students on campus. (UCLA engages in similar efforts, including the Early Academic Outreach Program, which cultivates a college-going culture among middle and high school students.)

One difference: At UCLA, separate readers consider the academics and personal achievement/life challenges portions of an application. At Berkeley, one reader examines the entire application. "Outreach and recruitment definitely wouldn't work without a fair and effective way of reviewing applicants," says Castillo-Robson.

A subcommittee of UCLA's Academic Senate, which helps set admissions practices, is looking at UCLA admissions data from the last five years to understand patterns in the criteria used to evaluate applicants. Armed with the data, the subcommittee will go to a full undergraduate admissions committee with recommendations. While UCLA and UC Berkeley are friendly rivals, they may work together to improve processes, too.