I’ve had this discussion before, including with black families that bucked the trend and attended Cal Poly in the 90s. My theory, and they agreed, was that it’s a chicken/egg problem. When black students started joining the college ranks, they did as nearly all students did, white, black or otherwise. They went to schools close to home. At that time (and continuing to this day) SLO county had a very small black population relative to the other areas you cited. Black students don’t go to Cal Poly because black students haven’t gone to Cal Poly. It’s not for lack of trying on the part of the university within the confines of state law. A black student though will still be a significant minority and have to be very comfortable with that. Understandably, few are. Nothing will change until that changes.
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