Published: February 2, 2011

Fordham University’s demographics run almost parallel to the demographics of the neighborhood. As of fall 2010, FCLC’s admissions statistics indicate that minorities make up 35.5 percent of the FCLC student population. Hispanics consist of 17.5 percent of the population, while blacks make almost six percent. Twelve percent of the population is Asian, and 0.3 percent is American-Indian or Alaskan.

At the end of last year, the New York Times published an interactive map displaying the population of the country based on statistics gathered from the survey. According to the map, 6,297 residents live in the area surrounding FCLC. The neighborhood runs from 58th to 62nd Street and spans Central Park West to 10th Avenue.  Based on those numbers, the survey found the overall neighborhood population is 69 percent white, 3 percent black, 12 percent Asian and 2 percent other.

The map created by the New York Times displays where each ethnic population lives in the specific neighborhood, based on its Census Tract number.

While FCLC students who live in McMahon Hall are included in the regular census because they live in the halls for a majority of the year, they are not included in this sample for the survey.

Yovi Roa, FCLC ’11, president of the Society of Latinos (SOL), said she’s not surprised by the low representation of ethnic minorities in the neighborhood, and said they are mostly located near the Amsterdam Housing project on 10th Avenue.

“I volunteered at a community fair sponsored by the Amsterdam Houses and the resident make-up was mostly Latinos and African-Americans,” Roa said. She said her volunteer work and her experiences in the neighborhood have demonstrated that there is a small percentage of ethnic groups.

Gab Lentini, FCLC ’14, said her apartment windows face west with a view of the Amsterdam Houses. She said diversity exists, to an extent. “I don’t think it’s large, but it is definitely diverse. There’s a good number of minorities, but it’s not overwhelming.”  She said the neighborhood becomes more ethnically diverse as you walk west.

Amy Wadyka, Gabelli School of Business (GSB) ’11, also said she saw a difference from street to street. Although she is a student at GSB, she lived in McMahon Hall this past summer.

“It’s a diverse area, but it’s not evenly diverse,” Wadyka said. “If you were near Central Park there is much more of a Caucasian, older section of people. Towards the wate, it was more families and younger people, and that was more diverse. It was only a four-block difference, but it still made a huge impact on the different ethnic groups.”

As the president of a minority cultural club on campus, Roa said it can be a challenge to create a dominant presence on campus.

“Many of these students are commuting students and have hectic lives because they have jobs, internships or other responsibilities,” Roa said.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s website, the ACS was created to provide neighborhoods nationwide with up-to-date information about their communities on a yearly basis. It could then be used to help local community services determine how to invest money into the community to better serve residents socially and economically. The survey looks at other factors besides race, including gender, income, families and education, among others.

The Bureau’s website reveals that test surveys have been conducted during random years since 1996, but the program was officially launched in 2010. Instead of surveying each resident as the Census does, the ACS randomly selects three million households per year to participate. The sample used in the recent report is based on statistics from 2005 to 2009.

The results from the decennial 2010 Census were released in December. Beyond the racial components, it also showed a population decrease so large that New York State lost two seats in the House of Representatives. However, New York City’s population increased three percent to ap