As part of an ongoing Journey to Success initiative, California State University, Long Beach representatives are working to offer Cambodian population on campus academic support.
CSULB has the highest number of Cambodian students in universities nationwide, University President Jane Close-Conoley said. Interim Associate Vice President of Research at CSULB Simon Kim said there are 700 Cambodian students at CSULB.
“The have a low educational attainment compared to Chinese and Japanese for example,” Conoley said. “So, lumping everybody together is a disservice.”
Kim said that, according to desegregated Cambodian American data, Cambodian Americans have one of the highest high school drop out rates and one of the lowest college access rates. According to a study conducted in 2002 for the Sociological Quarterly, the college graduation rate of Cambodian students in America is 6.9 percent.
“No one talks about that because they’re often seen as Asians,” Kim said. “And Asians are often considered as model minorities and don’t need any academic support.”
Cambodian student and senior kinesiology major, Ryan Ly joined Conoley and Kim in Sacramento last Tuesday to voice CSULB’s concern that the Cambodian demographic at CSULB does not receive enough attention or recognition in the California State University system.
“Cambodians in Long Beach are under-served and under-represented,” Ly said. “A lot of people make of the model minority: Asians are smart, they go to school, they graduate and get degrees. But it’s not true with the Cambodian population; not many of them have access and resources and information to attend college.”
Conoley said the next step for CSULB to help Cambodia students is to ask for an increase in CSU funding so that CSULB can provide services like equal opportunity programs, internships, an increase in advisors and supplemental tutors.
“[Cambodia students] are all smart,” Conoley said. “That’s why they got in, but they certainly come with a background that they need more help.”
Kim said that retention effort for Cambodian students is just as important as access and outreach efforts.
“Bringing students to campus is one thing, but if we don’t provide necessary support services, there’s a very good chance that they’re not going to survive,” Kim said.
The Asian American Pacific Islander Journey to Success Initiative started four years ago, Kim said. As part of the initiative, CSULB began hosting small workshops in the community about college basics to encourage Cambodian students to apply to college, Kim said.
“We’re talking about second-generation Cambodians,” Kim said. “We automatically assume that they don’t have any language issues, but what we found out was that there was a huge number of Cambodian Americans who need remedial English when they come to our campus.”
Kim said the meeting in Sacramento was intended to inform senators and assemblymen about the issue of underrepresentation in the CSU system.
“The outcome is not yet to be determined, but it’s heading in a positive direction,” Ly said. “They’re going to do everything in their power to help.”
Ly said the Asian Pacific Islander Journey to Success plans to continue to do outreach to young Cambodians in the Long Beach community.
“[The assemblymen and senators] did listen, and I think they’re taking it into consideration and they’re going to talk it out,” Ly said.
Great news for Cambodian American, at least they’ve been encouraged by some helpful activities.