While our counterparts in Ann Arbor are witnessing tempers rise on account of the affirmative action lawsuit concerning their admissions policy, MSU is witnessing historic highs in minority enrollment.

The Office of Affirmative Action, Compliance and Monitoring released its 2001-02 statistics Tuesday, and found that while Native American enrollment decreased 14 percent, Hispanics increased by 8 percent, Asian Pacific Islanders by 6 percent and blacks by 4 percent.

Therefore, we congratulate the MSU admissions department for a job well done, and more kudos can follow depending on how well the university can retain those numbers to incorporate into graduation statistics.

The "historic highs" achieved among enrollment figures concerning black, Asian Pacific Islander and Hispanic freshmen show MSU is committed to increasing diversity on campus.

That fact not only benefits the growing number of minority students who are entering the school, but all Spartans for that matter. We all head to college to learn and gain new insights on topics in the world.

An effective education can be best achieved if only we are offered an environment that contains all flavors of the world. Everyone benefits from diversity on campus.

More congrats are in order for the university for providing such a comforting atmosphere that has helped to make minority students feel welcome.

Now, MSU has to help keep those numbers up that were produced by the admissions department by maintaining them through graduation.

While a great effort is shown through the increased enrollment numbers among minority students, the success of the university's attempt to create a diverse campus will be measured by retention rates.

But the university and especially admissions officials should realize there is always room for improvement. Only in increasing the campaign considerably can the university reach its goal of providing a truly diverse campus.