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An advocacy organization for equal education opportunities called The Education Trust released a study last week which said that Penn State University was one of seven schools that received an F for minority and low-income access to the school. No institution out of each state's most prestigious public universities ranked higher than a B.

These types of studies pop into newspapers and news shows all the time. We can assume that the studies are based on credible and objective research. Although, it's not the studies that are worrisome, it’s the media attention and how they are framed without any real context.

This story was covered in the Harrisburg Patriot-News, as well as several other state newspapers. The headline for Penn State’s student newspaper was “Report: PSU fails minority access.” The Patriot-News’ headline read “Blue and…mostly white.” Although the minority percentage at University Park is low, comparing them to other schools is unfair.

State College is a small borough located in the middle of the state. It’s surrounded by farms, it is home to a large agriculture college and the largest metropolitan area is Harrisburg, which is over 80 miles away. Schools like Ohio State (located in Columbus, OH) and Minnesota (located in Minneapolis) have big city advantages. The study graded both of these schools with a B. Not only are the cities themselves more diverse, but they have more opportunities that a small borough must to work harder for. The newspapers fail to mention that.

Isn’t it possible that a school like Penn State is naturally not as attractive to minority students as more populated, metropolitan cities? Pennsylvania is blessed with three major institutions, an impressive public university system that includes 13 schools that are sprawled across the state, and numerous public and private colleges. Students have a lot of choices in this state and these are some of the issues that need to be addressed in articles that, on the surface, quickly attack the school with the intention to get readers riled up.

If I were a low-income, minority, prospective student this could be a big turn off to see that Pennsylvania's #1 school doesn't want me there. The fact is, that's not true at all. Sure, Penn State might have some work to do, but it's important that people know that the school is working.

It’s interesting that another study, just three years earlier, said that despite Centre County’s 91.4 percent white population, “State College ranked No. 1 in its tier for diversity.” That article also says that in “2002-03, minority enrollment jumped 6 percent, or by 271 people.” The original article allows Penn State’s spokesperson to get a few words in about the schools successes, but why doesn’t anyone mention the fact that Penn State might not be a low-income or a minority student’s dream come true?

Today, Penn State's minority enrollment has jumped up 3 percent since the 2002-03 school year. The school offers a Web site with information and links about the school's diversity plans. The school is trying and it is pobably succeeding, maybe the students just aren't taking the bait. Is it fair that a few schools look bad when other schools have unfair advantages? It'd be nice to have a newspaper article include some of those facts.