California IN BRIEF : BERKELEY : Asian Freshmen Outnumber Whites

There are more Asian-American and Asian students than white students in the newest class at UC Berkeley, according to preliminary figures on the 3,375 incoming freshmen. It is the first time in the university’s 124-year history that whites have been outnumbered by another group. Jesus Mena, a university spokesman, said exact figures will not be available for about five weeks. Based on information on students’ applications, 34% of the new freshmen indicated they were Asian-American, Asian or Pacific Islanders, 30% indicated they were white, 20% said they were Hispanic, Latino or Chicano, 8% said they were black or African-American, and about 1% said they were American Indian.