Asian Campus: In California, the proportion of Asian students in the freshman class at several UC campuses dwarfs the Asian population of the state. Though only 12% of the total state population, 46% of the incoming class at Berkeley was Asian this fall, 43% at UC Davis, 43% at UCLA and 56% at UC Irvine. The high percentage of Asian students has made the UC system attractive to many others around the country. However, some critics feel that by shifting to a merit only admission process, blacks and Hispanics will not escape their historically underrepresented status. Representing 7% of the total California population, black students make up less than 5% at all the schools mentioned above. At UCLA this year, only 100 African American students enrolled in the freshman class (out of more than 4,000). (New York Times January 7, 2006 Education Life p.24-27).