ATLANTA - The percentage of black students at three of Georgia's most prestigious public colleges continues to shrink, according to the latest enrollment data from the University System of Georgia.

The statistics show that blacks made up a smaller percentage at the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech and the Medical College of Georgia in 1999 than they did five years ago.

"It's deplorable," said Senate Majority Leader Charles Walker, D-Augusta, the state's highest-ranking black legislator. "Our society must make some fundamental decisions about diversity. Can we afford to revert back to a segregated society where access to a top university education will be restricted to the elite?"

U.S. District Judge Avant Edenfield ruled last week that UGA could no longer use race as a consideration in some enrollment decisions. But UGA's black enrollment was in decline long before the ruling.

The number of blacks enrolled at Tech increased, but not as fast as the overall student body. At UGA and the medical college, both the number of black students and the percentage declined.

The UGA student body last fall was only 5.9 percent black, a slight decrease from 1994. Georgia Tech was 8.5 percent black last fall, down slightly from 1994.

The medical college had more black students 15 years ago than it did last fall (6.6 percent).

Blacks make up more than 27 percent of the state population.

UGA spokesman Tom Jackson said the school's increased selectivity, and the small pool of black students who meet the university's standards, are the main reason for the campus' stagnant black enrollment.

Jackson said fewer than 300 black high school graduates in Georgia each year score 1,200 or higher out of a possible 1,600 on the SAT. The average SAT for entering freshmen at UGA this fall is expected to be about 1,200.

Why is Black student enrollment falling at Georgia's 3 most prestigious schools?

Is it because Georgia is "reverting back to a segregated society where access to a top university education will be restricted to the elite"?

Is the real issue here that "our society must make some fundamental decisions about diversity"?

Or, are "the school's (UGA) increased selectivity and the small pool of black students who meet the university's standards the main reasons for the campus' stagnant black enrollment"?