Andi Murphy, a Navajo and a student at New Mexico Highlands University in Las Vegas,
writes for Reznet about the problems of retaining Native Americans in college. There's not much to do for Indian students in Las Vegas, Murphy writes. "They want to live where the entertainment is," said Teresa Billy, Native American access and retention coordinator at NMHU. (Above, sophomore Vivian Joe.)
In the fall of 2007, there were 106 Native students at NMHU. Beginning in the spring term, there were only 92.
"They transfer because they want to be around where there's a lot more things to do," Billy told Murphy. Another reason: academics. "A lot of students will go to class and not necessarily perform well and they have to transfer home because of resources" such as scholarships and transportation, she said.
