"2 Alleged rapes involve alcohol, acquaintances" (State News 9/06) "The Counseling Center assisted 181 victims of sexual assault during 2004-05"... "Only about 30% of the victims who can also be men, report the incident."
When asked whether racial discrimination is experienced by minority students,
66% of Blacks 61 % of Hispanic and 61 % of Asian reported in the affirmative whereas only 41% of whites said yes.
A Jewish student running for student body president, was assaulted with comments such as
"Conservative Zionist Bastard", "Racist", and "I sure hope we don't elect a Jew to office"
"Among those on campus, 20% fear for their physical safety due to their perceived sexual
orientation or gender identity" (National Gay and Lesbian Task Force)
"Sexual Harassment pervades college campuses and injures men as well as women"....
"62 percent of the 2036 students surveyed, said they had experienced some harassment, which the study defined as unwanted and unwelcome sexual behavior that interfere's with one's life" (Chronicle of Higher Education)
American college campuses have really been roiled by a series of controversies. At Columbia University, accusations that professors in the Middle East department belittled and intimidated students for voicing differing viewpoints escalated to the point where an investigative committee was appointed. At Colorado University, ethnic studies professor Ward Churchill ignited national outcry when he likened victims of the World Trade Center attack to Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann. Harvard President Lawrence Summers resigned in no small part because of fallout from his comments about whether intrinsic aptitude helped explain the dearth of women scientists.
These flashpoints were triggered by higher education's repeated struggles over notions of political correctness, tolerance, diversity, academic freedom and community responsibility. But little is known about just how serious these challenges really are. What is the current atmosphere in the nation's college campuses? How pervasive are these incidents? What effect do they have on students and the ethic of dialogue? The following are just a few of many examples of such hate taking place on campuses nationwide.
There is currently no way for students, parents, professors, administrators and boards to judge how the nation's universities are doing on these measures.
The quality of the national debate is simply poor. There is no way to systematically assess concepts as ephemeral as "campus climate" and "atmosphere."
We are conducting a pilot study on three college campuses that will serve as a template to be replicated across the nation. The research at each location will be conducted as follows: background interviews, followed by focus groups with students and a survey of 300-400 students. We anticipate that the results of this pilot study and the communication effort that accompanies it will result in broad-based demand by students, parents and faculty for similar research to be conducted on all major college campuses.
Click here for a report of the findings
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