Race Relations On College Campuses

Race relations are the ways in which individuals of different races living together in the same community behave toward one another. This topic directly relates to college campuses that possess students of different cultural and racial backgrounds. Diversity can be a huge benefit to students, as it not only exposes them to new ideas and ways of thinking, but also prepares them for the diverse world. After reviewing various academic articles on race relations in colleges, a study was conducted in which current White and Black/minority male and female students were interviewed about their opinions on Cleveland State’s race relations and diversity on campus.

Cleveland State University, located just outside the heart of the city of Cleveland. It is made up of 55 percent female students and 45 percent male students- this does not include students who identify as transgender or other non-binary genders. Of these students, approximately 27 percent are minorities, of which two-thirds are African American, and more than one-thousand are international students.

Despite its demographic features, Cleveland State University does not have a perfect track record in regards to racial sensitivity.

The university has been accused of racial discrimination in the past. In 2006, Ken “Mouse” McFadden, former Cleveland State University basketball star turned employee, sued the University for firing him. McFadden was hired by the university’s athletic department to be a sales, merchandising and promotions coordinator in 1998 and fired in June 2003. McFadden, an African American man, alleged that his White supervisor replaced him with a White employee and gave the employee assistants, which McFadden was refused to have. The court ruled in McFadden’s favor

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We will discuss the racial tensions on college campuses in comparison to previous research studies conducted on the topic. Students on the Cleveland State University campus participated in an interview for our own study on race relations. This study took account of age, race, year in school and gender, conclusions were based off this collection of data.
Review of Literature
Colleges in the United States are not creating hospitable environments for their minority students. For example, it has been found that Black students have a significantly lower graduation rate than White students at predominantly White institutions (PWIs), a pattern that is not shared with historically Black colleges (Davis et al, 2004). While this problem is not due solely to aspects of the colleges themselves, evidence has shown that adverse environments created on campuses are negatively impacting Black students. For example, Black students often feel that they are automatically assumed to be less proficient in learning environments, forcing them to have to prove themselves before they have done anything to warrant mistrust, (Davis et al, 2004; Means, 2016). This mistrust comes from both professors and students. It can be discouraging for these students, thus creating a hostile learning environment.
Another aspect of campus life that Black students have to go through is assimilation into the dominant, White culture that is entrenched in PWIs in the United States. PWIs are not going to be aware and considerate of the cultural differences that exist. They are having to work against the social order of the campus to have an equally pleasurable campus life to the White students (Cureton, 2003). While being made to assimilate is not an ideal campus experience, because of the visibility of Black students on PWIs, they are still viewed as different. Research shows that alienating experiences are common in Black student’s experiences. Attempts to assimilate can also alienate individuals from other Black students on campus, (Davis et al, 2004).
Racial tensions on campuses can also be much more overt. Black students and faculty have to withstand hate speech and outright racist actions, and on some campuses, this happens on a regular basis, (Carales, 2018; Davis et al, 2004; Reynolds & Mayweather, 2017). These actions have been the central subject of activism among students. Movements such as Concerned Student 1950, which was created in response to anti-semitic vandalism and a racist verbal attack of their student body president, are created so their universities will take action, (Izadi, 2015). Movements within social media are also happening around these incidents. Campuses are embracing the Black Lives Matter movement that came about as a result of the Ferguson shooting, something not initially related to campuses. They are utilizing social media to wield power for change. This style of activism also allows students to create and spread a message that is contrary to the one being reported by mainstream media, (Reynolds & Mayweather, 2017).
One way that we are seeing improvements in campus racial relations can be found in the Contact Theory, which suggests that increased contact with other groups will lower prejudices against those groups, (Martin et al, 2010). It has been found that White students that have contact with Black students through friendships, romantic relationships, campus groups, and roommate assignments have more positive opinions on affirmative action and hold a lower amount of stereotype beliefs, (Fischer, 2011). Contact affects the conceptualization of race, meaning that their ideas about race are coming from contact with Black students and faculty rather than from media and other White people, (Martin et al, 2010).
Campus experiences are not universal in either White or minority students. Through our interviews, we are attempting to see whether experiences on the Cleveland State campus reflect the literature or if differences will be seen.