Study on Ethnicity and Race Released

By Alana Folen

Photo by: Stacy Stout (Click to enlarge)

A recent study concluded that much can be done to improve and promote the awareness of ethnic and racial acceptance on campus.

The University of Hawai'i at Manoa has a unique ethnically and racially diverse campus community with no group constituting more than 40 percent of the student population. Unlike 90 percent of the mainland campuses, its majority is not Caucasian. "Ninety percent [of students] were comfortable with campus climate overall, 14 percent experienced harassment, 30 percent observed harassment, and 75 percent were satisfied with their college experience," said Dr. Anna Ah Sam, who helped conduct the research for the Office of Student Equity, Excellence, and Diversity (SEED).
Survey participants were selected at random from the undergraduate population, but excluded freshmen and international students.

"We made specific efforts to stratify the groups," Ah Sam said. Stratified random sampling ensured an adequate number of racially and ethnically underrepresented students in the study. Six different groups were surveyed for this study:
African American
Caucasian
Filipino
Japanese
Native Hawaiian
Pacific Islander

Out of 1,279 students sampled, a total of 365 surveys were returned, and 35 students agreed to participate in the follow-up focus group study. Students were asked two questions: what were their experiences and actions toward diversity issues, and how can diversity be improved on campus. There were four subscales to the survey: personal experience of diversity, perception of campus climate, institutional actions and satisfaction with college.

Survey Results

graphic by: Stacy Stout (Click to enlarge)

One research result that Ah Sam said surprised her was the "disconnect students felt with their professors." The study found that forms of this disconnect include racial differences, where Caucasian students felt a racial disconnect with non-Caucasian faculty and vice versa.
Students said they were less likely to participate in class when they felt their views conflicted with that of the professor.
"Many students felt they weren't able to share how they really felt because it wasn't along the lines of their professor," Ah Sam said.

Group Differences

Despite consensus on these points, the study also found differences among the groups existed when observing their experiences with diversity.
"African American students, despite being severely underrepresented, are generally comfortable with the racial climate," Ah Sam said, but added that African American students experienced being ignored, stared at, racially profiled, and receiving the most stereotypes.
According to Ah Sam, the Filipino group was not only sensitive to the stereotypes made about them, but was aware of the intra-group differences. The Native Hawaiian focus group was aware of the racial remarks made against them, and were most aware of the socioeconomic class difference between them and other ethnic groups.
Students in the Caucasian group said they experienced harassment similar to the Native Hawaiian and Filipino focus groups in terms of receiving negative racial remarks. However, within that focus group the "non-local Caucasian students feel like a 'minority,'" Ah Sam said.

According to Ah Sam, Japanese students represent a large number of the undergraduate population on campus, and their group was generally satisfied with diversity. "They observed the most instances of harassment, but reported no experience of it," Ah Sam said.
Students of the Pacific Islander group said they expect to feel like a "minority" and are skilled in relating to others, she said. "Pacific islanders blend with the local population," Ah Sam said, "because of that, they are unaware of the harassment."

Photo courtesy of www.outreach.hawaii.edu

Supporting Diversity

Providing additional support for diversity in many facets of UH-Manoa policies and programs is essential to maintaining educational excellence while also providing equal access and opportunities to students, the study recommended.
To improve the campus climate in terms of diversity, students in the study suggested revising and increasing the publicity of available diversity classes, programs and activities. They also recommended providing more optional out-of-classroom cultural events and promoting diversity groups or services on campus.
The students said cultural events would enhance the cultural diversity on campus and would "celebrate diversity, that make people aware of other cultures, and that build more of a college campus pride," according to the study draft report titled "Campus Climate for Diversity: A Study of Undergraduate Students' Perspectives."
Ah Sam noted the words of former University of Michigan President Lee Bollinger. "For our students to better understand the diverse country and world they inhabit, they must be immersed in a campus culture that allows them to study with, argue with and become friends with students who may be different from them. It broadens the mind and the intellect — essential goals of education."

Background Study Highlights

Besides student-faculty disconnect, results from the study also concluded students shared similar thoughts and experiences related to diversity. Highlights from the study include:
* Students across all groups share a similar understanding of the meaning of diversity. "Diversity involves participation, not necessarily representation," Ah Sam said.
* Students across all groups have a high degree of contact with peers who are diverse in age, ethnicity, gender, language, and race, but a low degree of contact with peers with a disability.
* The most common forms of harassment are derogatory remarks and racial/ethnic profiling.
* A disconnect between local and non-local students exists.
*Students' degree of contact with peers who are diverse in religion, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic class varies by ethnic group.