Racial Climate Survey
Dublin Core
Title
Racial Climate Survey
Subject
Investigation of student feelings regarding racial climate at the College in the mid-1990s.
Description
Partial Transcription from 1994 article Racial Climate Survey:
“Students overwhelmingly dislike self-segregation and that shows a willingness to integrate,” Goddard said. “One hundred percent of the African American respondants [respondents] to the survey said that African Americans self-segregate. Yet, 78 percent of those same African Americans say they do not self-segregate personally. There is obviously a disjunction there.”
Associate Dean for Multicultural Student Affairs Carroll Hardy questioned the terminology used by Goddard.
“I commend the students who worked to create this survey,” she said. “But the fact is there are not nearly enough minorities at the College and because of that they may group together, but I don’t call that self-segregation.” According to Hardy, the way to eliminate these racial groupings is increased minority enrollment.
Goddard said the College should be pleased with its work towards improving diversity and tolerance.
“We are addressing the issues of racial relations,” Goddard said. “We should celebrate, but not rest upon our achievements.”
Some members of the committee felt Goddard had not addressed some of the more difficult issues of the racial assessment. “I don’t think any student committee will be productive if its objective is simply to appease the Board of Visitors,” Sunjeet Singh Randhawe, a member of the committee, said. “There is a problem here and it needs to be addressed.” Goddard concluded her comments to the BOV by outlining four recommendations for improvement:
Increase reflection on social patterns.
Encourage expansion of cultural knowledge/interaction during freshman year.
Increase efforts to welcome/recruit all minorities. Specifically add to current efforts to reach Hispanic community.
Provide more individual [one-on-one] programming.
“Students overwhelmingly dislike self-segregation and that shows a willingness to integrate,” Goddard said. “One hundred percent of the African American respondants [respondents] to the survey said that African Americans self-segregate. Yet, 78 percent of those same African Americans say they do not self-segregate personally. There is obviously a disjunction there.”
Associate Dean for Multicultural Student Affairs Carroll Hardy questioned the terminology used by Goddard.
“I commend the students who worked to create this survey,” she said. “But the fact is there are not nearly enough minorities at the College and because of that they may group together, but I don’t call that self-segregation.” According to Hardy, the way to eliminate these racial groupings is increased minority enrollment.
Goddard said the College should be pleased with its work towards improving diversity and tolerance.
“We are addressing the issues of racial relations,” Goddard said. “We should celebrate, but not rest upon our achievements.”
Some members of the committee felt Goddard had not addressed some of the more difficult issues of the racial assessment. “I don’t think any student committee will be productive if its objective is simply to appease the Board of Visitors,” Sunjeet Singh Randhawe, a member of the committee, said. “There is a problem here and it needs to be addressed.” Goddard concluded her comments to the BOV by outlining four recommendations for improvement:
Increase reflection on social patterns.
Encourage expansion of cultural knowledge/interaction during freshman year.
Increase efforts to welcome/recruit all minorities. Specifically add to current efforts to reach Hispanic community.
Provide more individual [one-on-one] programming.
Creator
Swem Special Collections
Source
Flat Hat Vol. 83, No. 25
Publisher
William and Mary Flat Hat
Date
April 29th, 1994
Contributor
Brendan Boylan, metadata and transcription
Format
Article, survey
Type
Article
Files
Citation
Swem Special Collections, “Racial Climate Survey,” The Lemon Project, accessed April 18, 2024, https://lemonlab.wm.edu/items/show/157.