Campus Diversity
and Student Self-Segregation: Separating
Myths From Facts
Written and researched
by Debra Humphreys, AAC&U, for the Ford
Foundation Campus Diversity Initiative
When students went off
to college this Fall, they entered more
diverse campuses than ever before. For
many students, in fact, their college
community is the most diverse they have
ever encountered. Most students entering
college today come from high schools
that are predominantly or exclusively
one racial or ethnic group. Given this
reality, how are students interacting
with one another educationally and socially
in college? How socially segregated
are college campuses? Is campus diversity
leading to educational benefits for
today’s college students or are
students too separated into enclaves
on campus to benefit from campus diversity?
A survey of the
most recent research suggests that,
indeed, campus diversity is leading
to significant educational and social
benefits for all college students. It
also suggests that, contrary to popular
reports, student self-segregation is
not, in fact, a dominant feature of
campus life today. This paper summarizes
new research on campus diversity and
on the actual extent of student self-segregation
and interaction across racial/ethnic
lines on college campuses today.
This new research is little
known outside of the academic community
and critics have ignored it as they
describe campus life today to reflect
their own political agendas. Critics
of both affirmative action and campus
diversity programs are skeptical about
the educational benefits of campus diversity;
they allege that racial and ethnic self-segregation
among students is widespread and that
it undermines the educational promise
of a genuinely multicultural college
community. In addition, some critics
suggest that campus diversity programs
themselves, including African American
and Ethnic Studies programs, racial/ethnic
student groups, theme houses and dorms,
encourage separation rather than community
and undermine intergroup contact and
the learning that can result from it.
The latest educational
research suggests a very different picture
of campus life.
While the phenomenon does
not appear to be widespread, given the
degree of continuing segregation in
America’s schools and communities,
it isn’t surprising that college
students today do sometimes choose to
live, socialize, or study together with
other students from similar backgrounds.
Contrary to many commentators’
claims, however, research suggests that
this clustering isn’t widespread;
it doesn’t prevent students from
interacting across racial/ethnic lines;
and it may be an essential ingredient
in many students’ persistence and
success in college.
Is student self-segregation
prevalent on today’s diverse college
campuses?
While there are situations
in which college students may cluster
in racial/ethnic groups, research suggests
that there is a high degree of intergroup
contact on college campuses and that
self-segregation by race/ethnicity is
not a dominant feature on diverse college
campuses today.
In a recent study, Anthony
Lising Antonio, assistant professor
of education at Stanford University,
examined the extent to which students
perceive racial balkanization at the
University of California, Los Angeles
(UCLA) and whether their perceptions
reflect the reality of actual close
friendship patterns.1
Compared to many American
colleges and universities, UCLA is a
very diverse campus. When this study
was conducted (between 1994 and 1997),
the undergraduate student body was approximately
40% white, 35% Asian American, 16% Latino,
6% African American, and just over 1%
Native American.
Antonio found that students
at UCLA do, indeed, view their campus
as racially balkanized.
More than 90% of students
in his surveys agreed that students
predominantly cluster by race and
ethnicity on campus. A small majority
(52%) said that students rarely
socialize across racial lines.
Antonio, however, didn’t
stop at just measuring perceptions.
He also calculated the actual racial/ethnic
diversity or homogeneity of close friendship
groups on campus. Antonio categorized
the racial diversity of each student’s
friendship groups as one of the following:
1) Homogenous--the largest racial/ethnic
group makes up 100% of the friendship
group; 2) Predominantly one race/ethnicity--the
largest racial/ethnic group makes up
75-99% of the friendship group; 3) Majority
one race/ethnicity--the largest racial/ethnic
group makes up 51-74% of the friendship
group; and 4) No majority--the largest
racial/ethnic group makes up 50% or
less of the friendship group.
Just 17% of UCLA students,
or about one in six, reported having
friendship groups that were racially
and ethnically homogenous.
Homogenous groups
and those groups with predominantly
one race/ethnicity together account
for about one-quarter of the sample.
The most common friendship
group on campus (46%), however,
was racially and ethnically mixed
with no racial or ethnic group constituting
a majority.
At the level of student
friendship groups, then, racial and
ethnic balkanization is not a dominant,
overall campus characteristic at UCLA.
Several other earlier studies also suggest
a high degree of student interaction
across racial and ethnic lines at campuses
across the country, especially among
students of color.
A 1991 study that examined
patterns of intergroup contact at 390
institutions across the country confirmed
that self-segregation is not a general
pattern among students of color. The
authors of this study examined the frequency
with which students dined, roomed, socialized,
or dated someone from a racial/ethnic
group different from their own.2
Chicano, Asian American,
and African American students reported
widespread and frequent interaction
across race/ethnicity in these informal
situations. White students were
least likely to report engaging
in any of these activities across
race/ethnicity.
Sixty-nine percent
of Asian Americans and 78% of Mexican
American students frequently dined
with someone of a different ethnic
or racial background compared with
55% of African American students
and 21% of white students.
Nearly 42% of Asian
American students reported interracial
or interethnic dating compared with
24% of Mexican Americans, 13% of
African Americans, and 4% of white
students.
What characterizes
student interactions within and across
racial/ethnic lines on campus? Why do
some students cluster by race/ethnicity
on college campuses?
Understanding student
interactions across racial/ethnic lines
requires an appreciation of the influence
of the widespread residential segregation
that characterizes American society.
It also requires an appreciation of
how white American higher education
still is, despite its increasing diversity.
Most students of color who do not attend
historically black colleges or universities
attend overwhelmingly white institutions.
A 1991 study of student
life at Berkeley, an unusually diverse
college campus, describes the experience
of campus life as a complex phenomenon
that encompasses both some student-initiated
racial/ethnic clustering and substantial
amounts of interracial interactions.3
This study also found,
however, that 70% of all undergraduates
agreed with the statement, I’d
like to meet more students from
ethnic and cultural backgrounds
that are different from my own.
A forthcoming book by
Richard Light of Harvard University
also suggests that students from a wide
array of racial/ethnic groups desire
intergroup contact and see the educational
and social benefits of such interactions.
The widespread segregation
by race that still characterizes much
of the rest of American life is, however,
having an impact on how students interact
with one another on college campuses.
A 1997 study at the
University of Michigan found that
students’ friendship patterns
closely reflected the make-ups of
their high schools and home neighborhoods.
This study confirmed that a majority
of all students, but a very high
percentage of white students, came
from highly segregated high schools
and neighborhoods.
The Michigan study
also found that white students had
the most segregated friendship patterns
on campus of all ethnic groups.4
The reality is that students
of color have much more intergroup contact
than do white students, but their patterns
of interaction need to be understood
in light of their psychological development.
Research by psychologist Beverly Daniel
Tatum, Dean of the College at Mt. Holyoke
College, suggests that there are complex
psychological reasons why college students
may choose to cluster in racial/ethnic
groups. She argues that racial grouping
is a developmental process in response
to an environmental stressor, racism.
Joining with one’s peers for support
in the face of stress is a positive
coping strategy. There is a developmental
need on the part of many college students
to explore the meaning of one’s
identity with others who are engaged
in a similar process.5
What difference does
racial/ethnic clustering make when it
does occur?
Recent research, including
Tatum’s and that of others, suggests
that racial/ethnic clustering can be
an important component contributing
to the psychological health and educational
success of many students. Research also
suggests that this clustering need not
prevent students from achieving the
educational benefits of intergroup contact
within college classrooms and on college
campuses.
The 1991 study of 390
institutions cited above found that
ethnic-specific activities were not
impeding intergroup contact for the
students who participated in them. Programs
like racial/ethnic theme houses and
study groups seem to help students of
color persist and succeed in college
and seem to increase their involvement
overall with other areas of college
life in which they interact frequently
across racial/ethnic lines.
Other studies confirm
these findings:
A 1994 study of Latino
students suggests that students
belonging to Latino organizations
increased their adjustment and attachment
to their colleges and universities.6
Two other studies,
one in 1994 and another in 1996,
also found positive benefits of
participation in racial and ethnic
groups and that these groups also
fostered rather than impeded intergroup
contact.7
Another 1989 study
found that a targeted student support
program was positively related to
African American students’
persistence in college and their
degree status.8
Given the relatively
high level of intergroup contact and
the existence of some racial/ethnic
clustering, what is the impact of campus
diversity on today's college students?
Research suggests a variety
of positive educational outcomes that
result from being educated in a diverse
environment. It also suggests a positive
impact for those students with high
degrees of intergroup contact.
Patricia Gurin, professor
of psychology at the University of Michigan,
recently compiled a report summarizing
three parallel empirical analyses of
university students. Her report suggests
that,
A racially and ethnically
diverse university student body
has far-ranging and significant
benefits for all students, non-minorities
and minorities alike. Students learn
better in such an environment and
are better prepared to become active
participants in our pluralistic,
democratic society once they leave
school. In fact, patterns of racial
segregation and separation historically
rooted in our national life can
be broken by diversity experiences
in higher education.
Gurin's research demonstrates
that the diverse environment provided
by many colleges today contributes to
students' intellectual and social development.
She suggests that racial diversity in
a college or university student body
provides the very features that research
has determined are central to producing
the conscious mode of thought educators
demand from their students.
Gurin also found that
these positive effects of campus diversity
extend beyond graduation.
Diversity
experiences during college had impressive
effects on the extent to which graduates
in the national study were living
racially and ethnically integrated
lives in the post-college world.
Students with the most diversity
experiences during college had the
most cross-racial interactions five
years after leaving college.9
The study by Antonio mentioned
above also confirms that campus diversity
is having a positive impact on today’s
college students.
Antonio examined the impact
of the diverse friendship groups he
found to be common at UCLA. Controlling
for important background information
such as gender, socio-economic status,
and the racial diversity of pre-college
friendship groups, Antonio found that
friendship group diversity contributed
to greater interracial interaction outside
the friendship group and stronger commitments
to racial understanding.
Another important arena
of college life, of course, is the classroom.
On diverse campuses, many students are
now being educated in highly diverse
classrooms in which they are studying
a much wider array of subjects that
include content about previously neglected
groups. These classes are also having
a significant positive educational impact
on both majority and minority students
as well.10
Conclusions: Is there
cause for alarm, hope, or celebration?
There is little cause
for alarm, some cause for celebration
and much hope for what lies ahead. The
reality is that while there is still
a long way to go before American higher
education will truly reflect the full
diversity of American society, college
campuses are becoming much more diverse
and their diverse campus environments
are having a significant positive effect
on this generation of students.
College campuses are not
dominated by widespread racial/ethnic
segregation and the racial/ethnic clustering
that does occur isn’t impeding
intergroup contact. In fact, the existence
of racial/ethnic groups and activities,
along with other comprehensive campus
diversity initiatives, is contributing
to the success of today’s college
students and preparing them to help
build a healthier multicultural America
for the future.
Debra Humphreys is
Director of Programs, Office of Education
and Diversity Initiatives, at the Association
of American Colleges and Universities
in Washington, DC. To contact her, call
202/387-3760 or e-mail dh@aacu.nw.dc.us.
Notes
-
Antonio, Anthony Lising,
"Racial
Diversity and Friendship Groups
in College: What The Research Tells
Us," Diversity Digest,
Summer, 1999, (Washington, DC: Association
of American Colleges and Universities,
1999): 6-7.
-
Hurtado, S., Dey,
E., and TreviËo, J., "Exclusion
or Self-Segregation? Interaction
Across Racial/Ethnic Groups on College
Campuses," paper presented
at American Educational Research
Association Conference, New Orleans,
LA, 1994.
-
Duster, Troy, "The
Diversity Project: Final Report,"
Institute for the Study of Social
Change. University of California,
Berkeley, 1991.
-
Matlock, John, "Student
Expectations and Experiences: The
Michigan Study," Diversity
Digest, Summer, 1997, (Washington,
DC: Association of American Colleges
and Universities, 1997): 11.
-
Tatum, Beverly Daniel.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting
Together in the Cafeteria? (New
York: Basic Books, 1997): 62;71.
-
Hurtado, S., and D.F.
Carter, "Latino Students’
Sense of Belonging in the College
Community: Rethinking the Concept
of Integration on Campus,"
paper presented at the annual meeting
of the American Educational Research
Association, New Orleans, LA, 1994.
-
Gilliard, M. D., "Racial
Climate and Institutional Support
Factors Affecting Success in Predominantly
White Institutions: An Examination
of African American and White Student
Experiences," unpublished Ph.D.
dissertation, University of Michigan,
1996; Hurtado, S., Dey, E., and
TreviËo, J., "Exclusion or
Self-Segregation? Interaction Across
Racial/Ethnic Groups on College
Campuses," paper presented
at American Educational Research
Association Conference, New Orleans,
LA, 1994.
-
Trippi, J., and H.E.
Cheatham, "Effects of Special
Counseling Programs for Black Freshman
on a Predominantly White Campus,"
Journal of College Student Development
30, (1989): 35-40.
-
Gurin, Patricia, "New
Research on the Benefits of Diversity
in College and Beyond: An Empirical
Analysis," Diversity
Digest, Spring, 1999, (Washington,
DC: Association of American Colleges
and Universities, 1999): 5/15.
-
For information on
the impact of diversity courses,
see "Diversity and The College
Curriculum," http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/Diversity/
Response/Web/Leadersguide/CT/curriculum_briefing.html.
List of Experts on
Campus Diversity and Student Intergroup
Relations
Anthony Lising Antonio,
Assistant Professor of Education, Stanford
University
650/723-4053; aantonio@leland.stanford.edu
Sylvia Hurtado, Associate
Professor of Education, University of
Michigan
313/747-1647; hurtados@umich.edu
Mitchell Chang, Assistant
Professor, Graduate College of Education,
University of Massachusetts, Boston
617/287-7639; chang@umbsky.cc.umb.edu
Daryl Smith, Professor
of Education and Psychology, Claremont
Graduate University
909/621-8075; daryl.smith@cgu.edu
Beverly Daniel Tatum,
Dean of the College, Mt. Holyoke College
413/538-2481; btatum@mtholyoke.edu
Troy Duster, Professor
of Sociology, New York University
212/998-8377; troy.duster@nyu.edu
Article published in 1999. |
