Study Finds Serious Racism Problems at MIT

A two-year study of racism at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has uncovered serious problems, the school said Thursday.

“The report carries a clear and disturbing message: that the environment for living and learning at MIT poses special problems for black students,” MIT President Paul Gray said in a statement released with the study.

Among the recommendations contained in the report were the drafting of new policies on disciplinary responses to racist behavior, strategies by the faculty to help minority-member students deal with feelings of isolation and greater attention to the problems of racism in dormitories and in MIT offices.

The study, based on a telephone survey of 671 blacks who attended the school between 1969 and 1985, said they perceived a “generally negative or hostile environment.” In addition, many said they turned to black groups and societies where they could “create a climate where black people can achieve.”

Some unidentified black students recounted discrimination they encountered, including racial slurs by upper classmen and a suggestion by white instructors that they “go somewhere and do things you people can do.”

More than 40% of respondents described cultural barriers with white students and 15% cited racial incidents involving classmates, according to the report, conducted by the Minority Student Issues Group, headed by Shirley McBay, dean of student affairs.

Although her report quoted blacks as saying they ran into “shocking discriminatory behavior,” McBay said her committee believes “that the situation at MIT is similar to that faced in most predominantly white institutions.”

In an undergraduate student body of 4,443, 194, or 4%, are black; 199, or 4%, are Latino; and 604, or 14%, are Asian-Americans. Sixteen, less than 1%, are American Indians.