Racism Still Plagues Campus Life

It is now 25 years since federal laws prohibited discrimination at colleges and universities, but still many minority students must reach through the nettles of racism to get what they are due--an equal opportunity for an education.

Although most campuses are integrated, albeit too often at token levels, minority students and white students habitually go their separate ways in classrooms, libraries, cafeterias, campus organizations, parties--and even the cheering sections of sports arenas.

This separateness at thousands of campuses simply reflects what happens in the neighborhoods and schools of American society. The divisiveness also is an outgrowth of a political climate that encouraged racial insensitivity for eight years.

When choosing separate paths, white students are often doing what comes naturally. They may not consciously decide to live in a whites-only world. When choosing where to live, eat and study, minority students often seek a brief oasis in a hostile climate. They congregate with other minorities to bolster themselves against insults or insensitive questions from students and faculty.

Racial tensions also are on the rise at many campuses, including the University of Michigan, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley and Stanford University. Incidents are not uncommon. And, in a major survey at Stanford, released this week, nearly half of the African-American, Latino and American Indian students said they believe that most white students are racially prejudiced.

Although the racial tensions mirror American culture, the academicians must share the blame. They can craft an open and balanced climate where all students can learn, participate and thrive. To do that the Stanford study recommends hiring more minority faculty, doubling the number of minority doctoral candidates and requiring undergrads to take an ethnic studies course. The recommendations should apply across the land.

On most campuses the faculties are barely integrated. Few students attend classes taught by minority professors. The course work also is barely integrated beyond a few separate Afro-American history or Chicano studies classes. Few students take even one class about another facet of American culture. Yet most minority students spend their academic careers engrossed in the dominant white American culture.

Campus life may allow separate worlds, but graduates will eventually compete in a work place reflecting many cultures. Blacks, Latinos and Asians will make up the majority of the population in nearly 20 of the nation’s largest cities by the year 2000. The changing demographics will make integration an unavoidable reality.

The next generation of college-educated Americans can and must be better prepared. A balanced student body, a balanced curriculum and a balanced faculty will provide the best leadership for a balanced nation.