Since student attitudes and motivations are a major source of intergroup conflict and tension, understanding these attitudes can provide us with strong inferential
information about the nature of the campus atmosphere. This atmosphere, of course, is an important part of the setting in which ethnoviolence and sexual harassment
takes place. Therefore, we asked a series of questions to determine students' perceptions and attitudes regarding intergroup relations and discrimination.

Frequency of Contact

We asked students, "Do you come into contact on campus -- outside of class -- with people of other races and ethnic groups very often, fairly often, once in
a while, or hardly ever?". The data in Table 6.1 show that intergroup interaction is fairly common. More than three-fourths of the respondents reported that they
interacted with other racial and ethnic groups very often or fairly often. The different racial and ethnic groups showed similar interaction patterns. Hence, groups are
not physically isolated from one another.

Social Distance

In order to determine how comfortable students were with intergroup contact, we asked four questions:

Would you feel comfortable or uneasy in the following situations:

Working on a class project with someone of a different race?

Visiting someone of a different race at his/her home?

Being roommates with someone of a different race?

Dating someone of a different race?

The data in Table 6.2 show that the comfort level decreased as the intimacy of the social interaction increased. This is consistent with the past research on social
distance. The majority of respondents said that they were comfortable in all situations except dating.

We then constructed a social distance index by giving a respondent a score of 1 if they were comfortable in a particular situation and a score of 0 of they were
uncomfortable or if they were not sure. The index ranges from 0 - 4 with a score of 4 indicating that respondents were comfortable in all four situations and a score
of 0 indicating that they were not comfortable in any situation. The data in Table 6.3 show that 70% of the students said that they felt comfortable in 3 or 4 of the
situations, compared to the 15% who said they only felt comfortable in 1 situation or didn't feel comfortable in any.

Next, we compared the social distance index scores for the four major race/ethnic groups in the sample. The patterns are similar (i.e., non-significant) for the four
major groups. Social distance scores did not differ for any of the other background variables either.

These data point to a basic, if limited, openness among UMBC students.


Perceptions of Discrimination on Campus

We then asked students the following question: Do you believe that racial and ethnic discrimination on campus is still a problem or that discrimination is no
longer a problem? The data in Table 6.4 show that over half of the students think campus discrimination is still a problem, with only one-eighth saying it is not a
problem. A large minority of students (over one-third) said they were not sure of the answer.

The race/ethnic breakdown of this question shows that Blacks are the most likely of all groups (75%) to see campus discrimination as a problem. The percentage of
White, Jewish and Asian-American students who saw discrimination as a problem were clustered together and ranged from 47% to 55%. The latter three groups
also had high percentages of "don't know" responses.

There are two main conclusions from these data. First, most students believe that discrimination still exists at UMBC, while a large segment is unsure. Second, Black
students are much more likely than other groups to believe that discrimination exists. Hence, UMBC students do not perceive the campus atmosphere to be
egalitarian. We will explore the implications of these findings in Chapter 8.

Perception of Life Chances

Students were asked to indicate their perceptions of the discrimination against African-Americans off campus with the following question: "Compared to the
average White graduate of this university, do you think Black graduates are about as well off, less well off, or better off with respect to the following:
employment opportunities, housing opportunities, and treatment in the legal system?" (This was asked as three separate questions.) With regard to
employment, 47% of the respondents said that Black graduates were as well or better off than White graduates, while only 32% said that Blacks were less well off
(Table 6.5). The same pattern existed when respondents were asked about housing discrimination. In terms of the legal system, however, the pattern was reversed:
almost half of the students said that Black graduates were worse off than Whites while 31% said that Blacks were as well or better off.

We created a Perception of Discrimination Index by combining the three questions. For each question, the respondent received a "1" for saying that Black graduates
were less well off and a "0" for other responses. The index ranged from 0 - 3. Respondents who said that Blacks were less well off in employment, housing and
criminal justice received a score of 3. Respondents who didn't say that Blacks were less well off in any of the situations received a score of 0.

The data in Table 6.6 show that almost one out of five students (19.6%) believe that Black graduates are worse off in all three situations; that is, they perceived high
discrimination. The largest group of respondents (44.4%) received a score of 0 which meant that they didn't believe that Black graduates are worse off in any of the
situations; that is, they perceive little if any discrimination against Black graduates off campus. By a two to one margin, UMBC students believe blacks will not face
serious discrimination after they graduate.

We then looked at the distribution of the Perception of Discrimination Index by race/ethnic group. The overwhelming finding is that only Blacks perceived substantial
discrimination against Black graduates (Table 6.6). Over half of Blacks received a score of 3, meaning that they believed Blacks were discriminated against in all
three situations. The percentage of other groups receiving a score of 3 ranged from 12.5 - 20.6%. On the other hand, only 11.3% of Blacks scored 0 (that is, they
didn't believe that blacks were discriminated against in any situation). Between 38.1 - 51.1% of the other groups scored 0. None of our other background variables
showed any differences in perceptions of discrimination.

Clearly, Black students and non-Black students do not share the same perceptions of discrimination in employment, housing and justice. Most Black students believe
they will face discrimination in a variety of areas upon graduation, while most other students believe that blacks will face little if any discrimination.

In the 1987 study, we asked a question that was quite similar to the one on black employment: Do you think that Black graduates of UMBC have as good a
chance as White graduates to get a job of their choice? Or do you think that White students have a better chance or that Black students have a better
chance? Since we did not give the 1987 students a chance to say "Don't know," we recalculated the 1995 percentages after excluding the "Don't know" responses.
The data appear in Table 6.7

For the sample as a whole, there is an increase in the proportion of students from 1987 to 1995 who see black graduates as having better employment chances than
whites and a decline in students who see blacks has having fewer or equal employment chances to whites (Table 6.7) Most of that difference appears to be
accounted for by Asian-American and white students. Once again, these data have strong implications for intergroup education and will be discussed in Chapter 8.

Perceptions of Intergroup Relations

Students were asked, "Do you think that the relations of people of different races, religions and national backgrounds in the country today are generally
good or generally bad?" The data in Table 6.8 show that respondents were somewhat more likely to believe that intergroup relations were generally bad (43%)
than good (37%). Twenty percent were "not sure." Blacks and Jews were more likely than Asian-Americans and Whites to see intergroup relations as generally bad.

Beliefs About Separate-But-Equal

One other question that indirectly examines attitudes about intergroup relations was, "Do you think it is okay to have a country where the races are basically
separate from one another, as long as all groups have equal opportunity?" Of the total sample, 21% agreed that separate but equal was okay, 64% felt it
would be unacceptable, and 15% were not sure. Group differences in response to these questions were small and not statistically significant. One hundred years after
the United States Supreme Court rendered its "separate but equal" decision in the Plessy v. Ferguson case, the number of people who still favor separation, or who
are uncertain about it, is extraordinary.

The data presented in this chapter show a clear perceptual gap between Black students and most others. The data also highlight an ignorance on the part of White
students in their reports of equality or greater advantage of African American college graduates. The available data simply do no support this optimistic view. The
Department of Labor, for example, reports that young Black college graduates had higher unemployment rates than comparable Whites in 1995 (6.8% and 5.4%,
respectively). Similarly, Bureau of the Census reports that the incomes of young Black college graduates are considerably lower than those for young White college
graduates. In 1994, for example, 25-34 year-old White males with a Bachelors Degree who worked year-round and full-time had a median income of $35,450. The
median income for comparable Blacks was $25,499. White women had a median income of $27,804, compared to the Black median of $25,100. (Employment
and Earnings, January 1996; Bureau of Labor Statistics, unpublished data from Table 15).

The tendency to perceive only minimal discrimination against Blacks and differential perceptions of reality between Blacks and non-Blacks is not unique to UMBC
students. For three questions, we were able to make direct comparisons with national studies: the perception of life chances with regard to employment and housing,
and the judgment of whether group relations today were generally good or bad. On all of these questions the responses of UMBC students were virtually
identical to those obtained in the national studies which covered the years 1989, 1992, and 1994. These studies not only provide a marker for assessing the
campus climate, but they also serve as important validity checks for this survey (The Washington Post, 1995; People for the American Way, 1992; Louis Harris
and Associates, 1989).

Summary

Our investigation of intergroup attitudes among UMBC students led to a variety of findings.

Intergroup contact outside of the classroom is common and most students are willing to interact with members of different races in a variety of different situations.

Over half of the students believe that racial/ethnic discrimination is still a problem on campus, with Blacks being the most likely to hold this view.

Groups hold different perceptions about the opportunities that Black graduates face after they leave campus. A majority of Blacks feel that they will face high levels
of discrimination while only a minority of Whites believe that Blacks will face high levels of discrimination.

Students are divided on their beliefs of whether the state of race relations in the country is good or bad. While most reject the separate-but-equal philosophy,
one-fifth approves of it.

These findings show that in spite of the high degree of physical interracial contact, Black students have dramatically different perceptions than White students about
the degree of discrimination that exists on and off campus. These differences form the basis of a strong undercurrent of intergroup tension at UMBC.


Table 6.1 Frequency of Intergroup Contact Reported by UMBC Undergraduates, by Race/Ethnic Group (Percent)
Race/Ethnic Group
Frequency of Contact (Percent)
Very/fairly

Often
Hardly ever/ Once in While
Not Sure
Total
Total Sample (n=886)
77.7%
20.5%
1.8%
100%
African Americans (n=137)
84.7
15.3
0
100
Asian Americans (n=71)
85.9
8.4
5.7
100
Jews (n=33)
78.8
18.2
3.0
100
Whites (n=557)
75.0
23.7
1.3
100

Note: Students were asked: Do you come into contact on campus -- outside of class -- with people of other races and ethnic groups very often, fairly often,
once in a while, or hardly ever.



Table 6.2 Responses to Four Social Distance Questions Involving Different Situations of Intergroup Contact
Type of Situation
Response to Situation (Percent)
Comfortable
Uncomfortable
Not Sure
Total
Participate in Class Project (n=892)
94.2%
2.0%
3.8%
100%
Visit Someone's Home

(n=890)
83.4
7.5
9.1
100
Be Roommates (n=890)
72.9
12.5
14.6
100
Date (n=885)
46.4
31.3
22.3
100

Table 6.3 Index of Social Distance by Race/Ethnic Group and Year in School
Race/Ethnic Group

Year in School
Social Distance Index
0,1

(High Distance)
2
3,4

(Low Distance)
Total
Total Sample
14.9%
14.8%
70.3%
100%
African American
18.4
22.4
59.2
100
Asian American
24.2
20.6
55.2
100
Jewish
23.5
23.5
53.0
100
White
13.4
14.4
72.2
100

A score of 0 or 1 (high social distance) means that the respondent would not feel comfortable in any of the four situations of intergroup contact or would only feel
comfortable in 1 situation. A score of 3 or 4 means that the respondent would feel comfortable in 3 or four of the situations.




Table 6.4 Responses to Perceptions of Discrimination on Campus by Race/Ethnic Group
Race/Ethnic Group
Response to Question (Percent)
Still Problem
Not Problem
Not Sure
Total
Total Sample
51.9%
12.3%
35.8%
100%
African American
75.2
4.4
20.4
100
Asian American
47.9
9.8
42.3
100
Jewish
54.6
12.1
33.3
100
White
46.7
14.6
38.7
100

Note: Students were asked: Do you believe that racial and ethnic discrimination on campus is still a problem or that discrimination is no longer a problem?

Table 6.5 Responses to Questions About Life Chances of Black UMBC Graduates in Three Different Areas

Area
Percent Reporting
Blacks Better

Off
Blacks As

Well Off
Blacks Less

Well Off
Not Sure
Totals
Employment
16.6
30.7
31.9
20.8
100
Housing
5.0
39.8
31.8
23.4
100
Legal System
7.2
23.7
48.8
20.3
100

Table 6.6 Responses on Perceptions of Black Discrimination Index by Race/Ethnic Group

Race/Ethnic Group
Score on Perception of Black Discrimination Index (Percent)
0

(Low Dis-

crimination)
1, 2
3

(High Dis-

crimination)
Total
Total Sample
44.4%
36.0%
19.6%
100%
African Americans
11.3
35.9
52.8
100
Asian Americans
45.8
37.5
16.7
100
Jewish
38.2
41.2
20.6
100
Whites
51.1
36.4
12.5
100

A score of 0 means that the respondent did not perceive black graduates being worse off than white graduates in any of the three areas (employment, housing, legal
system); i.e., they perceived low levels of discrimination against black graduates. A score of 3 means that the respondent perceived blacks as being worse off than
whites in all three areas; i.e., they perceived high levels of discrimination against black graduates.



Table 6.7 Perceptions of Employment Chances of Black and White Graduates for the 1987 and 1995 UMBC Samples by Race/Ethnic Group
Race/Ethnic Group
Employment Chances of Blacks Relative to Whites (Percent)
Sample
Blacks

Better Off
Blacks As Well Off
Blacks Less Well Off
Totals
Total Sample
1987
7.6%
44.3%
48.1%
100%
1995
21.0
38.7
40.3
100
African Americans
1987
5
17
78
100
1995
3
15
82
100
Asian Americans
1987
0
37
63
100
1995
21
38
41
100
Jewish
1987
4
41
55
100
1995
12
38
50
100
Whites
1987
10
56
34
100
1995
27
44
29
100

Table 6.8 Perceptions of Quality of Intergroup Relations in the United States by Race/Ethnic Group
Race/Ethnic Group
Perceptions of Intergroup Relations
Generally

Good
Generally

Bad
Not Sure
Totals
Total Sample
36.9%
42.8%
20.3%
100%
African Americans
27.3
56.1
16.7
100
Asian Americans
41.2
41.2
17.6
100
Jewish
30.3
54.6
15.2
100
White
37.6
40.2
22.2
100

Students were asked: Do you think that the relations of people of different races, religions and national backgrounds in the country today are generally
good or generally bad?



Table 6.9 Student Belief in Having a Country Where The Races Are Separate But Equal, by Race/Ethnic Group
Race/Ethnic Group
Attitude Toward Separate But Equal
It is OK
It Is Not

Acceptable
Not Sure
Total
Total Sample
20.9%
63.8%
15.3%
100%
African Americans
16.7
68.9
14.4
100
Asian Americans
16.2
67.6
16.2
100
Jewish
27.3
63.6
9.1
100
White
22.3
60.8
16.9
100

Students were asked: Do you think it is okay to have a country where the races are basically separate from one another, as long as all groups have equal
opportunity?