Since the early 1980s intergroup relations on American college campuses have grown more tense and group conflicts have increased. These conflicts involve race
and ethnic groups as well as sexual harassment and homophobia. In 1986, The National Institute Against Prejudice and Violence turned its focus to
prejudice-motivated violence on campus, and the following year the Institute conducted its first campus survey at UMBC. Since that time, over 20 systematic studies
of campus ethnoviolence have been conducted.

This study had seven objectives: (1) To investigate the incidence of ethnoviolence and sexual harassment on the UMBC campus; (2) To determine the impact of such
incidents on students who were directly victimized as well as those who had seen or heard about them; (3) To explore the extent of group defamatory behaviors on
campus and their impact on students; (4) To attempt to determine the character of the perpetrators of these incidents; (5) To examine aspects of the campus climate,
particularly student perceptions and attitudes towards various groups; (6) To compare the results of this investigation with a baseline study conducted in 1986; and
(7) to ascertain the program and policy implications of the findings of this study.

In the spring 1995, we administered a 114-item, machine-scoreable structured questionaire to students in 39 classes. Classroom time was donated by faculty and
we obtained 912 useable questionaires. This represented over 10% of the undergraduate student population. Comparisons of the sample and population
characteristics indicate a substantially representative sample; biases were minor.

We began by examining "ethnoviolence" (acts motivated by prejudice and intended to do physical or psychological harm to persons because of their actual or
perceived membership in a group). We examined its occurrence through a series of 14 questions. The questions were prefaced: "Since classes began in September,
have any of the following happened to you on campus for what you would consider reasons of race, ethnicity, gender, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation?"
Students were presented with categories of ethnoviolent acts and asked if they had experienced that act, if it was directed at them because of their group
memberships, and how many such experiences they had. The acts which we used were: called names/insulted, verbally harassed or intimidated, verbally threatened,
physically intimidated or attacked, property damaged or destroyed, received insulting phone calls or letters, totally ignored or made to feel invisible.

Seventeen percent of the students reported that they had experienced at least one incident of ethnoviolence during the school year. Depersonalization (that is being
ignored or made to feel invisible) was the single most frequently reported act. This was followed by three types of verbal agression: insults and name calling,
harassment and intimidation, and insulting phone calls or letters.

We measured three different types of ethnoviolence. More than eleven percent of the sample were ethnic victims, that is, the perceived cause of their victimzation
was race or ethnicity. African Americans, Asians, Asian Americans and Hispanics were three times more likely than whites to be ethnic victims. Students victimized
because of their gender, constituted 7% of the sample. Women were seven times more likely than men to be in this category. Finally, gay victims, those who were
victimized because of their sexual orientation, accounted for under two percent of the sample.

Nine out of ten incidents of ethnoviolence were not reported to campus authorities. Students felt that campus officials would not have or could not have done
anything about. Many felt that the incident wasn't serious enough to report or that it was the type of thing that happens all the time.

The comparability of the1987 and 1995 studies of UMBC students is limited. The initial study was genuinely exploratory and small in scope. The present study was
built upon almost ten years of additional research. Further, the UMBC campus changed in many ways, but in particular in the diversity of its population. The major
change in its population, reflected in this survey, is the increase of Asian nationals and Asian American students. Their increase in numbers is accompanied by an
increase in rates of ethnoviolence against them. The rate of White and Black victimization has remained constant, and there appears to have been a decrease in
anti-Jewish incidents.

We queried students about their experiences with sexual harassment using the same question format as we did for ethnoviolence. Students were asked if they had
been subjected to: unwanted teasing jokes, or remarks of a sexual nature; unwanted pressure for dates; unwanted pressure for sexual activity; or had been assaulted
or forced to have sexual relations against their will. Approximately one of six students in the sample experienced at least one incident of sexual harassment during the
school year. Women were twice as likely as men to be victimized, and gay and lesbian students were twice as likely as heterosexual students to be victimized.

More than half of the respondents reported multiple instances of unwelcome sexual overtures, while rapes and assaults were reported by approximately one percent
of the students. Younger women students living on campus appeared to be the most frequent targets of harassment.

Being a victim of ethnoviolence or sexual harassment produces a clear traumatic response in slightly more than half of the students who were victimized. Among
those indicating trauma, their major responses were perseveration on the incident, anger, and nervousness. Smaller numbers reported withdrawal, fear, and impaired
social relations as a result of their experience; some reported problems in sleeping, eating, and in general energy levels. One in four students had difficulty in
maintaining their classroom work. There was a clear tendency for Black students to experience more post-traumatic stress symptoms than other students.

The trauma data indicate, most importantly, that the type of ethnoviolent act had no significant impact on the trauma that students experienced. It was the experience
of ethnoviolence which determined the trauma. The particular type of ethnoviolence was of less importance. Further, we were able to demonstrate that the number of
ethnoviolent or sexually harassing incidents to which students are exposed has a determinative effect on the number of symptoms they suffer. Specifically, a second
incident causes a sharp increase in stress symptoms, while a third incident shows no significant increase over the second.

Many students who were not the personal target of an ethnoviolent or sexually harassing act have, nevertheless, encountered defamatory materials which were
personally insulting because of their of their race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender. These are materials which take the form of jokes,
leaflets, posters, spray painted signs, slogans or other graffiti, articles or cartoons in campus publications, and comments on computer bulletin boards or message
centers. Twenty-four percent of the students indicated that they had encountered such materials, with more than half of them having multiple encounters. Most
students were bothered by their exposure to these defamatory materials. They felt angry and also reported feeling saddened by them.

We also asked students if they had encountered defamatory materials which were insulting to other people because of their group identities. Fifteen percent said
"yes" to witnessing these defamatory materials. Although witnessing an act of defamation directed at another group is less traumatic than experiencing such an act
directed at one's own membership group, even these indirect victims experience some trauma.

Approximately one-third of the students (303) were untouched by any of these events. These "isolates" were more likely to be older, part-time students who
commuted to campus.

Through a variety of survey questions, we examined students' perceptions and attitudes regarding intergroup relations. Their response indicated that intergroup
contact outside the classroom is common and that most students are willing to interact with others outside their own race/ethnic group. Nevertheless, approximately
half the students feel that racial/ethnic discrimination on campus is problematic.

Our data display the common finding that Black and White perceptions on issues of discrimination are quite disparate. For example, a majority of Black students
anticipate that they will face high levels of discrimination on graduation in employment, housing, and the legal system, whereas most White students perceive only
minimal discrimination against Blacks.

All students who reported sexual harassment or ethnoviolence were asked about their assailants. In a majority of cases they appeared to be students acting alone
and known to the victim. However, two out five assailants acted in groups and were not known by the victims. Gender victimization and sexual harassment seemed
more likely to occur in situations where victims and victimizers knew each other and involved single perpetrators. Anti-gay incidents were most likely to involve
multiple perpetrators. One out of six perpetrators were identified as faculty or staff.

On the questionaire, we asked all students if they had participated in acts of ethnoviolence or sexual harassment. Twenty-eight students (4% of those responding)
said yes to having perpetrated at least one act. Compared to others, the student perpetrators tended to be younger males who were less comfortable in intergroup
situations and more likely to see the campus as a relatively violent intergroup arena. The ethnic background of the perpetrators was similar to the ethnic background
of the university population. At the end of the questionaire, students were given the opportunity in an open-ended question to express their opinions on how to make
UMBC "a more comfortable place for all people." Their responses (289 students answered) displayed a significant polarization. Approximately one-third of the
respondents viewed the campus as too liberal and more than one-fourth viewed it as too conservative.

On the basis of the survey, six recommendations were presented. (1) The UMBC community should acknowledge that a problem exists. (2) This report should be
publicized and discussed throughout the campus. (3) Procedures for reporting ethnoviolent incidents should be reviewed. (4) University projects and the curriculum
that promote intergroup understanding should be enhanced. (5) Inadvertant institutional supports for ethnoviolence and sexual harassment need to identified and
corrected. Finally, (6) An ongoing audit of intergroup relations on campus needs to be established.
--Howard J. Ehrlich, Ph.D., Fred L. Pincus, Ph.D., and Deborah Lacy, M.S.W.