Self-segregation still pervasive, survey finds

The USG released the results of a University-wide survey Monday that has provided new insight into how students feel that race affects campus life.

Chris Willis '07 and Matt Shapiro '05, members of the USG Survey on Race Committee, presented the report at a Council on the Princeton University Community meeting Monday afternoon. President Tilghman presided.

Vice President of Campus Life Janet Dickerson, also present at the meeting, told Willis and Shapiro afterward, "You two have revealed the truth [by presenting the report]. Now we get to work on a solution."

Fifty-three percent of the student body responded to the survey, which was sent in an email in February of last year. The USG Survey on Race Committee wrote that the survey was "remarkably representative of the entire student body." Each class accounted for roughly a fourth of the total respondents, and the proportions of respondents for each race and ethnicity corresponded closely to the actual proportions in the student body, though women were slightly overrepresented.

The quantitative format of this survey differed from the anecdotal report issued by the USG in 2001 entitled "Focus On: Minorities," which only included responses from minorities. The report states that the new survey "constitutes a helpful (though certainly not perfect) gauge of student opinion."

Respondents voiced their opinions in 27 multiple-choice and free-response questions covering three categories: "General," "Academics" and "Social Life."

"The results of this survey paint an incredibly complex picture of relations among students of different races/ethnicities at Princeton," said the report, written by the USG Survey on Race Committee.

Common themes of concern were self-segregation and a lack of social alternatives to the Street. Students' varied perceptions of the diversity on campus tended to correspond with whether or not they believed their high school was more diverse than Princeton.

The first question asked students to rate the racial and ethnic diversity of the University's student body on a scale of one through seven, one being "homogenous" and seven being "extremely diverse." Half of the respondents chose three or lower, 22 percent chose the middle option of four and 28 percent chose five or higher.

Almost three-quarters of the students who chose "homogenous" rated their high schools "much more diverse" or "more diverse" than Princeton, and two-thirds of respondents who chose "extremely diverse" rated their high schools "much less diverse" or "less diverse" than Princeton. Seniority also influenced students' responses, as 38 percent of respondents who chose "homogenous" were seniors, while only 6 percent were freshmen.

Students' views on faculty diversity corresponded with whether they felt that they had role models in their instructors. 39 percent of those students who reported having role models rated the diversity of Princeton's faculty five or higher, while 50 percent of those who reported having no role models chose three or lower.

Minority students were less likely than white students to have role models among their course instructors or to "perceive faculty support for their academic pursuits" — 81 percent of white students reported having a role model, while 75 percent of Asians, 74 percent of Hispanics and 60 percent of black students said they did.

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Students of all races expressed concern at a lack of "social alternatives" to the Street. 63 percent of respondents said the University does not have enough of such alternatives. Approximately 78 percent of black students said too few alternatives exist, while 60 percent of white students agreed.

Asked whether they were excited about the opening of the four-year residential college system, only one-fifth of respondents answered yes, while 37 percent answered no and 43 percent were unsure.

Most respondents felt that self-segregation was unavoidable. One respondent criticized the question, writing, "Are you kidding? Same group affiliation is practically the definition of socializing. Without anything in common there is no interaction, so of course people socialize more with people they have things in common, it isn't racist, it isn't sexist, it's isn't insulting, it's just the way things are."

The report included no specific policy recommendations, but will be presented to campus groups to determine appropriate response, Willis and Shapiro said.