Black Students Experience More Online Bias Than Do Whites

The Chronicle of Higher Education
April 30, 2010, 10:29 AM ET
By Jill Laster

A new study has found that black students experience more online racial discrimination and generally have a more negative view of campus racial diversity than their white counterparts.
Brendesha M. Tynes of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Suzanne L. Markoe of the University of California at Los Angeles will present their study at the American Educational Research Association conference on Monday. They used an online survey of 217 African-American and European-American college students to gauge factors such as online victimization, social networking, and campus racial climate.
The study found that the black students spent more time online than their white peers and had more diverse contact online. But black students reported higher rates of online victimization and more negative racial climate on their campuses.

Full Story: http://chronicle.com/blogPost/Black-Students-Experience-More/23616/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en (Subscription may be required)

Ericksons finding dorm life to their liking; students appreciate gesture

athensmessenger.com
Posted: Tuesday, February 2, 2010 8:40 am
Updated: 8:48 am, Tue Feb 2, 2010.
By DANALINE BRYANT
Messenger staff writer

Hocking College art major Josh Reed learned Saturday there were two new residents living in his dorm. That’s the day the college’s president and first lady moved into Hocking Heights Residence Hall, along with their dog.
“I feel more secure with the president and first lady here,” Reed, of Sandusky said. “I think it was a big decision for them to come here, and it’s a great message. Actions say more than words. People can say a lot of things, but when you act, that says a lot more.”
President Ron Erickson and his wife Nancy moved into the dormitory to show support for dorm residents after graffiti that threatened violence against black students was discovered Jan. 22 on a bathroom wall in the residence hall.
The threat, which is being investigated by campus law enforcement and the FBI, said black students would be killed on today’s date. Campus officials responded by hiring more campus security personnel and installing additional surveillance equipment.

Full Story: http://www.athensmessenger.com/news/local/article_42cef656-1001-11df-9f2f-001cc4c03286.html

BSU students rally against hate after racist fliers surface on campus

KTVB.Com
Idaho
BOISE -- Boise State students held solidarity rally today to help stop hate on campus.
The rally was organized after racist fliers circulated on campus earlier this week.
Students calle the event "Hands Across Campus." Hundreds of students joined hand in hand and see how far they could stretch across campus. They held hands for about 15 minutes.
Also, protesters were asked to sign a statement against hate on campus and a special event will be held at a later date.
This is in reaction to the flier that surfaced on the BSU campus and targeted black students.

Full Story: http://www.ktvb.com/news/BSU-students-rally-against-hate-after-racist-fliers-surface-on-campus-79073642.html

Black (Immigrant) Admissions Edge

Inside Higher Ed
March 17, 2009

The election of Barack Obama -- African American because of his African father, distinguishing him from how the phrase is commonly used -- has brought unprecedented attention to the diversity of backgrounds of those covered by the term. Within higher education, one of the more sensitive issues in discussion of admissions and affirmative action in recent years has been the relative success of immigrant black Americans compared to black people who have been in the United States for generations.
A new study has found that among high school graduates, “immigrant blacks” -- defined as those who immigrated to the United States or their children -- are significantly more likely than other black Americans to attend selective colleges. In fact, immigrant black Americans are more likely than white students to attend such colleges.
The research -- published in the journal Sociology of Education (abstract available here) -- is the second major study in two years to try to define the “advantage” of some black applicants to top college. In 2007, a team of researchers published a study in The American Journal of Education finding that while only about 13 percent of black people aged 18 or 19 in the United States are first- or second-generation immigrants, they made up 27 percent of black students at the selective colleges studied.
The new study focuses on the entire population of high school graduates to see where they go to college, comparing immigrant black people, “native-born blacks” (the authors’ terms for others), and white students. The authors are two assistant professors of sociology -- Pamela R. Bennett of Johns Hopkins University and Amy Lutz of Syracuse University. ...

While their study found success for non-immigrant black students in enrolling in some kinds of colleges, the authors note that the sector -- selective colleges -- in which this is less likely is also the sector most likely to lead to many kinds of high wage careers. More examination of the issue is needed, the authors write, to combat “continued socioeconomic inequality.”
That scholarly phrasing may not do justice to the tensions raised by such issues. In 2003, at a reunion of black alumni of Harvard University, Lani Guinier, a law professor, was quoted by The Boston Globe as raising the question of whether black students who are “voluntary immigrants” should be the beneficiaries of affirmative action.
"If you look around Harvard College today, how many young people will you find who grew up in urban environments and went to public high schools and public junior high schools?" she said. "I don't think, in the name of affirmative action, we should be admitting people because they look like us, but then they don't identify with us."

Full Story: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/03/17/immigrant

Black Enrollment at Columbia Tops Ivy League for Third Year

Columbia Spectator
By Aaron Kiersh
Published December 08, 2008

Columbia leads the Ivy League in enrolled black first-years for the third consecutive year, according to the Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. The class of 2012 includes 162 African-American students, or 12.1 percent of the class, up 80 percent from 2004.
Columbia is the only Ivy League institution where the first-year class is more than 10 percent black.
Black Student Organization president and Multicultural Recruitment Committee member Ruqayyah Abdul-Karim, CC ’10, was unsurprised by the statistics.
“I had an idea that our student body is now at or over 50 percent students of color,” Abdul-Karim said. “I am really encouraged by these figures because they are very reflective of the national population, which is what we set out to do.”
Abdul-Karim denied that admissions officers had applied affirmative action to admit a designated number of minorities.
“We do not want more of one demographic versus another,” she said. “We do not have outreach efforts specifically geared towards one specific ethnic group. We do work hard to cultivate prospective first-generation college students and low-income young people. We want to make sure the opportunity is there for everyone.”

Full Story: http://www.columbiaspectator.com/2008/12/08/black-enrollment-columbia-tops-ivy-league-third-year

Three Quinnipiac students arrested in threats

The New Haven Register
One charged with hate crime, held on $100,000 bail
Thursday, October 30, 2008 5:12 AM EDT
By Ed Stannard, Register Metro Editor

HAMDEN — Police have arrested three Quinnipiac University students for allegedly making threatening phone calls, including a freshman who has been charged with a hate crime, according to Capt. Ronald Smith.
Charles Merritt, 18, of Clifton, Maine, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly making threatening and harassing telephone calls to three black basketball players on Monday, Smith said. Merritt is a roommate of two of the athletes and knows the third, Smith said.
Merritt was charged with three counts each of intimidation based on bigotry and bias, first-degree harassment and disorderly conduct. Smith said the threats rose to the level of a hate crime because they involved the victims’ ethnicity.
Just before midnight Tuesday, police arrested Emily Loschiavo, 19, of West Newbury, Vt., and Courtney Stellwag, 19, of Newburgh, N.Y. They were both charged with first-degree harassment, conspiracy to commit first-degree harassment and disorderly conduct.
According to Smith, two friends of the women’s intended victim answered the telephone in a Quinnipiac dorm room and were threatened with bodily harm. The intended victim, a resident assistant, was not at home at the time, he said. Smith said he did not know the race of the R.A.Quinnipiac security, assisted by Hamden police, determined who allegedly made the threatening telephone call.Quinnipiac’s administration turned the case over to police Monday. They followed the discovery of racially bigoted words written outside dorm rooms and on a board outside the victims’ dorm.According to a statement by Quinnipiac President John L. Lahey, all three were expelled from the university."All of us are grateful for the work of the Hamden Police Department which resulted in these arrests," Lahey said. "While they are significant achievements, the investigation continues in connection with the recent hate speech/crimes. I also want to extend my appreciation for the excellent police work by our own security officers."I cannot state strongly enough that this university has absolutely no tolerance for acts of this kind and will do everything in its power to prevent them."Merritt, who was being held at police headquarters on $100,000 bail, is scheduled to appear in Superior Court in Meriden on Nov. 6. Stellwag and Loschiavo were released after posting $2,500 bail. They are scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 12. [To read the entire story, go to: http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2008/10/30/blogs/doc4908d3abaee45707759776.txt]

Graduate Enrollments Are Up, but Uneven

Inside Higher Ed
September 16, 2008

Total graduate enrollments in the United States hit 1,698,445 — up 3 percent — according to a study being released today by the Council of Graduate Schools. The 3 percent increase is a fairly steady figure; it is the average annual increase over the last 10 years, although if past economic downturns are any indication, enrollments may grow more over the next year, with new college graduates facing tighter job markets. But even as total graduate enrollments are going up around the expected rate, the increases vary by demographic group and field of study.
Health sciences and engineering enrollments saw the largest increases (9 percent and 5 percent, respectively), while humanities enrollments were flat and business and education enrollments were each down by 1 percent. Enrollments of non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents outpaced U.S. enrollments (up 7 percent vs. up 3 percent).
Enrollments of men grew at slightly higher rates than those for women (4 percent vs. 3 percent), but women continue to dominate graduate enrollments, making up 59 percent of all graduate students and 66 percent at master’s level institutions.
Among U.S. citizens, gains were larger for non-white students than for white students, continuing a diversification of graduate enrollments that has been going on for some time. Gains were the largest for black and Native American students — and some of those gains were in fields in which enrollment for those groups has historically been low. At the same time, the percentage increases are applied to an overall graduate student body that remains largely white. [To see the entire story, please go to: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/09/16/grad ]

Report Takes Aim at ‘Model Minority’ Stereotype of Asian-American Students

The New York Times
June 10, 2008

By TAMAR LEWIN
The image of Asian-Americans as a homogeneous group of high achievers taking over the campuses of the nation’s most selective colleges came under assault in a report issued Monday.
The report, by New York University, the College Board and a commission of mostly Asian-American educators and community leaders, largely avoids the debates over both affirmative action and the heavy representation of Asian-Americans at the most selective colleges.
But it pokes holes in stereotypes about Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders, including the perception that they cluster in science, technology, engineering and math. And it points out that the term “Asian-American” is extraordinarily broad, embracing members of many ethnic groups.
“Certainly there’s a lot of Asians doing well, at the top of the curve, and that’s a point of pride, but there are just as many struggling at the bottom of the curve, and we wanted to draw attention to that,” said Robert T. Teranishi, the N.Y.U. education professor who wrote the report, “Facts, Not Fiction: Setting the Record Straight.”
“Our goal,” Professor Teranishi added, “is to have people understand that the population is very diverse.”
The report, based on federal education, immigration and census data, as well as statistics from the College Board, noted that the federally defined categories of Asian-American and Pacific Islander included dozens of groups, each with its own language and culture, as varied as the Hmong, Samoans, Bengalis and Sri Lankans.
Their educational backgrounds, the report said, vary widely: while most of the nation’s Hmong and Cambodian adults have never finished high school, most Pakistanis and Indians have at least a bachelor’s degree.
The SAT scores of Asian-Americans, it said, like those of other Americans, tend to correlate with the income and educational level of their parents.
“The notion of lumping all people into a single category and assuming they have no needs is wrong,” said Alma R. Clayton-Pederson, vice president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities, who was a member of the commission the College Board financed to produce the report.
“Our backgrounds are very different,” added Dr. Clayton-Pederson, who is black, “but it’s almost like the reverse of what happened to African-Americans.”
The report found that contrary to stereotype, most of the bachelor’s degrees that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders received in 2003 were in business, management, social sciences or humanities, not in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering or math. And while Asians earned 32 percent of the nation’s STEM doctorates that year, within that 32 percent more than four of five degree recipients were international students from Asia, not Asian-Americans.
The report also said that more Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders were enrolled in community colleges than in either public or private four-year colleges. But the idea that Asian-American “model minority” students are edging out all others is so ubiquitous that quips like “U.C.L.A. really stands for United Caucasians Lost Among Asians” or “M.I.T. means Made in Taiwan” have become common, the report said.
Asian-Americans make up about 5 percent of the nation’s population but 10 percent or more — considerably more in California — of the undergraduates at many of the most selective colleges, according to data reported by colleges. But the new report suggested that some such statistics combined campus populations of Asian-Americans with those of international students from Asian countries.
The report quotes the opening to W. E. B. Du Bois’s 1903 classic “The Souls of Black Folk” — “How does it feel to be a problem?” — and says that for Asian-Americans, seen as the “good minority that seeks advancement through quiet diligence in study and work and by not making waves,” the question is, “How does it feel to be a solution?”
That question, too, is problematic, the report said, because it diverts attention from systemic failings of K-to-12 schools, shifting responsibility for educational success to individual students. In addition, it said, lumping together all Asian groups masks the poverty and academic difficulties of some subgroups.
The report said the model-minority perception pitted Asian-Americans against African-Americans. With the drop in black and Latino enrollment at selective public universities that are not allowed to consider race in admissions, Asian-Americans have been turned into buffers, the report said, “middlemen in the cost-benefit analysis of wins and losses.” [To read the entire article, go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/education/10asians.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin ]

For a copy of the report, go to: http://www.nyu.edu/projects/care/reports_pubs.html

Under New Holistic Approach UCLA Continues to Make Progress in Increasing Black Enrollments

Journal of Blacks in Higher Education
Weekly Bulletin
June 5, 2008

In 2006 there were 99 black students in the entering class at the University of California at Los Angeles. This was the lowest number of entering black students in nearly 40 years. UCLA, like other state-operated universities in California, is prohibited by state law from considering race in its admissions decisions.
In response to its record-low number of entering black students in 2006, the UCLA administration adopted a new admissions model that incorporates a so-called “holistic” approach which looks at academic merit in the context of a student’s position in society.
The new system quickly bore fruit. In 2007 there were 392 African Americans admitted to UCLA, up from 249 in 2006. This was a whopping increase of 57 percent. There were 210 black freshmen at UCLA this past academic year, more than twice the number in 2006. Blacks were 4.5 percent of the freshman class in 2007, up from 2 percent in 2006.
Now UCLA is reporting more progress. Preliminary figures show that 233 black freshmen intend to enroll this fall. They will make up 4.9 percent of the projected entering class. More than one half of all black students accepted for admission at UCLA have decided to enroll. In 2006 black student yield was 40 percent. http://www.jbhe.com/latest/index060508.html#gop