In case you haven't noticed, one subject I have yet to post about is the alleged criminal activity by members of the Duke lacrosse team. Scanning through Columbia University's Daily Spectator, I came across this thoughtfully written piece about race relations on various campuses. Somewhat to my surprise, the student writer highlighted several incidents of racial tension and conflict on some of the most well known and prestigious campuses in the country. Reading through some of these incidents including a racially motivated stabbing earlier this year at Cornell, I thought to myself, are these isolated incidents that are getting more ink because of what is happening in Durham or is this a bigger problem as the college environment (like the rest of the country) becomes more diverse? I don't have an answer yet, but looking at our most recent Lifestyle & Media study, race relations and racial prejudice as a concern among students ranks really low, not even in the top 10. So then I wonder to myself, is it really a bigger issue and something students are not 100% forthcoming telling our interviewers or, again, is this something that is not really widespread? Only six percent of all students said racial prejudice is one of the top three biggest problems on their campus. However, 17% of African American students feel that racial prejudice is one of the three biggest problems on campus, so may be there is something here because there is certainly a sizable percentage difference between the overall student population and African American students. This is certainly issue I'll keep an eye on.
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