INTRODUCTION

Many Universities aim to create an inclusive and conflict-free environment on college campuses. As you settle into a campus or online program routine, you will most likely be tasked with adjusting to being separated from your family, forming new friendships, and coping with a more rigorous academic curriculum. At times, you may find it difficult to juggle the demands of your social and academic life. Unfortunately, among students of color and different ethnicities, the common stressors of the college experience are often compounded by the burden of race-related stress. Racism continues to be a fact of life for many students of color and different ethnicities on college campuses. Racism is overt, such as the use of racial slurs, graffiti, and even violence. It can ever arise in more subtle forms, such as stereotyping, assumptions, or exclusion.

While many studies have reported a racial
gap on college campuses (Strayhorn 2013) or in the ways in which interracial or
substantial contact with peers and faculty influences campus climate perception
(Nelson Laird and Niskode-Dosset 2010; Kim and Sax 2009), thus far no study has
compared these different measures of contact in terms of their contribution to
reduce the racial gap in campus climate perception.   

Racism is racial prejudice that has been
incorporated into the functions in major institutions, corporations, and social
systems such as universities, healthcare organizations, housing, and government
policies. Racism leads to discriminating against a minority racial/ethnic group
while maintaining the benefits and privileges of a majority racial/ethnic group
which holds most of the power within the major institutions, corporations, and
social systems. So, should law enforcement be added into this group as
contributing to racism? Focusing on the perceptions and experiences of
non-White graduate students, I ask: Does racism exist among college students?
Have you ever been a victim of racism? If so, how? If you observed racism,
would you intervene and stop it? Lastly, I asked if law enforcement contributed
to racism? If so, how? To answer these questions, I performed an online focus
group of three individuals to analyze their thoughts and receive honest
feedback. Results show that racism does exist in different forms and law
enforcement contributes to some degree. The uncertainty that can accompany
perceptions of racism is often due to a misunderstanding of the behaviors that
constitute racism.                       

METHOD

Participants included three graduate
student volunteers (two males, one female). All of them will be compensated
with a free drink of their choice from Starbucks. All three graduate students
are enrolled in a Communications Management Graduate Program at the University
of Southern California. Each student volunteer belongs to a program group by
the name of “Traveler.”

The first student volunteer is a 32-year-old
bi-racial (Indian and Caucasian) female who is employed as an Immigration Case
Writer. She comes from an upper middle-class family. The second volunteer is a
31 year old Hispanic male that comes from an upper middle class family. He
works as a security guard while enrolled in a graduate program. The third
volunteer is a 32 year old Indian Healthcare Economist that also comes from an
upper middle class family.

Each student volunteer was given specific
instructions to meet at a scheduled date and time online, and advised prior to
the meet time which meeting program (Zoom) that was going to be used to conduct
the focus group. All student volunteers were on time and logged on at the
correct online meeting site. The student volunteers were given specific verbal
instructions and guidelines which were read out loud. Each student volunteer
freely answered three main questions surrounding the topic of racism and if it
existed amongst college students and if law enforcement played a part in it. An
example question was “Does racism exist amongst college students? If so, how? The
second example question was “If you observed racism, would you intervene to
stop it?” The final example question was “Does law enforcement play a part in
racism? If so, how? Each student volunteer provided insightful feedback
supporting the topic. The duration of the focus group lasted just over 10
minutes.    

FINDINGS

Racism in some form is still an issue both
structurally and interpersonally amongst college students. In line with liberal
beliefs, a common belief in American society is that younger generations will
be more liberal than those preceding, a phenomenon referred to as the cohort
replacement hypothesis (Forman and Lewis 2015). Structural and interpersonal racism
are obviously still felt by minority college students. The inclusion of
minority students has long been a topic of discussion in relation to higher
education.

Research has found that racial/ethnic
background influences student perception of the college experience. The student
volunteers all stated that racism does exist amongst college students in
different forms. When prompted for examples, words like segregation, not
feeling part of a group because of their race, and specific college guest
speakers were mentioned. Forms of graffiti, everyday language, social media
posts, and specific student chants were also mentioned. One student volunteer
stated that he could feel the racial tension on a college campus and did not
feel like he was one of the students because of his race (It should be
mentioned that the campus was not at the University of Southern California).
Although this student volunteer felt racism to some degree, the other two
student volunteers have never had a direct act of racism against them on a
college campus. This highlights that while overt racism is not common, racism
in other forms remains a powerful factor in students’ experiences in college.

So, would one of the student volunteers
intervene if they observed a racial related act occurring to another student. It
was learned that two of three student volunteers would intervene. Surprisingly,
one student volunteer stated that he would intervene because he is on campus
for school only and his sole goal is to keep his mind on his own business. Of
the two student volunteers that would intervene they stated they would say
something to stop the action or immediately report the action to the Security
Department, Student Support Services, or the head of the college.

We often hear the word racism associated
with law enforcement but many questions still arise on whether or not one word
goes with the other. The question was asked to the student volunteers if they
believe law enforcement plays a part in racism in America. All three student
volunteers believe to some degree they do. One student said, “One bad apple can
ruin them all”. This was in reference to that just one officer can make the
entire organization looks bad. He followed up by saying that all organizations
have some form of racism still present within the rank structure. One student
volunteer stated this is a human problem and since the police have authority,
it stands out more.         

DISCUSSION

All three of the student volunteers were
very forthcoming and honest with their answers surrounding this sensitive
topic. These genuine answers were necessary to obtain research and complete the
findings and discussion of this paper. The findings of this study were
consistent that racism, in some degree, exists amongst college students. This
aligned with the thoughts of the moderator.

Racism is indeed a human problem and
exists in so many different ways. Many forms are direct and indirect but affect
so many people. Whether it is in a school atmosphere or not, racism needs to be
reduced dramatically. Will racism will always be a problem in American society?
Racism is what holds ineffective groups from being able to reach their
potential. From education to the justice system, environmental injustice, equal
pay and access to resources.

Institutional racism is defined as racial
discrimination that has become established as normal behavior within a society
or organization. Today’s generation is doing a better job at stopping
Institutional racism. With consistent education and being liberal enough to be
accepting of all people, racism amongst students can be eliminated. Two of the
three student volunteers felt comfortable enough to stop an act of racism
towards another student. This was a positive part of the study and showed that
students are willing to do something about it.

As expected, all three student volunteers
felt that law enforcement played a part in racism at some level. Law
Enforcement in America needs to do more to eliminate the connection with racism.
Education on the topic is the key to success and bi-annual courses should be
given at all law enforcement agencies across the country. Of course, different
parts of the country will have a higher percentage of working with citizens of
color and different ethnicities.

This study could have easily had the topic
of racism in law enforcement on its own as well as racism amongst college
students. Both topics should have their focus groups and subsequent research. Both
topics are sensitive in nature and would require more than 10 minutes to fully
discuss the topic with the selected group of individuals.          

REFERENCES

• Kim, Young K. and Linda j. Sax. 2009. “Student-Faculty Interaction in Research Universities: Differences by Student Gender, Race, Social Class, and First-Generation Status.” Research in Higher Education 50: 437-459.
• Nelson Laird, Thomas F. and Amanda S. Nisokde-Dossett. 2010. “How Gender and Race Moderate the Effects of Interactions across Difference on Student Perceptions of the Campus Environment.” The Review of Higher Education 33(3):333-356.
• Strayhorn, Terrell L. 2013. “Measuring Race and Gender Differences in Undergraduate Students’ Perceptions of Campus Climate and Intentions to Leave College: An Analysis in Black and White.” Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice 50(2):115-132.

APPENDIX

Moderator guide

• Research objective: To find out if racism
  existed among college students. Additionally, I wanted to find out if law
  enforcement played a part in racism in America.

• Profile: Three USC graduate students of
  different ethnicities ranging in age from 23-33 (Two males and one female).

• Logistics: Online focus group interviews –
  Date/time was set along with online meeting program (Zoom).

• Introduction

• Topics/questions: 

Question #1:   Does racism exist amongst college students?

Specific: 
If so, how?

Question #2:   Would you intervene if you saw racism against another student?

Specific: Have you ever had racism against
you personally?

Question #3:   Do the police play a part of racism in America.

Specific: If so, how?