A recent study showed that 50 percent of white and minority Central Michigan University students say there is a racism problem in the Mount Pleasant community.

Mary Senter, chairperson of the sociology, anthropology and social work department, conducted a survey in spring 2007 that asked both white and minority students about their experiences at CMU and how race was a factor. Senter presented her study at a Soup and Substance event Thursday in the Bovee University Center’s Maroon and Gold rooms.

More than 60 percent of minorities have had negative experiences relating to their race off-campus, including being ignored and tailed in stores, Senter’s researched showed.

However, Senter said the students want to see change.

“The students expressed a lot of support for CMU’s diversity efforts,” she said.

For the survey, 366 white and 366 minority students were contacted over the phone and through e-mail and answered 70 to 90 questions. Senter grouped her findings into six main ideas: Student experiences with diversity before and during college, tendencies to attend diversity events, negative experiences based on race, satisfaction of college experience and support of diversity events.

Around 80 percent of students surveyed believed CMU should be more committed to promoting diversity on campus.

“We spend more time and money recruiting athletes than promoting diversity,” said Mount Pleasant junior Mike Harrier. “Let’s put our money where our mouth is and spearhead it.”

Students also say CMU needs more diversity both on campus and in the community.

“People of color have more diverse experiences with people of different ethnicities than white people,” Senter said.

In the survey, 65 percent of white students reported that their parents made no attempt to expose them to other cultures, while 65 percent of minority students reported the opposite. The trend started before college and continued once they arrived on campus, Senter said.

About 65 percent of the minorities in the survey reported experiencing negative experiences at CMU they felt were based on their ethnic identity.

“I’m Venezuelan. If I tell someone I’m Venezuelan, they say, ‘Oh, you speak Mexican?’ No, that’s not even a language. But if I say I’m from Italy, I’m already more interesting,” said Roberto Rando, a Grand Rapids graduate student who has a dual citizenship in Venezuela and Italy.

The survey also found peers were more likely to make negative comments than faculty, though 42 percent of minorities reported that faculty members made derogatory comments regarding to race.

“A lot of data does suggest faculty needs to teach toward diversity,” Senter said.

The survey showed 32 percent of minority students were asked by their professors to act as a spokesperson for their race, and 30 percent reported being ignored in class.

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