Demographics

• Sex - 73.5% females (N=988)
• 26.5% males (N=356)
• Race/ethnicity identification -- 1.3% Asian
• 7.1% African American/Black
• 1.0% Native American
• 1.4% Latino/a
• 85.4% White
• 3.7% other categorizations
• Class standing -- 19.5% freshman (N=262)
• 19.7% sophomore (N=265)
• 22% junior (N=296)
• 38.8% senior (N=521)

Number of courses taken for credit that have focused primarily on the culture, history, or social concerns of racial and ethnic groups

• None - 45.2%
• 1 - 22.2%
• 2 - 13.1%
• 3 - 9.4%
• 3 - 10.1%

Number of courses taken for credit that have focused primarily on the culture, history, or social concerns of women -

• None - 64.6%
• 1 - 24.9%<
• 2 - 5.0%
• 3 - 3.0%
• 3 - 2.5%

Number of courses taken for credit that have focused primarily on the culture, history, or social concerns of men -

• None - 70.9%
• 1 - 16.8%
• 2 - 4.4%
• 3 - 2.9%
• 3 - 5.1%

GPA

• 3.5-4.0 - 27.6% (N=372)
• 3.0-3.49 - 39% (N=525)
• 2.5-2.99 - 22.9% (N=309)
• 2.0-2.49 - 8.8% (N=118)
• 2.0 - 1.7% (N=23)

College of Major

• BAS 25.5% (N=338)
• Business 16.5% (N=220)
• Ed and BS 19.5% (N=259)
• LA 19.4% (N=258)
• MC 19% (N=252)

Other Demographics

• Age - mean of 26.52 and median of 22 years
• First entered MTSU - 33.2% prior to 2000
• First-generation college educated - 32.9%
• US citizens - 99%
• Sexual orientation - 94.5% heterosexual
• Disabled -- 9.4%
• Children under 18 living with student - 16.9%
• Currently an adult caregiver - 3.1%
• Religious faith - 78.7% Christian
• .7% Jewish
• .3% Muslim
• 12.9% none
• 7.3% Other

Setting in which spent most of life prior to first coming to MTSU

• 14.7% rural
• 34.3% small town/city
• 26.9% suburb
• 22.9% 50,000

Racial/ethnic composition of neighborhood where grew up

• 71% mostly homogeneous
• 29% mostly to nearly all different than self

Racial/ethnic composition of high school

• 59.5% mostly homogeneous
• 40.5% mostly to nearly all different than self
• Racial/ethnic composition of friends -
• 74% nearly homogeneous
• 26% mostly to nearly all different than self

Plans to leave MTSU prior to graduation

• 13.5% Yes
• 86.5% No

Section 1: Experience at MTSU.

(NOTE for easy reference -- questions that differ significantly by sex are boxed.)

"I feel that I have received adequate guidance from most faculty members at MTSU."

• 72.7% agree or strongly agree
• 26.1% disagree or strongly disagree
  • Native Americans (although only a small number) more than any other group are dissatisfied with the guidance they have received.
  • Does not differ by sex
• 1.1% don't know
• When controlling for GPA, it is clear that the students with the highest GPA's were most likely to agree (81%) that guidance was adequate. Only 61% of those students with <2.5 GPA thought guidance was adequate.
• College of major was not a significant variable of difference.

"When I have a concern or problem, I feel that there is a faculty member or administrator at MTSU with who I can talk."

• 70.2% agree or strongly agree
• 26.2% disagree or strongly disagree
  • Native Americans (although only a small number) more than any other group are dissatisfied with the guidance they have received.
  • Does not differ by sex
• 3.6% don't know

"My current academic advisor is sensitive to my needs and concerns."

• 53.8% agree or strongly agree
• 28.2% disagree or strongly disagree
  • Native Americans most dissatisfied
  • Does not differ by sex
• 18.1% don't know

"I often feel that I don't 'fit in' very well with other students at MTSU"

• 29.8% agree or strongly agree but only 19.1% feel that must change (question #6)
• 65.4% disagree or strongly disagree
• 4.6% don't know

"I feel that there are enough faculty or administrator role models for me at MTSU"

• Although 60.2% agree or strongly agree, there is a significant difference (p=.006) between whites and all other race/ethnic identifications (whites - 62.7%; all others - 49.7%). Again Native Americans and African Americans/Blacks most likely not to agree.
• Does not differ by sex

(see above)

"At MTSU there are many opportunities to socialize with people different from myself"

• 79% agree or strongly agree and although this is still the case for racial/ethnic groups other than whites, they are more statistically more likely to disagree (p=.001 using Chi-Square)

"I feel that I have the opportunity to succeed at MTSU"

• Although 89.7% agree or strongly agree that this is the case, a statistically different number of men and r/e minority groups disagree (12.4% and 17.2%, respectively). Or phrased differently, more females and whites feel they have an opportunity to succeed.

"I feel that I have accurate knowledge of scholarships available to me at MTSU."

• Although approximately 63% of the students overall think they do not have accurate knowledge of available scholarships, males are more likely than females to say that they do not know if they have accurate knowledge (8.3% to 4.1%, respectively).

"The scholarships available at MTSU are fairly distributed among diverse students at MTSU

• 39.2% do not think they are but 40% don't know.

"In my classes at MTSU, I feel that my professors ignore my comments and questions."

• Females (81.8%) more than males (74.1%) disagree that their comments and questions are ignored (p=.003).

"The MTSU/Murfreesboro community offers a variety of social activities in which I am interested in participating."

• 45% agree, 41.5% disagree, while 13.5% don't know
• Minority members (52.1%) are more likely to disagree than are whites (39.6), but whites are more likely to say they don't know (p=.015).

"I feel physically safe at MTSU."

• Approximately 38% of the students feel they are NOT safe. Females (44.2%) are more likely to feel unsafe than are males (20.3%) (p=.000).

"I feel emotionally safe at MTSU."

• Approximately 23% report that they do not feel emotionally safe, but this difference is not explained by sex or minority membership.

Section 2: The climate at MTSU in general. MTSU is…

Accessible to people with disabilities

• Nearly 90% think MTSU is mostly to very accessible
• Mean = 1.95 and median = 2.
• Nearly 10% think MTSU is not very accessible

Supportive of people with disabilities

• Nearly 92% think MTSU is mostly to very supportive
• Mean = 1.82 and median = 1.
• Approximately 8% think MTSU is not very supportive

Non-racist

• Nearly 88% think MTSU is non-racist
• Mean = 2.15 and median = 2.
• Minorities are less likely to think MTSU is non-racist, particularly Asians and Native Americans (approx. 44% and 46% respectively)

Non-sexist

• Approximately 88% think MTSU to be non-sexist
• Mean = 2.18 and median = 2
• Nearly 12% think MTSU is sexist

Supportive of non-heterosexuals

• Nearly 87% think MTSU is supportive but this support is not as strong as for the previous questions
• Mean = 2.42 and median = 3
• Approximately 13% think MTSU to be unsupportive

Supportive of different religious beliefs

• Interestingly only 85% think MTSU is supportive of different religious beliefs, but the support is stronger
• Mean = 2.27 and median = 2.00
• Native Americans and Latino(a) feel MTSU is unsupportive

Supportive of people with dependent children

• Overall 86% think MTSU is supportive
• Mean = 2.29 and median = 2
• Of those who do not think MTSU is supportive, Native Americans (58%) and Latino(a) (32%) feel the strongest that there is little support

Supportive of people with dependent adults

• Again, approximately 86% think MTSU is at least moderately supportive
• Mean = 2.46 and median = 3
• The strongest disagreement comes from the minority groups who think MTSU is significantly less supportive

Section 3: Climate at MTSU in general

"Respect by faculty members for students of different racial and ethnic groups"

• Although the sample as a whole reports respect to be good to excellent (77.5%), only 67% of minorities do so compared to 79% of whites.

"Respect by students for faculty of different racial and ethnic groups"

• Mean = 2.23 and median = 2
• A similar pattern as above is found for this question. Overall, 71% of the students think faculty receive good to excellent respect, but again, this is less so for minority members (60%) vs. whites (73%).

"Racial/ethnic integration on campus"

• Fifty-eight percent of the group thinks integration is good to excellent. As one might expect, minorities report a significant difference in that a majority report integration is only fair to poor (53%) (p<.000).
• Mean = 2.5 and median 2.0

"University commitment to the success of students of different racial and ethnic groups"

• The majority (66%) report commitment to be good to excellent but minority groups report commitment less positively (51%) than do whites (69%).
• Mean = 2.44 and median = 2.

"University commitment to the success of women students."

• The majority (72%) report good to excellent commitment, but more women say fair to poor (22%) than do men (11%). More men report that they do not know the level of commitment (15%).
• More minority members report the commitment to be fair to poor (31%) than do whites (17%).
• Mean = 2.2 and median = 2.

"University commitment to the success of men students."

• The majority (74%) report good to excellent commitment, but more men say fair to poor (31%) than do women (9%). More women report that they do not know the level of commitment (12%).
• Mean = 2.2 and median = 2.

"Friendship between students of different racial and ethnic groups."

• The majority (61%) report good to excellent.
• Mean = 2.45 and median = 2.

"Racial and ethnic relations in the classroom"

• The majority report good to excellent relations (70%), but 40% of minorities say fair to poor as compared to only 23% of whites.
• Mean = 2.25 and median = 2

"Interaction among students of different racial and ethnic groups outside of the classroom."

• There is considerable disagreement as to the quality of interaction outside the classroom. Forty-seven percent report good to excellent, while 42% report fair to poor. Nearly 15% of those who report interaction is poor are minority members. Blacks report more positively than do other minority groups.
• Forty-eight percent of women report interaction to be good to excellent compared to 48% of the men report interaction to be fair to poor (p=.015). Nearly 10% of both groups report that they do not know the quality or extent of interaction.
• Mean = 2.76 and median = 3.

"University commitment to non-traditional students"

• Approximately 61% of the group think the commitment is good to excellent, but whites are more positive (63%) than are minority groups (46%). Native Americans and Latino(a)s are most critical of MTSU's commitment.
• Mean = 2.48 and median = 2.

"University commitment to disabled students"

• Nearly 78% think the commitment if good to excellent.
• Mean = 2.03 and median = 2.

Section 4: Diversity in major area of study

"Diversity is good for MTSU and should be actively promoted by students, staff, faculty, and administration."

• A large majority of students agree or strongly agree with this statement (89%) but males and females differ in the strength of their agreement (85% and 90%, respectively; p=.002).
• Mean = 1.6, median = 1

"MTSU is placing too much emphasis on achieving diversity"

• Overall only 38% agree or strongly agree with this statement, but males and females differ significantly (p<.000). Females disagree or strongly disagree that there is too much emphasis (50% compared to 42% of men) while males agree or strongly agree to a greater extent (48% compared to 34% of women).
• There is also a significant difference for minorities. Minorities are more likely to disagree or strongly disagree (77%) than are whites (45%).
• Mean = 2.99, median = 3

"MTSU has a climate which fosters diversity"

• Most persons (70%) agree or strongly agree that the MTSU climate fosters diversity, but whites are more positive (72%) than are minorities (51%).
• Although the majority of females and males agree, more females (13%) than males (7%) are uncertain about the climate.
• Mean = 2.4, median = 2.0

"Top university administrators are genuinely committed to increasing diversity at MTSU"

• Mean = 3.1, median = 2.0
• A small majority of students agree or strongly agree (51%), but a rather large percent simply are uncertain about the administrators' level of commitment (37%)
• More minority members disagree (24%) than do whites (11%).

"Affirmative Action leads to the admission of under qualified students"

• Mean = 2.88, median = 3.0
• A majority of males (61%) agree or strongly agree, while 54% of females either disagree or are uncertain (p<.000).
• A similar pattern exists between whites (53%) and minorities (78%).
• BY MAJOR?

"Faculty members at MTSU are approachable outside of the classroom"

• The majority find faculty approachable (77%).
• Mean = 2, median = 2

"Faculty members at MTSU attempt to integrate racial/ethnic issues into courses"

• A small majority agree or strongly agree (55%); whites to a higher degree (56%) than minorities (45%). Fourteen percent don't know.
• Mean = 2.68, median = 2

"Faculty members at MTSU attempt to integrate gender issues into courses"

• A similar percent agree that gender issues are also integrated into courses (57%). Eleven percent do not know.
• Mean = 2.59, median = 2.

"Faculty members at MTSU attempt to integrate social class issues into courses"

• The same pattern is found for this question - 58% agree or strongly agree with 11% uncertain.
• Mean = 2.36, median = 2.

"Faculty and administrators at MTSU seem to be committed to promoting respect for and understanding of group differences"

• Again, 68% agree or strongly agree that this is the case, whites (70%) more so than minorities (52%).
• Mean = 2.59, median = 2.

"All MTSU undergraduates should be required to take at least one course that focuses on racial/ethnic minorities"

• There are many different opinions on this question. A small percentage of students strongly agree (18%), 36.5% are torn, 39.6% strongly disagree.
• Mean = 2.97, median = 3.
• Minorities - African Americans in particular - are more likely to agree (61.5%), while whites are more likely to disagree (61%).
• Although in a similar direction as the whole group, females more so than males are positive or torn (p=.002). Females: 18.6% strongly agree, 39% torn and 36% strongly disagree. Males: 15.7% strongly agree, 29% torn, and 48% strongly disagree.
• When comparing on the basis of GPA, those students with the highest were most opposed (65%) while those with less than a 2.5 were the most supportive of this requirement (57%).
• Students whose major is in the liberal arts were the only ones who supported requiring a course (51%) while those from the other colleges were opposed with BAS representing the strongest opposition (67%).

"All MTSU undergraduates should be required to take at least one course that focuses on women's history, culture, or perspectives"

• Similar to the previous question, approximately 15% strongly agree, 39% are torn and 39% strongly disagree.
• Mean = 3.06, median = 3.
• Although in the same direction as the whole group, females more so than males are positive or torn (p<.000). Females: 16% strongly agree, 43% torn and 35% strongly disagree. Males: 10% strongly agree, 31% torn and 52% strongly disagree.
• Minorities are more likely to strongly agree except Native Americans who are most likely to strongly disagree.
• Although to differing degrees, students at all gpa levels were opposed to a requirement of taking a course on women. Seventy-two percent of those with >3.5 gpa down to 50% of those with <2.5.
• Similarly, the majority of students in each of the colleges were opposed to a one course requirement. Business college students were the most opposed (72%) while 56% of the liberal arts were opposed. Percentages for the other colleges were in between these percents.

"All MTSU undergraduates should be required to take at least one course that focuses on issues of social class"

• Mean = 2.9, median = 3.
• Again similar to the previous questions, approximately 16% strongly agree, 45% are torn and 33% strongly disagree.
• Males and females differ as they did for the previous questions, a matter of degree not direction. Females: 16% strongly agree, 47% torn and 31% strongly disagree. Males: 15% strongly agree, 39% torn and 40% strongly disagree.
• As a group, minorities are slightly more likely to strongly agree than the whole group of students.
• Similarly to the other "required course" questions, students with the highest gpa's were most opposed (63%) while those with <2.5 gpa were most supportive of this requirement (55%).
• Percentages for students within the different colleges were not significantly different.
• When it comes to requiring courses that reflect diversity, this group of students was more likely to feel torn (somewhat agree and somewhat disagree) that this is a good idea.

"Faculty members at MTSU are fair to all students regardless of their background"

• Although more positive for whites (64%) than minorities (47%), the bulk of students agree (61.5%).
• Mean = 2.47, median = 2.

"MTSU provides an adequate program of support for students who are experiencing academic difficulty"

• Fifty percent agree or strongly agree that there is adequate support, but there were many students who simply reported that they did not know the level of support.
• Mean = 2.91, median = 2
• When comparing by gpa, 60% of those students with >3.5 gpa agreed that there was adequate support. Approximately 48% of all students with <3.5 gpa agreed that the support was adequate.

"Students at MTSU have significant input in university matters"

• Only 7% of students strongly agree. Most students disagree or strongly disagree (53%).
• Mean = 3.2, median = 3.

"Students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds participate equally in classroom discussion and activities at MTSU"

• Mean = 2.39, median = 2.
• Most students agree or strongly agree (65%), but more whites are positive (67%) than are minorities (51%).
• Percentage wise more females than males agree or strongly agree (66% - 63%), more males than females disagree (29% - 22%), and more females than males don't know (12% - 8%).

"MTSU is a good place to gain understanding about multicultural issues and perspectives"

• The majority agree or strongly agree (57%), but whites are more positive (59%) than minorities (43%).
• Mean = 2.62, median = 2.

"Murfreesboro is a community in which I feel comfortable"

• Mean = 1.83, median = 2.
• The vast majority of students agree or strongly agree (81%).

Section 5: Frequency of being treated unfairly based on personal characteristics

(see table at end of section for percentages over entire sample)

"How often have you been treated unfairly at MTSU because of your race/ethnicity?"

• Mean = 3.56, median = 4
• Most students reported never (72%) and only 3.2% reported often. These percentages did differ (p< .000) by minority status - 76.9% whites said never, while minorities reported 38.2% never and 9.7% often.
• Although following a similar pattern, males did report more unfair treatment than did females (36% rarely to often and 26% rarely to often, respectively).

"How often have you been treated unfairly at MTSU because of your gender?"

• Mean = 3.3, median = 4.
• Twenty-one percent reported this has happened "sometimes to often" but more men than women reported they have never been treated unfairly due to gender (65% to 51%).

"How often have you been treated unfairly at MTSU because of your sexual orientation?"

• Mean = 3.78, median = 4.
• Although 87% of the students reported never (only 5.5% of the students claimed to be non-heterosexual), 59% of the Asian students (N=17) did report some unfair treatment. Obviously the numbers are very small, but all other race/ethnic groups reported similar percentages as the whole group, varying around 85%.

"How often have you been treated unfairly at MTSU because of your social class?"

• Mean = 3.57, median = 4.
• Nearly 16% of the students reported this treatment sometimes (12.6%) to often (3.1%). These findings were fairly consistent across gender and race/ethnicity.

"How often have you been treated unfairly at MTSU because of your religion?"

• Mean = 3.49, median = 4.
• Nearly 16% also reported unfair treatment sometimes (11.6%) to often (4.7%). Although the sample was very small, Asian, Native American, and Hispanic students reported a higher incidence of unfair treatment.

"How often have you been treated unfairly at MTSU because of your age?

• Mean = 3.39, median = 4.
• Nearly 19% of the students reported unfair treatment sometimes or often due to age. (Note the median age is 22, with a mean age of 26.5 years.)

"How often have you been treated unfairly at MTSU because of your accent/dialect?"

• Mean = 3.66, median = 4.
• Only 9% of the students reported unfair treatment sometimes or often.

"How often have you been treated unfairly at MTSU because of your national origin?"

• Mean = 3.82, median = 4.
• Only 5% of the students reported unfair treatment sometimes or often.

"How often have you been treated unfairly at MTSU because of your disability?"

• Mean = 3.83, median = 4.
• Similarly only 5% reported unfair treatment sometimes or often.

Unfair Treatment	Race/ Ethnicity	Gender	Sexual Orientation	Class	Religion	Age	Accent	Nationality/ Origin	Disability
Often	3.2	3.5	2.9	3.1	4.7	4.7	3.6	2.4	2.1
Sometimes	9.2	18.0	3.3	9.5	11.6	14.3	5.4	3.0	3.2
Rarely	15.8	23.8	7.1	14.6	13.3	18.0	12.5	5.0	4.1
Never	71.8	54.7	86.8	72.8	70.4	63.0	78.6	89.6	90.6

 

Section 6: Frequency of being harassed because of the following personal characteristics

(see table at end of section for percentages over entire sample)

"How often have you been harassed at MTSU because of your race/ethnicity?"

• Mean = 3.85, median = 4.
• Although 90% of the students reported this never happened to them, as one might expect less minority students reported never (74%).

"How often have you been harassed at MTSU because of your gender?"

• Mean = 3.67, median = 4.
• Approximately 78% of the students reported they had never been harassed, but again as one might expect, 73.5% of the women and 91.5% of the men reported never (p<.000). Unfortunately 2.2% of the women reported this happened often.

"How often have you been harassed at MTSU because of your sexual orientation?"

• Mean = 3.89, median = 4.
• As reported in the table below, 3.4% of the students reported being harassed sometimes or often.

"How often have you been harassed at MTSU because of your social class?"

• Mean = 3.85, median = 4.
• Similarly as with sexual orientation, 3.9% of the sample reported this kind of harassment.

"How often have you been harassed at MTSU because of your religion?"

• Mean = 3.82, median = 4.
• Most students reported never (85%) but approximately 7% reported sometimes or often.

"How often have you been harassed at MTSU because of your age?"

• Mean = 3.82, median = 4.
• Although the numbers are small, Asian, Native American, and Hispanic students reported more incidents of harassment due to age (never - 59%, 77%, and 74%, respectively).

"How often have you been harassed at MTSU because of your accent/dialect?"

• Mean = 3.86, median = 4.

"How often have you been harassed at MTSU because of your national origin?"

• Mean = 3.93, median = 4.

"How often have you been harassed at MTSU because of your disability?"

• Mean = 3.93, median = 4.

Harassed	Race/Eth	Gender	Sexual Orientation	Class	Religion	Age	Accent	Nationality/ Origin	Disability
Often	1.1	2.2	1.2	1.1	2.2	1.0	1.3	.8	.3
Sometimes	3.3	7.3	2.2	2.8	4.5	3.1	2.3	.8	1.6
Rarely	5.4	12.2	3.5	5.6	8.8	8.9	5.0	2.7	2.3
Never	90.2	78.3	93.1	90.5	84.6	87.1	91.3	95.7	95.7

 

Section 7: Frequency of perception "not free to voice true opinion" in classrooms or other public settings at MTSU about different groups

(see table at end of section for percentages of the entire sample)

"How often have you felt that you were not free to voice your true opinion in classrooms or other public settings at MTSU about issues concerning race/ethnic minorities?"

• Mean = 3.16, median = 4.
• Approximately 45% reported this had happened rarely to often, but the rates did not vary by minority status or gender. Unfortunately in a university environment, this suggests that for many of us there are times when we feel constrained in our speech about minorities.

"How often have you felt that you were not free to voice your true opinion in classrooms or other public settings at MTSU about issues concerning women?"

• Mean = 3.35, median = 4.
• Comparably the students reported more freedom to voice issues about women than minorities, but the differences were not explained by minority or gender status. And again, the findings suggest that nearly 38% of the students felt some constraint.

"How often have you felt that you were not free to voice your true opinion in classrooms or other public settings at MTSU about issues concerning men?"

• Mean 3.49, median = 4.
• As a group, students felt more freedom to voice opinions about men (71%) than women or minorities. Again, the differences were not explained by gender or minority status.

"How often have you felt that you were not free to voice your true opinion in classrooms or other public settings at MTSU about issues concerning non-heterosexuals?"

• Mean = 3.28, median = 4.
• Similar to freedom to voice opinions about minorities and women, 10% of the students often felt constrained in voicing their opinions about non-heterosexuals.

"How often have you felt that you were not free to voice your true opinion in classrooms or other public settings at MTSU about issues concerning people with disabilities?"

• Mean = 3.62, median = 4.
• Over all the groups, students felt the least constrained (77% reported never) than any other group. This might suggest that being disabled is less controversial, therefore more open for discussion than other groups on campus.

"How often have you felt that you were not free to voice your true opinion in classrooms or other public settings at MTSU about issues concerning individuals with different national origins?"

• Mean = 3.5, median = 4.
• Perhaps in response to the lingering impact of terrorism threats, approximately 29% of the students felt somewhat constrained in their freedom to their opinions.

"How often have you felt that you were not free to voice your true opinion in classrooms or other public settings at MTSU about issues concerning religious groups?"

• Mean = 3.2, median = 4.
• Similar to the constraints felt by students concerning issues about minorities, 42% of the students felt constraint concerning issues of religion. White students were more likely to say sometimes or rarely (33%) than were minority students (22%).

Not free to voice	r/e monitoring	women	men	non-heterosexuals	people with disabilities	diff. nat. origins	religious groups
Often	10.2	6.3	5.3	10.6	3.8	5.3	10.7
Sometimes	18.7	14.9	11.5	14.3	7.8	10.5	16.3
Rarely	15.7	16.6	12.6	11.8	11.5	13.0	15.4
Never	55.3	62.1	70.6	63.2	77.0	71.2	57.7

 

Section 8: Frequency of reading, hearing, or seeing insensitive or negative comments or material at MTSU about different groups

(see table at end for percentages of entire sample of students).

"How often have you read, heard, or seen insensitive or negative comments or material at MTSU about race/ethnic minorities?

• Mean = 3.23, median = 4.
• A slim majority of the students (53%) reported never on this question, but the responses do differ by sex. Men are more likely to witness at least some (rarely, sometimes or often) negative comments or material (44.5%) than are women (39.5%).

"How often have you read, heard, or seen insensitive or negative comments or material at MTSU about women?"

• Mean = 3.25, median = 4.
• A similar percentage as for other minorities, 54% of the students reported never having read, seen or heard such comments or material. Obviously this implies that 46% have, but the findings do not differ by sex.

"How often have you read, heard, or seen insensitive or negative comments or material at MTSU about men?"

• Mean = 3.56, median = 4.
• Although most students responded never (71%), men were more likely to have witnessed insensitivity or negativity (37%) about men than were women (26%).

"How often have you read, heard, or seen insensitive or negative comments or material at MTSU about non-heterosexuals?"

• Mean = 3.14, median = 3.
• About 50% of the students have and 50% have not witnessed insensitivity or negativity about non-heterosexuals, but this does differ by sex. Women were less likely to witness this negativity than men (52% to 43%, respectively).

"How often have you read, heard, or seen insensitive or negative comments or material at MTSU about people with disabilities?"

• Mean = 3.61, median = 4.
• Again, most students reported never having read, seen or heard insensitivity or negativity about people with disabilities (72%). Of those who did witness such negativity it was rarely so (18%).

"How often have you read, heard, or seen insensitive or negative comments or material at MTSU about individuals from different national origins?"

• Mean = 3.34, median = 4.
• Approximately 41% of the students reported having read, seen or heard some negativity, but most of this was rarely so (21%).

"How often have you read, heard, or seen insensitive or negative comments or material at MTSU about religious groups?"

• Mean 3.14, median = 4.
• Approximately 49% of the students reported having read, seen or heard some negativity, and most reported "sometimes."

"How often have you read, heard, or seen insensitive or negative comments or material at MTSU about older students?"

• Mean = 3.48, median = 4.
• Approximately 66% reported never having heard, seen, or read negativity.

Negativity or insensitivity	r/e minorities	women	men	non-heterosexuals	people w/ disabilities	diff. national	religious groups	older students
Often	5.9	5.5	2.8	8.4	1.7	4.4	7.7	3.2
Sometimes	18.2	17.9	9.6	19.1	8.1	15.4	21.0	12.1
Rarely	22.6	22.2	16.3	22.5	18.0	21.4	20.5	18.4
Never	53.2	54.3	71.3	49.9	72.1	58.8	50.8	66.4

 

Section 9: Treatment from various groups across campus.

(The seven question percentages will be reported in a table format for ease of presentation. Highest % is in bold.) Overall, a large majority of students report fair treatment.

Treatment by group	residence hall personnel	professors	TA	admin	staff	other students	M'boro
Very fairly	20.2	45.9	35.2	36.4	45.1	44.2	43.6
SW fairly	13.5	41.1	27.1	34.6	38.7	43.2	37.0
SW unfairly	5.1	10.1	6.3	9.4	7.4	8.2	7.6
Very unfairly	3.1	2.1	2.2	3.7	2.8	2.2	2.7
No Experience	58.1	.8	29.2	16	6.0	2.2	9.1

 

Section 10: Feelings of safety (reported in %)

Note: For each of the following questions of safety, responses differed by sex. Male and female responses for "very safe" feelings are shown in bold on the bottom two rows of the table. Males consistently report feeling more safe than females, especially walking across campus, attending evening activities, and in the parking lots.

Safety in	classrooms	library	KUC	rec center	Murphy center	prof. offices	walking across campus	evening	parking lots
Not Safe	2.3	2.5	3.1	2.5	3.2	2.7	12.1	18.3	26.1
2	1.0	2.0	2.9	2.3	5.7	1.4	16.8	22.3	23.3
3	3.3	5.3	12.1	6.2	12.8	4.7	24.1	17.6	19.3
4	14.1	16.5	23.7	17.8	20.9	18.0	22.1	15.3	15.0
Very Safe	77.8	71.2	56.0	54.7	43.9	68.9	23.7	17.1	14.9
1) male	82.7	81.0	68.5	63.9	59.9	78.4	47.2	40.9	34.7
2) female	76.1	67.9	51.4	51.4	38.2	65.1	15.1	8.6	7.7
NA	1.6	2.5	2.3	16.5	13.5	4.8	1.3	9.3	1.3

 

Section 11: Actions relative to diversity

"In the past year, how often have you challenged others on racially/ethnically derogatory comments?"

• A large percentage (34.5%) reported not having an opportunity to challenge others, while another 26% reported never doing so. Only 25% reported either sometimes or often doing so.

"In the past year, how often have you challenged others on sexually derogatory comments?"

• Similar to the percentages above, 31% of students reported that they had no opportunity to challenge others on these comments, and another 26% said that they never did so.
• Women reported having less opportunities, but when they did have an opportunity, 60% of the women responded that they sometimes or often challenged the comments. Men reported having slightly more opportunities than women to challenge comments. When they had an opportunity, 61% of the males reported sometimes or often challenging the comments.

"In the past year, how often have you made a derogatory comment or joke about gays, lesbians, bisexuals, or transgendered persons?"

• Of those who thought this question had applicability to them, 65% of women compared to 42% of men never made negative comments. Men (9%) more frequently reported often making negative comments, while only 3% of women did so.

"In the past year, how often have you developed friendships with people from different cultures or groups?"

• Most students reported they sometimes (40.6%) or often (38.5%) developed friendships with persons from different cultural groups. This was more likely to be often (53%) among minority members than among whites (36% often).

"In the past year, how often have you made a derogatory statement or joke about a religion or religious beliefs other than your own?"

• Most of the students (51%) reported never making a derogatory statement or joke, while 12.4% reported sometimes or often doing so.

"In the past year, how often have you refused to participate in comments or jokes that are derogatory to any group, culture, or gender?"

• Most students reported often (27.3%) or sometimes (25.2%) refusing to participate, while 11% reported they never refused and 12% rarely refused.
• Minorities, as one might expect, were more likely to often refuse to participate (36%) than whites (25%).

"In the past year, how often have you taken action to have offensive graffiti removed?"

• Many of the students (49%) reported not having an opportunity to take such action, while only 2.5% sometimes or often took such action.

"In the past year, how often have you made a derogatory statement or joke about persons with disabilities?"

• Most students neither had the opportunity nor didn't take an opportunity to make a derogatory statement or joke (88%). Men were slightly more likely to sometimes or often make a derogatory statement or joke than were women (11.5% to 6.3%, respectively).

"In the past year, how often have you attended non-classroom programs or activities about gender or issues related to women?"

• Only 13% reported sometimes or often attending such activities. Surprisingly, nearly 30% reported NA, which I assume means they did not know about such events.
• Women were slightly more likely to report attending these events than were men.

"In the past year, how often have you attended non-classroom programs or activities about the history, culture, or social concerns of various racial and ethnic groups?"

• Similarly only 14% reported having attended such events while 35% were unaware of their opportunities.

"In the past year, how often have you made a derogatory statement or joke about a person's age?"

• Most students reported NA or never making such statements or jokes (75%).

"In the past year, how often have you made a derogatory statement or joke about a person's racial identity?"

• Overall, most students reported never making such negative statements or jokes (82%).
• Males (30%) were slightly more likely than females (14%) to ever make a derogatory statement or joke.

Section 12: Familiarity about programs and services offered at MTSU.

	Very Familiar	Somewhat familiar	Somewhat unfamiliar	Not at all familiar
JAWC*	5.2	21.9	15.9	56.9
Sexual assault awareness week*	3.6	22.4	18.9	55.1
Multicultural affairs	6.5	17.0	20.7	55.9
Disabled student services	18.2	32.2	18.2	31.2
Adult services center	12.2	23.2	16.8	47.7
Lambda	3.8	13.0	15.0	68.2
Study Abroad	8.0	27.7	24.7	39.5
African American Studies	5.9	20.3	23.3	50.5
Global Studies	4.0	13.2	22.9	60.0
Women's Studies*	10.2	30.4	21.9	37.6
Aging Studies	3.3	10.3	19.6	66.8
Statement of community standard of civil behavior	1.7	4.9	12.9	80.5
McNair scholars program	5.0	11.1	19.3	64.6
NWHM*	8.5	24.5	19.6	47.4
AAHM	10.3	24.2	21.1	44.5
Center for Dyslexia	5.6	16.5	23.6	54.2

* Differs by sex. Females more familiar than males.