April 25, Robert Thompson, dean of Trinity College and vice provost for undergraduate education, launched the work of the Campus Culture Initiative. The steering committee meeting that day focused on the events of last March, but the small group began a process to answer the question, as DSG President Elliott Wolf, a junior, once framed it, "So, what do you want Duke to be?"
April 20, the President's Council on Black Affairs was briefed on "The Campus Life and Learning Project: A Report on the First Two College Years." Begun years before President Richard Brodhead and Dean Thompson crafted the Campus Culture Initiative, the Campus Life and Learning Project "aimed at investigating the quality of educational experiences for students from different racial and ethnic groups from Duke University." The report studied the first two years at Duke for members of the graduating classes of 2005 and 2006.
"The academic performance differences are to the advantage of Asian students, and to the disadvantage of Latino and Black students, with White and Bi-Multiracial students intermediate to these groups."
Here is the breakdown of fourth-semester GPAs, by racial ethnic group. Asian: 3.39. White: 3.30. Bi-Multiracial: 3.24. Latino: 3.14. Black: 2.97.
Here are the same fourth-semester GPAs, when adjustments are made for pre-college differences and test scores. Asian: 3.28. White: 3.26. Bi-Multiracial: 3.24. Latino: 3.19. Black: 3.12.
Of course, GPAs don't tell the whole story.
In the first year, here are the approximate numbers for students who reported that Duke instructors "treated them badly because of their race/ethnicity." Black: One in Seven. Asian: One in 10. Bi-Multiracial: One in 12. Other groups were less.
Here are the percentages of students who reported discrimination during their second year, whether in the classroom, in the residence hall or at another on-campus location. Black: 44 percent. Bi-Multiracial: 28 percent. Asian and Latino: 19 percent. White: 11 percent.
The creators of the report studied trends of racial discrimination in the classroom: "If we use a simple 'snapshot' metric of grading the University, with 90-100 equaling an A, then the University context for discrimination for Asians, Latinos and Whites would receive a solid B+. For Black students, the university receives a poor if not failing grade."
On entering Duke, I never would have guessed the last measure, and considering that Black Enterprise magazine ranked Duke the No. 10 school for African Americans last year, and 14th this year, I suppose I am receiving mixed signals.
Several weeks ago, I spoke with Provost Peter Lange to look for some answers. He echoed university administrators across the country in saying that lower black GPAs, across the board, are in fact a national phenomenon. He added that a study was being conducted at Duke to combat the problem of consistent group underperformance. One potential remedy he suggested was group study. I don't disagree. The Academic Affairs committee of the Black Student Alliance is teaming up with the Africana Mentoring Program to provide more opportunities for group study, put an e-print station in the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture, and pair up each black freshman with a black mentor among the upperclassmen-these among a set of other strategies to be implemented this year.
Somebody, please point me out if I ever pivot toward a national trend to justify a problem that can be addressed locally. Though we are called "minority" students across the country, we will not accept taking a minority role on this campus. We are charged, as President Brodhead loves to say, to make this our Duke. This Duke-the one described in this report-will not be the one I leave. It is not my Duke.
Samson Mesele is a Trinity sophomore and academic affairs chairperson for the Black Student Alliance.
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