No abstract

Using a national longitudinal dataset of college students, this study examines satisfaction with the ethnic diversity of the student body and faculty at traditionally White institutions. The strongest predictor of satisfaction with diversity for White and Latino/a students was the heterogeneity of the institution; the strongest predictors for Black and Asian American students were satisfaction with community, peer interactions, and the overall college experience. The findings suggest that supporting positive peer interactions and a sense of community are critical parts of a positive campus racial climate, in addition to increasing the heterogeneity of the campus.

This study analyzes data from the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen (NLSF) to examine whether religious affiliation and involvement are related to the outcome of interracial friendship in the fourth year of college. When controlling for students' demographic characteristics, institutional characteristics, and previous levels of interracial friendship, being Protestant or Jewish was negatively related to interracial friendship. In addition, students who reported higher levels of religious salience and involvement in campus religious organizations were significantly less likely to have close friends of another race by the fourth year of college. Findings highlight the need for educators to understand the role of religion in shaping students' precollege and college experiences with diversity.

This article considers whether the socioeconomic diversity of the undergraduate student body and experiences with cross-class interaction (CCI) are significantly related to cross-racial interaction (CRI) and engagement with curricular/co-curricular diversity (CCD) activities. Individual students who reported higher levels of CCI had significantly higher levels of CRI and CCD. While the socioeconomic diversity of the student body had no direct effect on student involvement in CCD activities or CRI, it had an indirect effect on these activities via CCI. In other words, a socioeconomically diverse institution is associated with more frequent interactions across class lines, which is associated both with more frequent interactions across race and JULIE J. PARK is an assistant professor in the greater involvement in CCD activities. Findings indicate that both socioeconomic and racial diversity are essential to promoting a positive campus racial climate and that racial and socioeconomic diversity, while interrelated, are not interchangeable. Implications for the campus climate for diversity are discussed.

This study uses data from the National Longitudinal Study of Freshmen to examine the racial/ethnic composition of student organizations as well as the relationship between student organization participation and close interracial friendship. White students were the most likely to be in majority White environments in fraternities and sororities, while religious groups were the environments where Black and Asian American students were most likely to gather with same-race peers. Participating in Greek life, religious groups, and ethnic student organizations were negative predictors of having at least one close friend of another race/ethnicity. Students of color had higher rates of close interracial friendship than White students, and students attending racially diverse campuses were more likely to have close interracial friendship. Implications for student organizations and their impact on the campus racial climate are discussed.