Rutgers promotes diversity at ‘campus town meetings’
Archived article from Apr 26, 2004
By Richard Gorman
Rutgers demonstrated commitment to diversity earlier this month, conducting a series of “campus town meetings” to probe the campus climate.
The diversity initiative, launched earlier this year by presidential mandate, underscores the university’s commitment to maintaining a campus environment that embraces diversity at all three campuses.
The Office of the President and the Rutgers University Committee to Advance our Common Purposes sponsored the talks. Committee representatives met with faculty, staff and students at the Rutgers Student Center April 12, posing a series of questions to measure the climate of tolerance for differing religions, races, sexual preferences and more on campus. Meetings also took place this month in Newark and Camden.
Michelle Smith, assistant director of student center reservations at Rutgers College, said stereotypes abound in students’ perceptions. “Busch is considered the nerd campus because of the sciences, engineering and pharmacy,” Smith said. “People perceive Cook students as doing everything on their own – they really don’t interact with the other colleges. Douglass is said to be the lesbian, feminist, anti-male campus. Livingston is the campus where black people are admitted, those who aren’t as smart as others. College Avenue is diverse because you can find anything and everything there.”
To gauge the level of tolerance and diversity on campus, the committee will survey administrators, faculty, staff and students universitywide this fall. The Office of Institutional Research and Academic Planning is working with the committee on the survey.
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