Toxic Campus Climates
It’s been a dismal year for racial harmony on campus, but some scholars say conflict can serve as a learning experience for the entire community
By Kendra Hamilton
The rings and robes have been ordered and there’s both joy and uncertainty in the air as campuses go through the annual rite of graduation. But, across the nation, there are also pockets of administrators who can’t wait to close the books on the 2005-2006 academic year.
If the headlines are any measure, it’s been a dismal year for racial harmony on campus, with these controversies erupting:
– Boulder, Colo., where threatening e-mails to campus athletes and a female student leader — “You will die if you run for student government” — have rattled Black and Hispanic students and embarrassed the administration.
