Understanding Student Opinions on Race, Meritocracy, and Diversity in a Race-Conscious Age

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  • August 19, 2020
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  • Arney, Kathleen
    • Affiliation: College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Sociology
Abstract
  • This study, modeled after a 2016 study by Natasha Warikoo at Harvard, Brown, Cambridge, and Oxford Universities, examines student opinions on race, meritocracy, and diversity through the lens of affirmative action. It focuses on the opinions of students at a Southern University to illuminate the tools students use to navigate racial issues and provide an understanding of current racial attitudes. “Opinions on affirmative action policy” was chosen as the proxy for student attitudes on race, meritocracy, and diversity because of student awareness, relevance to student life, and the opportunity to examine how students understand meritocracy and diversity when systematic inequality seemingly places the two at odds. This study attempts explorational understanding of how students navigate racial issues on campus, which will be used to develop existing knowledge on Southern, college-educated, student opinions. Data on student opinions was collected through an online survey, with approximately 470 student respondents and 16 in-depth interviews. The survey gathered information on student demographics as well as general attitudes on issues of race, meritocracy, and diversity on campus. The interview questions launched deeper discussion of these topics with open-ended questions aimed at better understanding how students manage concepts of race relations. The quantitative data was analyzed using factor analysis and logistic regression models and the qualitative data were used to explain trends in the quantitative findings. Findings suggest that while race was previously considered the most significant influence on people’s opinions about affirmative action, political affiliation is increasing in its significance related to how students manage concepts of race, meritocracy, and diversity. These findings provide insight to the college student mindset during an era marked by changing dynamics in race relations due to the Trump campaign and administration and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.
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  • In Copyright
Note
  • Funding: Carolina Blue Honors Fellowship Fund and Gillian T Cell Senior Honors Thesis Research Award
  • Funding: Honors Undergraduate Research Fund
Advisor
  • Tyson, Karolyn
Degree
  • Bachelor of Arts
Academic concentration
  • Sociology
Honors level
  • Highest Honors
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Graduation year
  • 2018
Language
  • English

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