Survey: Political beliefs are the top reason University of Tennessee students feel excluded
Political beliefs are the leading reason students feel excluded or intimidated on the University of Tennessee campus, according to survey results released last week.
The MyCampus Student Experience Survey conducted in spring of 2017 is the first system-wide survey to look at student experience, diversity and inclusion.
Of the 4,747 students who took the survey at the Knoxville campus, 76 percent were “very comfortable” or “comfortable” with the campus climate.
But the survey, conducted by Rankin & Associates Consulting, also points to a few areas where improvement could be made.
“I am encouraged by these trends,” UT Chancellor Beverly Davenport said. “Am I also alarmed? Yes. If 15 percent [of students] feel excluded and they’ve experienced intimidating or hostile experiences, that is problematic, and we’re going to have to continue to work on that.”
According to the survey, 15 percent of students who responded said they’ve experienced exclusionary, intimidating or offensive conduct.
Of those, 32 percent — or about 5 percent of overall respondents — said their political beliefs were the reason they felt excluded.
The next biggest reasons for feeling excluded on campus were gender identity, ethnicity and sexual identity.
The survey was not broken down by types of political beliefs but noted that “several respondents expressed that they felt discriminated against because of their conservative beliefs and political affiliations.”
Lawmakers in recent years have criticized UT
for being too liberal and not friendly to conservative voices on campus and have even suggested UT create an office for “intellectual diversity.”
“We have been criticized,” Davenport said. “I don’t think the conservative political view feels more excluded than other political views. We’re still digging in, but I have looked at that specifically.”
The survey was conducted in the months immediately following the election of Donald Trump, but Davenport said she feels the divisive political climate seen right after the election has continued on college campuses and contributed to many students having strong feelings about their political views.
“It’s the national climate,” she said. “We are divided on many, many things. I don’t think we would have a complete view of what makes people feel excluded if political views hadn’t been included.”
Rep. Martin Daniel, R-Knoxville, who sponsored a free speech bill last year inspired by controversial conservative commentator Milo Yiannopoulos, said he was not concerned by the findings of the survey.
“It seems like a small percentage,” he said. “It seems like they’re doing pretty good over there.”
The survey follows Tennessee lawmakers’ decision in 2016 to de-fund UT’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion.
Some initiatives of the office have been moved to other areas at UT, but others, such as the UT Pride Center, have suffered because of the lack of funding.
Since she took office one year ago, Davenport has helped hire a pride center coordinator using private funds and ensure the future sustainability of the pride center.
She said the survey results provide some of the first real data the university has on underrepresented groups such as LGBT students and offer clues on how to best help those students moving forward.
“Everybody has a view about that question,” Davenport said when asked if she sees the Office for Diversity and Inclusion coming back. “I think what’s important is the work we’re doing. Are we doing the work to ensure that marginalized groups get connected and feel welcomed?
“I think we’ve got to take the conversation above an office. We have to talk about, ‘Are we doing the activities it takes? Are we investing in the right kinds of things that will help our students?’”
In addition to findings on diversity and inclusion, the survey pointed to unwanted sexual experiences as a key area where the university could see improvement.
Ten percent of students who responded said they had unwanted sexual experiences while enrolled at UTK.
Only 4 percent of students who experienced unwanted sexual interaction, such as cat-calling, unwanted sexual advances or harassment, reported the experience, and only 16 percent who experienced unwanted sexual contact, such as rape or sexual assault, reported it.
The primary reason was a lack of faith in the reporting process and not believing anything would happen as a result of the reporting, the survey said.
Ashley Blamey, director of UT’s Office of Title IX and systemwide Title IX coordinator, said while the number of students who report is small, those numbers are growing and the recent establishment of a campus Title IX office has helped to improve the process.
“Every individual has the right to choose to report or not to report,” Blamey said. “Our responsibility is to get information out about what reporting actually means. It doesn’t mean you have to go through a specific process, but we can provide support.”
Other findings of the survey include:
Twenty-six percent of students have seriously considered leaving UTK. LGBTQ students, black/ African-American students and students with disabilities reported even higher percentages. “Lack of a sense of belonging” and “climate was not welcoming” were the biggest reasons students considered leaving.
Sixty-three percent of students “agree” or “strongly agree” the campus climate encourages free speech outside the classroom.
Most students reported positive academic experiences. Eighty-two percent said they agree or strongly agree they were satisfied with the quality of academic advising in their departments and 79 percent said they felt valued by faculty in their classrooms.
Forty-six percent of students said they have experienced financial hardship while at UTK.