U. dorms racially divided, report reveals

At a time when randomized housing and racial separation are at the forefront of campus debate, Leo Greenberg's political science paper has everyone talking. The paper – written as a project for Professor Ian Lustick's Introduction to Political Science class, entitled "A Separate Campus"– blames Residential Living programs for racial separation on campus. Attached to the paper is a document obtained from Residential Living which shows the racial distribution in all University residences and demonstrates that students tend to cluster themselves by race. The document indicates that African Americans in W.E.B. DuBois College House make up the highest percentage of any ethnic group in a single dorm, constituting 80.9 percent. White students in Kings Court make up the next highest percentage at 68.4 percent. The Residential Living report also shows that while African Americans make up about seven percent of the campus population, they only constitute 1.8 percent of the Quadrangle, the largest campus dorm. At the same time, while whites are a vast majority on campus, they only make up six percent of DuBois House. Greenberg also calculated an "Index of Dissimilarity" which determines what percentage of an ethnic group would have to move to a different residence in order to make the campus evenly distributed. He found that 41 percent of African Americans on campus would have to relocate to have evenly proportioned dorms. Presumably, he said, the same number of white students would also have to be relocated. "[Separation] leads to less communication between members of different backgrounds which then promotes racial tension and the prolonged existence of racism itself through lack of contact," Greenberg stated in the paper. United Minorities Council President Jun Bang said she disagreed with Greenberg's statement. "I think he's completely inaccurate in being able to make assumptions that less communication and interaction leads to racial tension," she said. "Idealistically it would be great if everything would be equal but that's not going to happen." Residential Living Director Gigi Simeone said she was interested in Greenberg's project, but she did not agree with his findings. "I would not say that the Residential Living system is the cause of separation on this campus," she said yesterday. "We have a system based on choice and based on student preferences, and that of course has resulted in certain patterns of living. "But I think it's important to look at the whole picture and the value of all of the Living Learning programs? and what they contribute to the entire campus." Greenberg agreed with Simeone that Living Learning programs are valuable, but he argued that the "living" portion of Living Learning programs should be eliminated so that support groups and cultural activities for ethnic groups could still exist. Greenberg also suggested that the idea of randomized housing for first-year students – an issue currently being discussed by the Commission on Strengthening the Community – is a good one. Student leaders are divided on this issue, which should come to the forefront when the Commission issues its recommendations next week. Bang said randomized housing is not an option because it will not work. "Even if you had randomized housing, a [typical] floor would still be predominantly white with very few Asians and very few African Americans," she said. "Is that equal? No, I don't think so." But Jonathan Pitt, president of the Student Committee on Undergraduate Education, said he thinks randomized housing would be beneficial to first-year students. "I think the first year at Penn is quite formative and it really defines one's experiences at the University," he said. "The problem is when you have first year students already separating themselves by race and ethnicity, you are essentially prescribing the future of Penn's students at that point. "After the first year you have to let students do what they want to," he added. "At least give them the chance to meet each other in the first year, a chance which does not exist now." Sociology Professor Elijah Anderson said yesterday that living arrangements at the University are only part of a bigger societal problem. "There are many, many problems here and this is just touching on one of the manifestations of the persistent racial and ethnic tension that we have in our society," he said. "A lot of what you see on campus is a reflection of what's going on in the wider society." Director of Academic Programs in Residences Christopher Dennis said he does not feel Residential Living is at fault because students can decide where they want to live. "The conclusion that Residential Living condones segregation, it seems to me, is inaccurate," he said. "All of our houses and programs are open to all students of any background. No one is restricted from any residential building by virtue of their race." Interim President Claire Fagin hinted last night that the University may be ready for a change. "In all campuses around the country, the question of students grouping in 'like' groups has become very prominent in the last couple of decades," she said. "We may be more ready for an examination of this issue and possibly a movement on an experimental basis toward more diversification." Greenberg said he is still awaiting a grade on his paper.