Sociologists begin research on Bowdoin's racial and ethnic climate

News in brief: BEARS survey to go live Sunday

The BEARS (Bowdoin Experiences and Attitudes about Relationships and Sex) survey, which aims to capture and understand the campus climate regarding sex, relationships and sexual and dating violence, will go live on Sunday and will be open until Spring Break. The results of the survey will inform the programming of the Office of Gender Violence Prevention. Similar surveys have been conducted at colleges across the country, including Williams College and Colby College. Director of Gender Violence Prevention and Education Benje Douglas hopes to get as many responses as possible so that the survey is representative of student experiences. To that end, there will be tables in David Saul Smith Union and the dining halls, email reminders, a poster campaign, a Facebook group and a thermometer display in Smith Union showing the response rate. Depending on the response rate, the information should be released sometime next fall.

News in brief: Sociologists Charles and Kramer continue meetings on campus

After beginning research on Bowdoin’s racial and ethnic climate two weeks ago, sociologists Camille Charles and Rory Kramer will return to campus this coming week to continue meetings. While most of their interviews so far have been with specific committees and groups, the upcoming meetings will be more open to the entire student body. This upcoming Tuesday, from 6 to 7 p.m. in Daggett Lounge, all students are welcome to come speak with Charles and Kramer. The next day, a discussion limited to students who identify as multicultural will take place from 8 to 9 p.m. in Lancaster Lounge. Interested students are asked to RSVP to Associate Director of Events and Summer Programs Sara Eddy through the Doodle poll found in Dean of Student Affairs Tim Foster’s March 2 email.
As President Clayton Rose announced in an email to the community on December 3, Charles and Kramer will collect information over the course of this semester on the way students’ race affects their experience at Bowdoin. The sociologists will attempt to understand not only the experiences and perceptions of multicultural and white students but also the practices and policies the school has or lacks that contribute to these experiences.Their research will culminate in a recommendation for how the College may take action for improvement.

News in brief

Sociologists begin research on Bowdoin's racial and ethnic climate

February 26, 2016

Sociologists Camille Charles and Rory Kramer arrived on campus last week to begin research on Bowdoin’s racial and ethnic climate. As announced in an email from President Clayton Rose to the community on December 3, the researchers will collect information about the way students’ race affects their experience at Bowdoin. They will eventually offer recommendations for how the College may take action.

In their first visit to the College, Charles and Kramer conducted a series of 90-minute discussions with different student groups as well as faculty to discuss students’ experiences at Bowdoin as well as instances of racial and ethnic bias. Among these groups were the executive committee of Bowdoin Student Government (BSG) and queer students of color.

Julian Tamayo ’16, who works as a student coordinator in the Resource Center for Sexual and Gender Diversity and spoke with Charles and Kramer in one of these conversations, said that they did not pose any specific questions for the students but rather offered a space to freely share experiences. BSG President Danny Mejia-Cruz ’16 concurred that the researchers intend to focus on culture and climate by recording anecdotal data through frank conversations.

Charles and Kramer declined to comment until their project is complete.

Editor's note (2/26/16 at 11 a.m.): It was originally reported that Charles and Kramer spoke to Tamayo as part of a group of students of color from the BQSA. The group was not affiliated with BQSA.

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