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Fall 2007 Questionnaire Results

Do not put your name on this questionnaire, the information needs to be anonymous and is being gathered for the purposes of facilitating discussion in class. Questionnaires are due at the end of the first class. Thank you. 

Note: Some questions were left unanswered by the participants.

2.  What year are you in school and what is your major: (Notes: numbers in parentheses indicate number of respondents identifying the same major)

3.  Did both, one, or none of your parents graduate from college?

Note: four respondents did not complete this question

4. What percentage of the US population is: 

Note: In the 2000 Census, some respondents claimed more than one race, leading the Census Bureau to create the category "Two or More Races". "Some other race" was included for the first time in the Census 2000 for respondents who were unable to identify with the five Office of Management and Budget race categories.

United States Population by race and Hispanic origin (source - 2000 Census):

• 75.1% - White
• 12.3% - Afro-American
• 3.7% - Asian or Pacific Islander
• .9% - American Indian or Alaska Native population
• 7.9% - Other (includes persons classified by the Census Bureau of "two or more races'' and "some other race")

12.5 % were of Hispanic origin (persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race)

Wisconsin Population by race and Hispanic origin (source - 2000 Census):

• 89% - White
• 5.7% - Afro-American
• 1.7% - Asian or Pacific Islander
• .9% - American Indian (Includes Eskimo and Aleut).
• 2.8% - Other (includes persons classified by the Census Bureau of "two or more races'' and "some other race")

3.6 % were of Hispanic origin (persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race)

5. What is the average annual salary of:   

Median Household Income, 1997

• Whites -  $40,600
• African-Americans - $25, 100
• Asian-Americans - $45,400
• Latinos - $26,600
• Native Americans - $29,200

Median Household Income, 2002

• Whites - $45,225
• White (not Hispanic) - $47,033
• African-Americans - $29,939
• Asian-Americans - $54,488
• Hispanic Origin (of any race) - $34,099

(Source: U.S. Census)

6. Most poor white Americans live in (chose only one):

7. Most poor black Americans live in (chose only one):

Place of residence for poor Americans:

• Central City -                          Whites (32.7%), African-Americans (60.3%)
• Nonmetro (typically rural)     Whites (35.2%), African-Americans (17.5%)
• Suburban                                 Whites (32.1%), African-Americans (22.2%)

8. Please describe the race/ethnicity of your three closest friends:

9.  Have you ever dated a person of another race? (Y/N) - if No, then why?

Verbatim responses for those who indicated 'No'

• "Not many people of different race in my social circle."
• "Don't really know too many people of different races."
• "Never been asked."
• "I've only dated one person."
• "No specific reason I can think of."
• "Not for any particular reason."
• "Never met someone I really was interested in dating that was another race."
• "Although I've met men of different races I could see myself with, I've never had the opportunity to do so. But I did date a guy who was 1/2 Korean in high school"
• "Never had the opportunity."
• "I'm from a small town where there were no people from another race and the opportunity clearly couldn't present itself there."
• "Because he wasn't interested in me."
• "I have liked people of other races but never dated."
• "Never met someone of another race I was interested in."
• "Have been in a long term relationship since high school."
• "Home town is really all white and have had a longtime girlfriend from that town.

9a. Would you ever consider marrying a person of another race?    

Verbatim responses for those who indicated 'No'

• "Religious traditions."

9b. Would you consider adopting a child of another race?    

If yes, which race(s)?

Any race (no preference):

18 responses

Verbatim responses for those who indicated 'No'

• "I do not plan to adopt."
• "I don't plan on having children."
• "I want my own children, it has nothing to do with race."
• "I hope to be able to have my own kids and not adopt."
• "This is a difficult question and I don't really have a strongly definitive answer as to either yes or no.  But if I were to answer 'no', it would mostly be because of stigma associated with children who don't look like their parents."

10. Have you ever had a teacher who was black, Hispanic/Latino, Asian American, Native American prior to college? (check all that apply).  

Note:   Percentages above are approximate.

11. What is your own ethnic/racial identity?  (*Note: responses for 'White' category include: Irish, English, Lithuanian, Hungarian, Russian, Norwegian, Hispanic, German, Jewish, Czech, Caucasian.)

 _____________________________________________________________________

12. Please select the top two reasons people succeed economically.

13a. Do minorities experience discrimination because of their race/ethnicity?  

13b. If yes, could you briefly elaborate?                     

Verbatim Responses

• "They have more problems entering certain fields."
• "Everyone has a judgment about someone, and most people have judgments based on race, so discrimination is inevitable in most situations."
• "I think a lot of Americans still believe minorities don't have as good of an education."
• "I think discrimination is still present in many facets of our society."
• "Often opportunities are denied to certain racial/ethnic demographics based upon their social/economic background, e.g. more opportunity might be given to someone of a certain race who comes from the same background as someone of another race. But more importantly people are discriminated against on an economic basis."
• "There is a stigma that race is a red flag for things.  I don't know if anyone could tell you why?"
• "It can go both ways - either they don't receive certain opportunities because of bigotry or racism, or they do receive those opportunities because of their ethnicity."
• "Unfortunately, there are many people who still are racist or prejudiced - ex., the 6 boys in Jena, TX who face jail time- the story I just read said that residents of Jena feel that the Civil Rights Movement never came to their city."
• "As long as people are different there will always be discrimination, although I realize this is not a positive opinion, it is a sad truth."
• "While it isn't a widespread attack like before the Civil Rights Movement, it's still a daily occurrence on a far more subtle and unspoken level."
• "I think it still tends to happen sometimes, though definitely not as much as 20 years ago.  People are still set in mindsets that cannot be evolved unfortunately."
• "People don't understand what they don't know, so those different to you inherently scare you."
• "This is why we have laws that say you  have to be 'equal opportunity employers', etc. If minorities weren't discriminated against then we wouldn't need those laws."
• "Minorities are most discriminated against by secondary trends: high poverty rates or low education for example."
• "In the workplace for example, black men and women who receive promotions or are hired (whether deserving or not) are always questioned in the minds of some if affirmative action was involved."
• "Sometimes they get treated differently - get advantages because of their race and whites are 'discriminated' against.  But I'm not in the shoes of a minority, so I can't tell them how they feel - but they seem at times to be discriminated against."
• "Racial profiling, being hired (not hired) for jobs, rate of prison inmates much higher for minorities."
• "Stereotypes enforced by media among other things cause discrimination."
• "I don't believe it is tied as much to their skin tone as their culture and customs."
• "There's not enough time in the day form me to do justice to this question."

Statistical Comparisons

* 12.5 % were of Hispanic origin (persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race)

** 3.6 % were of Hispanic origin (persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race)

Source:  2000 U.S. Census

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