I guess it’s race week at LBC!
According to a new study, black students in their first year of college perform better academically when paired with a white roommate than with a black roommate. (Science News)
What to make of this? Natalie Shook, lead author of the study, said black students may adjust better because they live with someone who can help them adjust to college and its challenges.
While black students benefit from having a white roommate, white students don’t necessarily benefit from having a black roommate. For white students, the academic ability of the roommate is more important than the person’s skin color.
I went to a predominately black college, so I have no frame of reference. My youngest sister, on the other hand, roomed with white students. She said she could see how the study yielded such a conclusion.
“Watching them study helped me learn how to study,” she told me. “That was the main thing.”
Update: Points to consider, via Facebook friends – The study’s findings might indicate a fundamental flaw in race preferences (which involves lowering standards to admit a certain percentage of blacks) in college admissions. Black students may be poorly matched to their schools compared to white students. Did the researchers isolate for class background and academic preparation, i.e., are black students who attended private high schools better prepared for the college setting, etc.
Here’s the study’s abstract. You have to subscribe to the journal to download the full study.
