Approximately one quarter of Tufts' student body — nearly twice as many as last spring — participated in the fall 2010 Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate Survey.
Though senators remain pleased with the surge in respondents, results show that a majority of students are unaware of many of the resources the university offers, including support and judicial proceedings for cases of sexual assault. The survey also showed considerable support for the establishment of an Africana studies department.
The survey, administered in December, saw participation from roughly 26 percent of the student body, or 1,379 students, compared with the 896 students that completed the Senate Survey last spring.
The increased participation resulted from a larger effort to publicize the survey on the part of the Senate and the Student Outreach Committee, according to TCU Associate Treasurer Matthew Schuman. The committee, which authored the survey, is a group made up of senators and non-Senate-affiliated students which works to increase communication between the Senate and student body.
"We did ‘dorm-storming' where Senate members went door-to-door to answer questions and encourage student to fill out the survey," Schuman, a junior, said.
The survey posed questions on topics including environmental sustainability on campus, awareness of the resources available to sexual assault victims, the possibility of gender-neutral bathrooms, the establishment of an Africana studies department and student satisfaction with the Senate and the Group of Six cultural centers.
The results indicated a low level of awareness of the resources Tufts provides. In response to a question asking students if they were aware of the resources Tufts offers to sexual assault survivors, 41.8 percent answered "No" and 23.7 percent answered "Not Sure."
"Although the number of students aware of available resources rose 8.1 percentage points from the spring semester's survey results, the numbers are still not where we want them to be," said senator Wyatt Cadley, a sophomore, who was involved in last semester's reform of the university's sexual assault policy.
In a similar vein, a majority of respondents remain unfamiliar with the judicial process for sexual assault. Despite the administration's attempt to increase publicity after it unveiled the revised sexual assault policy last summer, 68.9 percent of respondents indicated that they were "not at all familiar" with the judicial process.
Still, Cadley argued that though this figure is disappointing, 24.7 percent of the respondents were freshmen and thus cannot be expected to be fully aware of the resources Tufts offers. He added that students generally do not become familiar with the judicial process for sexual assault until after an incident has taken place.
When asked if they knew how to submit a facilities request, 63.1 percent of students said "no," while roughly 55 percent expressed a lack of knowledge of programs connecting students with alumni for mentorship purposes.
TCU Historian and Student Outreach Chair Tomas Garcia, a junior, said educating students about available resources remains a challenge for the Senate. A number of senators plan to address this dearth of awareness in individual projects throughout the semester, he said.
The Senate has also considered proposing a seminar focusing on available resources for Tufts students in response to the survey results, Schuman said.
"We want people to know about the wonderful opportunities available to them because as of now a lot of people don't know about them," Schuman said.
Regarding the Group of Six cultural centers, 32.5 percent of students said they either agreed or strongly agreed that the centers are available as resources to the larger Tufts community; 19 percent disagreed or strongly disagreed, while 48.5 percent of respondents remained "neutral."
"The Group of Six are an integral part of the Tufts community, and if most people are neutral there are definitely places Senate and CECA [the Culture, Ethnicity and Community Affairs Committee] can implement plans for improvement," Schuman said. CECA, which works directly with the Group of Six, will receive a new chair this semester, giving the committee the ability to refocus on this mandate, according to Schuman.
Of students who responded, 42.7 percent said they either "agree" or "strongly agree" that an Africana studies department is necessary. Roughly 31 percent of students expressed interest in taking classes offered through such a department, while 10.1 percent said they would be interested in declaring an Africana studies major or minor.
The Senate last semester resolved to support the creation of an Africana studies major and a plan for an Africana studies department. A committee of administrators, faculty and students has been set up to look into the possibility of creating such a department, according to Schuman.
"The fact that over one-third of this small sample size of the student body would be interested in taking courses offered through an Africana studies department is very telling," Garcia said.
A large majority of students agreed to a question asking if Tufts was a safe place for members of the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender community, with only 3.8 percent of students expressing dissatisfaction. Meanwhile, 78 percent of students felt that their courses were inclusive of their racial identity.
