UW ‘surprised’ to find that most students aren’t racist

The University of Wisconsin-Madison discovered — to its surprise — that most of its students are not discriminatory.

UW psychology professor Markus Brauer, who led the study, said that students from marginalized backgrounds “are very frequently the target of discrimination or offensive comments.” To test students’ habits around inclusivity, Brauer and his team hired actors over the course of several years to represent students from marginalized backgrounds — Black, Asian American, and Muslim, as well as a male who wore a “gay pride” shirt — to participate in behaviors that could elicit discrimination from other students.

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Ken Notes: I am surprised that they were surprised by the results. my experience is that Madison is a welcoming community and the UW is even more so. I am not a person of color, but I do continue to have open conversations with my friends and associates who are.