Director of Undergraduate Evaluation and Research John Pryor released the preliminary results from the Campus Issues 1998 survey last night at a discussion held at Sigma Nu fraternity.
The survey, which was conducted by the Undergraduate Evaluation and Research office, was distributed during Winter term registration and the week that followed and was completed by 737 students.
A primary topic in the survey was the issue of respect on campus. Pryor said 84 percent of respondents indicated they thought students respected each other, 94 percent said they thought faculty respected students and only 64 percent responded they thought the administration respected students.
During the discussion, one upperclassman said he thinks students are quick to interpret their own dissatisfaction towards policies as a lack of respect on the part of administrators, and therefore the administration is often looked upon poorly.
In contrast, Pryor said he thinks freshmen believe there is a great deal of respect for and between all members of the community, while upperclassmen tended to have a more negative view of the administration.
Much of the discussion focused on the different ways to interpret the raw survey results. Suggestions were also made as to how the survey could be improved -- such as polling faculty to determine how they feel students respect others.
"These numbers shouldn't be the end of the discussion, they should be the beginning," Pryor said.
Pryor said he hopes the results will help other committees, such as the committee led by Dean of the Tucker Foundation Scott Brown that is looking at respect issues on campus.
Pryor said the primary use of the survey is to see how different ethnic groups feel about the issue of respect on campus. Students filling out the survey were asked to identify themselves in terms of ethnic identity.
He said students who felt there was a sense of community on campus also felt there was a great deal of respect for others, that friendships between students of different racial and ethnic backgrounds were common and easy and that racial conflicts do not exist on campus.
According to the survey results, Pryor said, upperclassmen were less likely to indicate they thought a feeling of community exists at Dartmouth. Overall, 75 percent of respondents said they agree there is a community at Dartmouth.
Only 59 percent of respondents in the Class of 1998 said they find a feeling of community on campus, while 68 percent of the Class of 1999 agreed and 74 percent of members of the Class of 2000 who responded to the survey agreed.
Eighty-eight percent of freshmen respondents indicated they find a feeling of community at Dartmouth.
Finally, the survey asked students to identify how easy they thought it was to carry out different activities on campus.
While 88 percent of students said it was easy to find a student to turn to when they need to talk, only 32 percent of students said they found it easy to date on campus.
Pryor said he will begin giving talks to many groups and administrators to discuss the significance and indications of the survey.
