Universities characteristically embrace social diversity, which is why many students and faculty members in the University of California system are baffled by recent racist gestures on campus–including a theme party mocking black history month and a noose left in a library–that seem to undercut that very ethos.  The Associated Press reports:

Free speech is a buzzword on college campuses, which tend to be regarded as “marketplaces of ideas” where students are encouraged to express opinions freely, said Brian Levin, director of Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

But experts note that universities are microcosms of society at large, and that includes hatemongers. Upticks in hate crimes are often seen in times of economic malaise as people seek scapegoats, noted Jack Levin, a Northeastern University sociologist who has studied hate.

Still, surveys show that prejudice among today’s young people is at a low and interracial and interethnic marriages are at an all-time high, said Tom Smith, director of the general social survey at the National Opinion Research Center. Studies have also long found that education increases tolerance of different groups, he added.

“College students, as a group, are quite liberal on this issue,” Smith said.

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