RACIAL/ETHNIC DIVERSITY, CAMPUS CLIMATE, AND ROLE MODELS

EAF COLLEGE STUDENTS ' attitudes toward a variety of issues related to racial/ethnic diversity were surveyed by contacting all racial/ethnic mi-nority deaf students and a random sample of Caucasian deaf students attending the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), Rochester Institute of Technology; 38 % completed the survey. Although racial/ethnic groups similarly perceived NTID's commitment and efforts related to diversity, they differed significantly on some items related to campus climate and role models. Furthermore, the racial/ethnic minor-ity groups differed from each other in their perceptions of campus com-fort level, racial conflict, friendship patterns, and availability of role models. Educational satisfaction was positively correlated with campus comfort level; both correlated negatively with perception of discrimina-tion and racial conflict. Qualitative data analyses supported quantitative data analyses and provided rich detail that facilitated interpretation of deaf students ' experiences related to racial/ethnic diversity.ILA PARASNIS, VINCENT J