A DOWNSIDE TO RACIAL AWARENESS. Steve Chatman, a researcher at UC-Berkeley, pulled data from the 2008 University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey that distinguish "interpersonal and diversity skills, campus climate, overall satisfaction and inclusion, and individual characteristics [religion, income, race, etc.]," including data on the respondents' programs of study, allowing Chatman to break down student perceptions by major. Here is what he found:

Upper-division area and ethnic studies students rated Climate of Respect for Personal Beliefs at 4.16. Humanities and social science students gave it a substantially higher 4.80, and science, engineering, math, and business students rated it even higher at 5.05. Obviously, field of study affected scores.

“Chatman attributes the low climate scores in area and ethnic studies precisely to the instruction students receive in those classes.... Whereas a math student might hear a remark and think nothing of it, an African American Studies student might discern prejudice and stereotyping.”

In plain English, “area and ethnic studies” students may be being taught to become racists.