In fact, this progress in itself explains some of the discomfort and acts of prejudice that disturb us all. Some members of the University community may openly resist, perhaps even with verbal or physical violence, the institutional changes that ensue when campuses become more diverse. Many other students may feel discomfort from their lack of knowledge and experience interacting with students different from themselves. Few students, or faculty and other employees of the university, were raised in communities as diverse as our campus. We also learned that, outside of certain minority communities, there appears to be a lack of knowledge about the University's de jure segregated past.
Symbols remain from that segregated past that affect the quality of interaction today.
For example, the African American students with whom we met made clear their resentment that Byrd stadium honors a former President of the University of Maryland noted for his belligerent stance against desegregation. Many on campus feel that the University's history of discrimination should be incorporated into curricular and training programs and activities and so be used as a valuable tool in our community building efforts. A university setting is a perfect environment for such a mission, of course. The panel was struck, too, by the number of identity-based groups, committees, projects, and commissions on our campus. In examining this matter, and especially the published research considering the effects of campus identity-based groups on the climate at diverse institutions, we became convinced that such groups are essential for community building, and eventually even nourish relationships among diverse groups.