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Dangerous Climates: Factors Associated With Variation in Racist Hate Crimes on College Campuses

NCJ Number
247979
Journal
Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice Volume: 30 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2014 Pages: 290-309
Author(s)
Nella Van Dyke; Griff Tester
Date Published
August 2014
Length
20 pages
Annotation

Although hundreds of American college students are the victims of bias-motivated verbal and physical assaults every year, little research explores whether there is a systematic pattern to the hate crimes that occur on college campuses.

Abstract

Although hundreds of American college students are the victims of bias-motivated verbal and physical assaults every year, little research explores whether there is a systematic pattern to the hate crimes that occur on college campuses. In this article, we study why some campuses experience more racist hate crimes than do others. We explore how campus demographics, tuition increases, and the presence of fraternities influence reported hate crime incidence. Through a statistical analysis of the hate crimes reported to the FBI by 349 colleges, we find that ethnic-/racial-bias hate crimes are more likely to be reported on predominantly White college campuses and those that have a large Greek population. We contribute to theory on hate crime by illustrating some of the social characteristics that make hate crime more likely in certain geographic areas than others. Abstract published by arrangement with Sage.