POLL: Here’s what Princeton kids think about the BJL protests

The final results from Daniel Wilson’s poll on the BJL demonstration reveal how different racial groups on campus feel about the protests and demands.

Wilson also examined the racial composition of those who participated in the protests, and provided final numbers for the student body’s general views on each demand.

949 students participated, representing a statistically significant 18 percent of the campus population.

Views on BJL protest and demands according to race

Approval of each demand, as well as more general feelings about the protests, are broken down below according to the racial self-identification of poll participants:

Potential problems with raw data

The demographic information from the poll indicates white students were underrepresented, while black and Asian students were slightly overrepresented.

Wilson notes the data may also be skewed by an overrepresentation of active protesters. 17.6 percent of poll participants reported having participated in the walk-out, which is inflated relative to the 5.7 percent of the student body which joined the walk-out (based on a conservative estimate of 300 protesters).

Because protesters made up a higher percentage of poll-takers than they did of the school’s population, and because protesters gave more supportive evaluations than non-protesters, Wilson estimates the poll data was skewed more favorably toward the protest than is representative of the student body as a whole.

Wilson accounted for this discrepancy by superimposing two sets of graphs over the same axis: the blue graphs show results from the raw data, while the orange set assigns increased weight to non-protesters proportionate to their frequency in the student body.

Racial composition of protesters

Wilson does not correct for protester proportions within each race, but he does include the racial makeup of students who joined the protest.

Interestingly, the walk-out was comprised of more white students than students of any other race.

But Wilson does not compare the racial composition of protestors to that of the student body.

According to data from Princeton Profile 2015-2016, white students constitute 58 percent of campus while black students make up eight percent.

White students were therefore slightly underrepresented at the protest while black students more than tripled their proportional representation.

Student body views on protest and demands, regardless of race

Students rated their support of the first demand at 2.97 out of 10

The ratings were based on a 1-10 scale, where 0 means “absolutely not,” five means “maybe”, and 10 means “absolutely.”

The first demand says: “WE DEMAND the university administration publicly acknowledge the racist legacy of Woodrow Wilson.”

Specifically, the BJL asks the University to rename the Woodrow Wilson School, rename Wilson college, and remove the Wilson mural from Wilcox dining hall.

Students rated their support of the second demand at 5.23 out of 10

The second demand says: “WE DEMAND cultural competency training for all staff and faculty.”

The BJL’s original demands list explains this request was previously voted down on free speech grounds, and requests classes on the history of marginalized peoples be added to the list of distribution requirements.

Students rated their support of the third demand at 5.42 out of 10

The third demand says: “WE DEMAND a cultural space on campus dedicated specifically to Black students, and that space can be within the Carl A. Fields Center but should be clearly marked.”

The BJL stipulates the naming of the space be left to student discretion so as to avoid naming it after a “white benefactor or person with bigoted beliefs, as evidenced by the naming of Stanhope Hall.”

Students rated the protest’s overall impact on campus at 3.90 out of 10

The ratings were based on a 1-10 scale, where 0 means “negatively,” five means “neutral,” and 10 means “positively.”

Wilson, an ORFE major, told The Tab: “I was unsatisfied with the informality and descent into disorganized debate that was brought about by using Yik Yak the primary medium of communication.

“It seems most everyone not present at Nassau Hall lack a way to formally communicate their views.

“My personal motivation was both a simple interest in data and a desire to provide that missing medium.”

He released the link online through Facebook earlier today, and plans to release specific comments he received later this week.

Wilson’s entire analysis can be found here, while raw data from all of the poll questions can be found here.