How can male students of color at Cornell feel better connected to the community at large? How can they avoid feeling isolated? And how can they be persuaded to seek academic help when needed?

Leading a discussion on these issues with more than 30 students and staff on May 4 in Anabel Taylor Hall was Renee Alexander '74, who since April 18 has been associate dean of students/director of intercultural programs. She is also holding a meeting with students in leadership positions in their organizations and communities this week and plans to hold a similar meeting with Cornell's women of color.

Alexander noted that the six-year graduation rate for Caucasian and Asian-American U.S. students at Cornell, according to the 2010 Undergraduate Graduation Rate Report, is 92.2 percent, but for U.S. African-American and Latino men it is 81 percent. The graduation rate for U.S. African-American and Latino women students is 90 percent. For Native Americans, the six-year graduation rate for men entering in 2003 is 91 percent and for women, 63 percent.

Attempting to explain the lower graduation rate for African-American and Latino men when compared with Caucasian and Asian-Americans, some participants said they feel disconnected, both from the larger Cornell community and within smaller groups. That sense of disconnectedness, some said, could be addressed by structured mentoring and networking programs, and by more people simply acknowledging each other with a nod or smile when walking across campus.

Most agreed that such student groups as the Men of Color Council and LINK: Men's Alliance and the Pre-Freshman Summer Program help develop connections and friendships, but that the transition from the diversity-rich summer program to regular fall classes often brings a sense of isolation and a hesitancy to seek help.

"We learn too late to ask for help," said James Sparkman '13, who added that he grew up feeling he could deal with his difficulties on his own.

Sometimes, students' pride makes it harder for them to seek help, added Jayson Jones '11.

Others noted that it is easier to reach out to faculty and staff members who share the same race or ethnicity. "The professor that I'm closest to is Latino," said Mario Rivera '11. "Is that a coincidence? No."

But, many participants stressed, racism and bias, even when unintentional, add to their sense of isolation.

Several attendees suggested some remedies, including organized meetings with alumni of color, mentoring programs and other networking opportunities, as well as recruiting more professors of color. Better integrating undergraduate and graduate men of color would also help build community, said Ozias Moore, an ILR graduate student. Grad students as well as alumni could serve as role models and mentors, he added.

Having a space to gather would also help in community-building, participants said. Alexander noted that this was one of the goals in establishing the intercultural center that will be housed in 626 Thurston Ave., beginning in August, after renovations are completed. Co-located in the facility will be the Asian/Asian American Center; the African Latino Asian Native American Students Programming Board; the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Resource Center; and the Alumni-Student Mentoring Program.

"One of my primary roles will be doing community-building among students of color on this campus," Alexander said.

After the meeting, Curtis Ferguson II, assistant director for multicultural public relations, added, "Developing cohesion among communities and providing safe spaces for people to voice their concerns are key."

The challenges ahead, noted graduate student Moore after the meeting, will be to create a balance between developing a community within the internal constituencies of people of color and developing a broader sense of community among all constituencies at Cornell.