This study examined areas of racial tension and racial attitudes among first-year students at York University in Ontario (Canada). A survey of 1,129 first-year students in 1993-94 indicated that the vast majority believed that visible minority students had been treated equally by professors, staff, and other students. However, the first year was experienced differently by students of Black, East Indian, Chinese, European, and "other" origin. Comparisons did not always favor those of European background: East Indian students reported the greatest number of out-of-class contacts with faculty and staff. While certain outcomes of the first year experience--self-assessments of intellectual development and grade point average--varied by race, these differences could not be attributed to race per se. Focus group discussions conducted with 24 Black students and 33 students of Italian or Portuguese origin found that 23 percent of the Black and 9 percent of the Italian/Portuguese students felt that inside the university they had been treated worse than others because of their origin. Students may have been led to this conclusion because of non-specific feelings of discrimination, classroom experiences with students and professors, and informal experiences with racial overtones. (Contains 14 references.) (MDM)