The campus experiences of 24 students of color at a large, predominantly white midwestern university were investigated using four focus groups and grounded theory methods of analysis. Participants were asked about their experiences in four area environments: classrooms, residence halls, student services and programs, and the city where the university was located. Interview data were analyzed using theory on aversive racism and cultural context. Findings suggest that white faculty, staff, and students avoid interacting with students of color in classrooms, residence halls, and in advising and helping situations, supporting the theory of aversive racism and suggesting that negative racial attitudes, combined with equalitarian values produce discomfort and/or fear, rather than the overt racial hatred of the past; in turn, the aversive behavior functions as an isolating mechanism for students of color. In response to the hostile campus environment, students of color reported four survival strategies maintaining cultural coherence, dream internalization and maintenance, developing circumscribed knowledge, and program migration. Findings also suggest that the cultural context of research institutions supports a dual mechanism of isolation in which high levels of compartmentalization and specialization support avoidance of interaction by faculty and staff. Appendices include the conceptual frame model, the interview protocol, and a table of participant demographics. (Contains 17 references.) (DB)