Hello shredlings and happy SNOW DAY!!
Thank you to everyone who filled out the census! In total we had 85 responses (out of around 500 club members). Y’all’s census responses provided us with lots of information and suggestions that we can use to better the club. The Outdoors Club Census is incredibly useful in helping the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee understand where the club is at and how it can be improved for its members. The data provided below is a general overview of a few key census results, however, if you are interested in viewing more detailed results, consider joining the DEI Committee! (More information on how to do so at the end of this). You can also reach out to Susannah Allen, the current DEI Chair, if you want more information on the census results (bay6nh@virginia.edu).
Demographics
Please note, most demographic fields, such as race/ethnicity and gender identity, were multi-select options (meaning the total may add up to over 100%) which also included a write-in field where people could indicate another option.
Race/Ethnicity
American Indian or Alaskan Native – 1.2%
Black or African American – 0%
Asian – 9.5%
White/Caucasian – 85.7%
Hispanic or Latino/a – 1.2%
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander- 1.2%
Middle Eastern – 3.6%
Australian- 1.2%
Don’t know/prefer not to answer – 1.2%
Gender Identity
Woman – 51.2%
Male – 46.4%
Gender non-conforming – 2.4%
Transgender – 1.2%
Genderfluid – 1.2%
Non-binary – 3.6%
Prefer not to say- 1.2%
Student, Community member, or alum
UVA student- 97.6%
Alum- 1.2%
Community member- 1.2%
One significant observation from our demographics section is that the racial/ethnic makeup of our organization’s membership is disproportionate when compared to the general student population of UVA. We consider this a reflection of a broader societal issue of how historically, certain groups have not been welcome in outdoor recreation spaces AND we see plenty of work to be done within our own club. The Outdoors Club DEI Committee exists to improve the inclusivity of our club, one way being to improve the club’s diversity. This being said, the more voices we have in our committee, the greater of an impact we can have. We welcome anyone to join and attend meetings.We’d love to have you!
Trip Statistics
20.2% of respondents attended 8+ trips last semester
74.2% of activated trip leaders led at least 1 trip
18.6% of activated trip leaders led 5-8+ trips
Activity Specific Accessibility
Percentage of Respondents who have tried each activity
Caving – 58.8%
Indoor Climbing – 81.1%
Bouldering – 69.4%
Sport Climbing – 54.1%
Trad Climbing – 34%
Backpacking – 82.3%
Hiking – 100%
Mountain Biking – 67%
Road Biking – 74.1%
Trail Running – 71.97
Whitewater – 81.1%
Slacklining – 60%
Percentage of respondents who tried an activity for the first time with ODC (not including people who haven’t tried the activity)
Caving – 26%
Bouldering – .04%
Top Rope Climbing- .06%
Sport Climbing – .02%
Trad Climbing – .08%
Backpacking – 19.4%
Mountain Biking – 16%
Whitewater – 16.6%
Slacklining – .08%
While these were some of the highlights from the census, we also received lots of feedback on the club, as well as the trips that people want more of, which will be shared with the officer corps and sport advisors. We were stoked to see all the improvement there’s been with sport accessibility, and are working to address the areas for improvement that we saw in the responses. As always, feel free to fill out our general feedback form here or reach out to the officers (outdoors-officers@virginia.edu) if you have anything else you’d like to share! If you are interested in joining the DEI Committee, you can join the GroupMe below and be on the lookout for our monthly meetings (posted as trips)!
Group me link: Groupme
Peace, love, and dirt,
Susannah and the officers