College students across the country have expressed outrage at the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed 17-year-old African-American boy who was shot by George Zimmerman, a self-appointment neighborhood watchman. Zimmerman, who was recently released on bail, was not originally arrested for the killing, but now faces second-degree murder charges. Martin’s death has raised a heated national debate about racial issues in the U.S. today, and despite assumptions that younger Americans tend to be more racially tolerant, the 2012 Millennial Values Survey, conducted among college-age Millennials (age 18-24) shows that racial tensions are very much present among this younger generation. I hone in on the issue more at the Huffington Post:

[T]here are deep divides between white and non-white Millennials about the merits of government programs to address racial inequalities, and about whether whites themselves experience significant discrimination.

Overall, almost half of Millennials (46 percent) believe that over the past few decades, the government has paid too much attention to the problems of blacks and other minorities, while only slightly more Millennials disagree (49 percent). A majority (56 percent) of white Millennials say that the government has paid too much attention to the problems of black and other minorities, compared to only 24 percent of black Millennials–a gap of more than 30 points.

Similarly, Millennials overall are narrowly divided (48 percent agree, 47 percent disagree) on whether discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against blacks and other minorities, an issue sometimes referred to as “reverse discrimination.” There is a nearly identical gap of over 30 points on this question, with 58 percent of white Millennials, compared to only 24 percent of black Millennials, saying that discrimination against whites has become as big a problem as discrimination against blacks and other minorities.

To read the full article, head to the Huffington Post.