We are establishing a microcomputer laboratory to provide laboratory-based instruction to all majors in critical lower- level required sociology courses as well as to provide a variety of opportunities for student research related to New York City in these and upper-level seminars. The clustered workstations permit students to share data and software, and to connect to the Internet via the City University of New York mainframe. With this laboratory, we can more effectively train students in Sociology and empirical social research, enhance their quantitative and analytic skills, and encourage as well as equip them for scientific careers, including teaching. These are important goals for any student body, but especially so for minority women who are seriously underrepresented in science and often hampered in their pursuit of scientific careers by feelings of inadequacy and anxiety surrounding math, computers, and quantitative reasoning.
