When Students Get the Last Word
Last week, I moderated a virtual-panel discussion for the annual ChronFest about what students need from colleges. Amid declining enrollment trends, particularly among Black and Native American students, college leaders are wondering how to attract and retain students of color.
Achieving student belonging has been touted in academic journals, higher-education reports, and university statements as a priority, but what factors contribute to whether students of color feel welcome on a college campus?
I spoke with two student panelists: Skye Alex Jackson, a sophomore at Brown University and founder of the National Black Student Alliance, and Tvetene Carlson, an Alaskan Native and a Ph.D. student at the University of California at Berkeley, about how their identities have shaped their on-campus experiences and what colleges can do to contribute to a better student experience.
Here are four takeaways from the conversation:
Students Are Looking for Communities Within Their Campus Community
Just being on campus isn’t enough; students crave communities with people who share the same racial identities they do. These spaces help them cope with feelings of isolation and navigate racist experiences they may face on campus.
When he was an undergraduate student at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, Carlson found community in the Alaskan Native Science & Engineering Program, which supports Alaskan Native students from sixth grade through graduate school. There, he made close friends who he still cherishes today and who helped him to both professionally and mentally traverse rigorous undergraduate classes and later apply for a Ph.D. program at UC Berkeley. Carlson is also part of UC Berkeley’s American Indian Graduate Student Association.
Jackson, a Black woman, agreed with the significance of finding a group of people on campus with whom she could relate. She said sometimes students must do the work themselves to find these communities within their campus community.
“Finding community within your college community is extremely important,” Jackson said. She added that underrepresented students need these spaces to congregate, talk, relax, and exercise leadership.
Instead of relying on word of mouth, students say institutions can do a better job of disseminating information about affinity groups, student-success programs, and designated on-campus centers for students of color.
Benefits of Black Student Housing
One day, as Jackson was hanging out with a group of friends on campus, a white male student who she didn’t know approached them. She had worn her hair in long braids down her back and was standing tall, but meeting new people always made her a little nervous. She said that after she introduced herself to the man, he seemed surprised.
“I expected you to have a much deeper voice,” she remembered him saying.
The comment felt microaggresive. Jackson said that the man had assumed, because of the color of her skin, her height (she’s 5-foot-7), and her hairstyle, that she would present herself more aggressively.
The encounter frustrated Jackson who, at that moment, couldn’t wait to go to her on-campus residence hall, Harambee House. The residence hall was founded in 1993 by a group of Black students and faculty members at Brown University who wanted an environment where Black students could “engage in authentic cultural and, by extension, self-expression,” according to its website.
At Brown, Black students who are sophomores or juniors can apply to live in Harambee House.
When she encounters moments like that, it’s important for Jackson to have what she calls “family time,” where she can go to people who she connects with because they have had similar experiences.
“I think it’s easy for us as college students to get into school and just feel lost,” she said. “Being able to share that with my friends in my housing is incredibly healing.”
Precollege Programs Help Students of Color
Both Carlson and Jackson emphasized precollege programs as opportunities for prospective freshmen to get acquainted with the campus and make new friends. During the precollege program that he participated in, Carlson attended workshops that were conducted by his future professors. For him, it was a chance to get one-on-one time with individuals who would be his instructors without the pressures of the academic school year.
Before her first year at Brown, Jackson participated in a precollege program for students of color called the Third World Transition Program. As part of the three-day program, less than 100 incoming freshmen got to move into their dorms early and were each paired with one of 18 upperclassmen, who served as mentors. They also participated in daily programs that covered a variety of topics like race, sexuality, and gender.
“As a student who considers themselves to be shy in large group settings, having people that I have already built a relationship with and can relate to due to a shared sense of identity meant a lot to me while I was adjusting to campus,” she said.
Faculty Representation Matters
Having four professors who were people of color in her first semester at Brown made a huge difference in her success that school year, Jackson said. It made her more comfortable seeking out mentors and going to office hours.
At the University of Alaska, Carlson also found mentorship in one of his professors who was Alaskan Native. He felt comfortable asking her things like, “How do you deal with going back home and explaining your job to your grandparents?”
“I have wonderful white professors who I’m still in contact with and taught me excellent things, but that’s not a question I can ask them,” he said.
Carlson stressed the significance of one-on-one time with professors, but added that professor outreach to students is important as well. Sometimes students are scared to approach professors; faculty shouldn’t just sit in their offices and expect students to come to them, he said.
“Professors are scary. They’ve got these big titles, they’ve been doing this for a while, they’re really smart,” he said. “You don’t want to embarrass yourself in front of them.” —Oyin Adedoyin
