Highly Involved Black Undergraduates Resist Inequitable Practices at a Private Predominantly White Institution

• In Event: 61.068 - MTCC Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: 61.068-2 - From Pipelines to Pathways: Reconceptualizing Schooling for Black Males

Abstract

Black undergraduate students at Predominantly White Institutions seek community to combat the negative interactions of racism and discrimination that permeate throughout their campuses and to thrive at the university (Allen, 1992). Black students join organizations reflecting their desired goals and endeavors, which gives them the opportunity to lead and develop as individuals and impact society. Student organizations provide a sense of camaraderie among peers and develop their holistic pathway as a growing adult. This paper considers the experiences of traditionally aged highly involved Black undergraduate students and their trajectory from P-College resisting dominant systems. For the purpose of this study, highly involved students are characterized by students dedicated to two or more clubs and organizations. The main research question for this study is what are the experiences of Black Undergraduate Student Leaders in a Predominantly White Institution and how do they suggest universities create optimally inclusive environments to meet their needs. The paper will share Black student narratives from a PWI and how they establish a sense of belonging on campus, and how they suggest campus environments be more inclusive of their needs despite the P-12 schooling they receive. The students are involved in multiple clubs and have varying majors. This proposal is uniquely suited to this year’s conference theme— Leveraging Education in a Post-Truth Era because it amplifies students’ voices combatting the deficit perspectives and unjust environments that universities impose on students, forcibly requiring them to assimilate to campus environments that were not designed for them to succeed.

Black student achievement in higher education has garnered significant interest, encouraging students to take part in student organizations or other groups as a means to improve their student experience and persistence (Harper, 2007). Museus (2012) Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) framework provides an optimally inclusive framework to assess how collegiate environments can best serve the needs of diverse populations and is used in this study. One student mentioned that it was important for him to not only retain himself at the university, but to also immerse himself through the National Pan-Hellenic Council in discussions with administration on ways to improve access for Black students that seek to follow in his footsteps.

The paper considers student’s experiences in student organizations and how they use these connections to counter the many disadvantageous and oppressive practices in college resulting from P-12 educational experiences. 10 Black undergraduate students at a Private PWI on the western US are studied. Students use organizations as a means to create and redefine membership on campus, service for their home environments, graduate, and puts the onus on the institution.

The overall significance is that students commit to their clubs and organizations and redefine belonging on campus and community service. Institutional leaders must be proactive in advancing Black male success and engagement, while also increasing representation through recruitment and understanding cultural backgrounds of Black students. Black students feel unsupported inside the classroom and stress that many P-16 instructors are unequipped or uninterested in facilitating conversations of national and campus climate issues.

Author

• Donte Miller, Indiana University - Bloomington