Racialized Diversions? How Latinx Students Navigate Race, Ethnicity, and the First-Generation Student Label in College

• In Event: Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Educational Access, Achievement, and Schooling Experiences

Abstract

The end of affirmative action and state-wide bans on DEI initiatives mean first-generation college student (FGCS) status may be one of the few ways colleges can target resources directly to racial and ethnic minoritized students. Through interviews with 23 Latinx college students from mixed-educated households (one parent is college-educated and the other is not), we introduce the concept of racialized diversions. This concept is rooted in our findings that Latinx students often self-selected out of needed resources and support because they were unsure if the label applied to them. Thus, we argue the FGCS label is a “diversion” because it shifts attention from racial and ethnic inequities to class-based ones, which might seem more palatable or less controversial.

Authors

• David Enrique Rangel, Brown University

• Rubysela Rodriguez, University of California - Santa Barbara

• Sophia J. Block, Brown University