#campus climate

[trendynewsnow]

The University of Michigan's D.E.I. Initiative: Investment, Challenges, and Outcomes

The University of Michigan’s D.E.I. Initiative: A Decade of Investment and Challenges Ten years ago, the University of Michigan made a strategic decision to place itself at the forefront of a transformative movement that was just beginning to reshape higher education across the United States. As college administrators nationwide ramped up their diversity, equity, and inclusion (D.E.I.)…

The University of Michigan's D.E.I. Initiative: Investment, Challenges, and Outcomes

[digiknow]

[ncfcatalyst]

Campus Climate — Turning a New Page at New College

Campus Climate — Turning a New Page at New College

Submitted by Bill Woodson, Chief Diversity Officer and Dean of Outreach

Imagine a New College where the experiences and identities we bring to the table are truly welcomed. Where our collective commonalities as fellow members of a rich learning community are more important than our differences. Where our commitment to each other’s well-being and sense of belonging is more important than the…

View On WordPress

[notesfromanaspiringhumanitarian]

Documentary: Concerned Student 1950

Documentary: Concerned Student 1950

Video Description:

“A series of racist acts prompts three Mizzou students to pick up cameras and take us inside the student movement that brought down their college president. From the hunger strike, to victory, to the fear of violent reprisals, we live with the students who started a campus revolt.”

More at Colorlines.

“Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.”

View On WordPress

[climatecontrollers-blog]

Recommended Readings

There is established literature that reveals that negative campus climates are prevalent throughout institutions of higher education throughout the United States. The negative campus climates students of color face are not just mild stressors; they are detrimental to the academic success and mental health of students of color.

These articles focus on the harmful effects of negative campus climates:

“Self-Esteem, Locus of Control, College Adjustment, and GPA Among First- and Continuing-Generation Students: A Moderator Model of Generational Status” by Aspelmeier et al

“Retention depends on new models of student development” by Bourne-Bowie

“Nine themes in campus racial climates and implications for institutional transformation” by Harper and Hurtado

“Minds Stayed on Freedom: Politics and Pedagogy in the African American Freedom Struggle” by Perlstein.

“New approach to curb low-retention rates” by Powell

“Differing perceptions: How students of color and white students perceive campus climate for underrepresented groups” by Rankin and Reason

“Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate: The experiences of african american college students” by Solorzano et al.

“Minority stress and college persistence attitudes among african american, asian american, and latino students: Perception of university environment as a mediator” by Wei et al.

“Critical race theory, racial microaggressions, and campus racial climate for Latina/o undergraduates” by Yosso et al.

[notesfromanaspiringhumanitarian]

Race, Ethnicity and University Life: A Teach-in and Speak Out at Columbia University

Race, Ethnicity and University Life: A Teach-in and Speak Out at Columbia University

In this video, students, faculty, and staff at Columbia University talk about race, ethnicity, and inclusion on their campus, and at schools around the country.

Ubuntu,

From Aspiring Humanitarian, Relando Thompkins-Jones, MSW, LLMSW

—————————————————————————————————————————

[su_animate type=”bounceIn” duration=”1.0″ delay=”0″](N.A.H.) is advertisement-free and reader supported.If you enjoy my…

View On WordPress

[avagabondbrother]

Letter to President Hennessy on Campus Climate

Dear President Hennesy,

I have received your letter in my inbox recently about how you and other administration would like to survey the student body on campus climate. I must express that I am extremely confused as the campus climate cannot simply be measured. That you would like to do so in a 10-15 minute survey is even more confounding, however I can try to express what I feel campus climate to be in this letter. Before I begin though, I may add that in order to adequately discuss climate it would be inaccurate if this message wasn't triggering. We can start with the native community being shamed on public forums such as the Fountain Hopper and in general by alumni wishing to bring back the Stanford "Indian" mascot. We could start with the Yik Yak statements calling students terrorists. We could start with rapists being invited to study as graduate students. We could start with the continuous libelous attacks on communities of color. We could talk about Stanford's complicity in the occupation and destruction of a people. We could talk about Stanford's complicity and responsibility in the destruction of the young people's earth. We could talk about how Stanford is creating the next generation of people that will rule this world unethically. We can talk about Stanford's simultaneous invitations of safeness, sustainability, diversity, gender awareness and its apparent lack of intent to actually embrace these ideas. We can talk about how low-income students on campus feel on the day to day. We can talk about the trauma of merely being at Stanford. We could talk about a lot of things actually many of which I have not mentioned that are perhaps more important. The truth is, I am not sure what the intent is behind this survey but it doesn't seem that anyone who is bringing it is genuinely interested in the dialogue that Provost Etchemendy recently defined . It isn't clear that Stanford's intent is in creating the actual dream of a university where ideas flourish and all biases cease to exist. Its okay though, I am not expecting much at this point, considering this has been the position of Stanford since it was founded. Considering that Stanford has always played a role in the oppression of communities some of which now find themselves on campus. I have long known that it hasn't the historical role of Stanford to upset the world, challenge old ideas and power structures, but to perpetuate and strengthen and renew current privilege and power. Perhaps it is the tension between what Stanford could be and what it is that is creating this warmer campus climate, or at least as perceived by students who matter. I make that distinction because some of us have always been feeling this tension and sometimes it rips us up and a survey cannot capture that. I just hope that these survey results are tossed, because I can't begin to imagine how damaging it will be to use them as any sort of metric.

Concerned student, Malcolm Lizzappi

[fyuchicago]

Hi UChicago , I was recently admitted to the class of 2019 and UChicago is my first option. However I am concerned about racism to minorities on campus. The other day I found an article about a problem related to a racist halloween costume that later evolved into something bigger and in which some mexican students where threatened. I am latin american so I am a little worried about this. Also I was thinking to choose I-House where I think there would be less racism, what do you think?

Quick caveat: I’m not a student of color, so I definitely don’t want to give the impression that I know for sure what your experience may or may not be like as a latin american student at the U of C. But I’d be happy to talk more about the incident that happened this fall, and generally what I know of the campus climate around issues of racism. See below the cut.

For those who might not have heard the full story, there was an incident involving racist halloween costumes last year that (rightfully) sparked an activist response on campus. A petition was formed to demand an official University response, and the hashtag “#liabilityofthemind” was launched to bring light to experiences of racial inequality or discrimination on campus.

I want to clarify, though, that the Facebook “hacking” that gets mentioned in the earlier Maroon articles turned out to be a hoax. The student who claimed to have been hacked was the one who originally created the vicious post. TL;DR: racism definitely still exists here, but no student of color was directly threatened with bodily harm, at least as it pertains to this isolated incident.

Hacking hoax aside, this incident brought awareness to lots of issues that still need to be addressed. Fortunately, it also revealed the willingness of the student body to air out and discuss these issues. ~2500 people signed the petition - proof that many people here recognize the need for change. All universities in this country (sadly) still have big hurdles to face when it comes to issues of race, but - relative to many of its institutional peers - UChicago at least seems to own up to its shortcomings and resolve to be part of the solution. 

To answer your specific question about housing, I-House is a great community and I’ve heard good things about the diverse culture there, but I don’t think you will find it markedly more or less racist than other dorms. That’s because it’s my sincere belief that whichever dorm you choose will be a place where the vast, vast majority of students are not racist jackasses. If at any point that isn’t the case, rest assured that your RA, RHs, or other housing staff members are there to make sure you feel safe and welcome in your house. There is also a network of OMSA staff, deans on call, and bias response team members whose job is to respond to any issues that come up. 

I hope that’s helpful - please let us know if you have additional Q’s.