“It’s not a Productive and Constructive Space for us as Black Students”: Reimagining Campus-wide Support for Black Students at West Coast AANAPISI/HSIs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32674/5ewhpz18Keywords:
Black College Student Belonging, Counternarratives, Student Affairs Student SupportAbstract
Black students at four-year universities on the West Coast are often overlooked based on misconceptions that their experiences are inconsequential due to the region’s progressive nature. This study illustrates that Black students at West Coast Non-Black minority-serving institutions (MSIs) encounter barriers to getting an education: in class, on campus, and in student housing. This study examines 21 Black students’ perceptions of their dual-serving MSI (AANAPISI/HSI) on the West Coast to answer the research question: What stories do Black students attending AANAPISI/HSIs tell as their educational experiences? This sample produced three overarching ideas: (1) Black students encounter anti-Black language in their courses, (2) perceive their campus to provide little support outside of Black Campus Centers, and (3) feel their “Blackness” is targeted in various student housing interactions. Evidence-based recommendations provide MSI educators with ways to improve campus-wide support for Black-identifying students attending non-Black-centered MSIs and PWIs.
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