Examining Student Research on Diversity

1
Examining Student Research on Diversity

• Cultural Houses and the Pursuit of Diversity
• Tim McDonough
• Ethnography of the University Initiative

2
Question Methodology

• What can student researchers tell us about the
  issue of Diversity on Campus?
• Searching the Archive
• Prioritize the most recent
• Select all studies on focused Diversity
• Identify trends and report data
• Analysis minimal explicit analysis, but inherent
  in the identification of trends and the choice
  of relevant data.

3
Invitation to the Archive

• EUI Community in IDEALS
• www.ideals.uiuc.edu/handle/2142/755
• www.eui.uiuc.edu

4
Overview of Presentation

• Student Identity in Process
• Defining Diversity
• Cultural Houses Role in Achieving Diversity
• Student Recommendations

5
Student Identity in Process

• My identity seemed much like this when I first
  began college. I did not know who I was and what
  group I belonged to. It seemed important to pick
  a side because it was a division. On the one
  hand, I could continue to be who I always was and
  know only that I was a student, and on the other
  hand I needed to claim who I was and learn about
  my culture. I soon realized that the group I was
  to be in was not a choice to make but a decision
  I had to take.

6
Student Identity in Process

• This interview really forced me to step back and
  reevaluate my own bias and perceptions. Thus far,
  I had been speaking with upperclassmen that,
  according to this interview, may have learned
  what they are supposed to believe and with whom
  they are supposed to interact. but now that my
  attention has been drawn to the freshman duality
  (the idea that an incoming freshman is stuck
  between who they were in high school and who they
  want to become in college) I will intentionally
  attempt to get more interviews from this group
  and compare it across class (Barber, 2005).

7
Student Identity in Process

• Paolas transition from high school to college
  served as a time to recapture her ethnicity
  outside of the home. Her comments reflected a
  sense of sheltering her culture outside of the
  home to avoid being seen and treated differently.
  Once she arrived to the university, by
  surrounding herself around people of similar
  backgrounds and cultures, she began noticing the
  injustices people similar to her experience
  (Garcia, 2006).
• Latino students face the daily struggle to find
  an identity, which not only fits their background
  and experience, but also feels the most
  comfortable. The individual alone cannot achieve
  self-identification, there are external factors
  shaping the individuals belief of what his/her
  identity is and should be like.Due to the
  varieties of backgrounds and demographics of
  Latino students, it is not an easy task to
  clearly fit the criteria for a Latino. Students
  are creating stigmas and pressures on their
  fellow peers in order to meet constructions of
  Latinidad (Garcia, 2006).

8
Defining Diversity

• Hector said that when he arrived at the
  University of Illinois he felt isolated because
  there were niches or groups that only hang out
  by themselves. Hector tells me that he was naïve
  and idealistic when he arrived on campus. He
  thought that at the university level, everyone
  would get along and hang out. As the years have
  progressed, he has seen many events in which you
  clearly see that many have suffered
  discrimination on campus (Lemus, 2008).

9
Defining Diversity

• The university seemed like a place where all
  ideas were accepted and challenged where color,
  age, sex, and nothing else mattered, except each
  individuals mind. The university seemed like a
  place where I would finally find my fit and know
  that I belonged to a world of intellect and
  openness.As I arrived, I realized how this
  utopian idea of a university I had, was a bit
  off. I found myself challenged I was made to
  feel that I was only here because of my color and
  status in society. My accomplishments were
  belittled, and my drive to compete was shut
  down.

10
Defining Diversity

• Representational Diversity vs. Participatory
  Diversity
• Case of students of mixed ethnic background
• Yet I am very white and dont fit the
  stereotypes of being Latino/a - thus, in other
  people's views, I "take advantage" of where my
  father is from, and have been told that straight
  to my face in the past.
• Growing up, I realized I related more to my
  Caucasian peers more so than other Asian
  Americans. I am a strong believer in that the
  environment an individual is raised in influences
  their identity. When I came to the University of
  Illinois, I felt as if my identity would change. 
  I became a member in the Asian American
  Association and Korean American Student
  Association.  Shortly after, I realized neither
  was for me. 

11
Cultural Houses Pursuit of Diversity

• One of the mission statements of the African
  American Cultural Center states, To provide
  opportunities for all students to engage in the
  vital cultural and social experience of meeting,
  interacting with, and learning from students of
  diverse backgrounds. My experiences for the past
  three and a half years with the center have
  rarely involved students of diverse backgrounds.
  (EPS500 07-4, 2008)

12
Cultural Houses Pursuit of Diversity

• The Latino/a community at the time of the
  formation of La Casa would, then, seem to be
  pretty united in a common goal of having cultural
  programming and a physical house on campus for
  themselves. However, the Latino/a community today
  seems to be in a quite different state. Research
  done by previous students in ANTH 411 have
  exposed the discrimination some Latino/a students
  feel towards other Latino/a students, and how
  ineffective at times the cultural programming
  here is in accomplishing their mission of
  promoting a diverse and welcoming environment
  that supports full inclusion for all members of
  the university community (from the La Casa
  website). (Kattah, 2008)

13
Cultural Houses Pursuit of Diversity

• What kinds of characteristics do people at the
  African American Cultural Center have? From
  the responses the student-researcher noticed that
  students identified participants as predominantly
  active, radical, determined, passionate and
  upperclassmen. And the student concluded from
  this along with her observations that there is
  a certain image that is associated with the
  Blackhouse that may also push others away or make
  them feel unwelcome. This image can create
  stereotypes and thus create a division between
  people who use the center and people who may want
  to use it but are skeptical (EPS500 07-4, 2008).
  
• I never felt like I belonged, he answered. I
  felt an implicit marginalization within La Casa.
  I always felt the realization of my lighter skin
  in that space. He continued about how he always
  considered himself Latino, but that he felt he
  had to justify his cultural background every time
  he walked through the front door. I have strong
  ties with my Puerto Rican roots, and still I felt
  like I wasnt Latino enough for them. M1 stated
  that alternate perspectives were turned away. It
  is a Chicano space. I understand the
  exclusiveness and the reasons why, but it is
  still exclusionary.(Files, 2005)
• I saw this at Diwali Night, where everyone I
  spoke to was an ISA member or family. More
  importantly, I couldnt find details on Diwali
  Night before the event presumably, most
  students interested in attending already knew
  what it was about. During a few performances,
  cultural references were made that I didnt
  comprehend, but the majority of the audience
  presumably could relate to. ISAs mission
  statement draws on a keyword diverse.
  Diversity, a widely popular term in the media,
  particularly in academic and business contexts,
  is utilized in ISA discourse in the sense of
  diversity within the organization and within the
  class of South Asian identity. (Anth411 7-26,
  2008)

14
Cultural Houses Pursuit of Diversity

• Mark took this opportunity to join many different
  ethnic- based RSOs and to help have a broad view
  of what it means to be Asian American and what is
  means to be Indian American. He promotes
  education and learning between the members of the
  different groups as well as among the general
  population on campus. He holds many different
  officer positions in these different RSOs. But
  as a 1.5 generation immigrant, Mark uses these
  different groups to hone in on his different
  passions including music. He has developed a
  broader base of friendship (AAS 7-08, 2008)

15
Cultural Houses Pursuit of Diversity

• Student Researcher How concerned are you with
  teaching the wider campus community about Indian
  culture?
• ISA office holder Right. I think thats
  where we kind of run into trouble with interest
  and time, and turnout at events and things. Its
  not like we can bank on our membership to show
  up, but theyre more likely to come out to our
  events. So I think just for practicality purposes
  we have to kind of stick and cater to things for
  our member base. As far as reaching out to the
  community, I think thats going to take 2 or 3
  really solid, very well publicized and very well
  coordinated big events that we can show to the
  rest of the community and say Hey, this is
  something ISA is putting together, and wed like
  you to come and join us and experience it and
  take the benefit out of it. But for the most
  part on an event by event basis it caters mostly
  to our members. Okay He interrupts to add, a
  bit loudly, Not that, thats not a matter of
  ostracizing others. Its just a matter of
  practicality. (Anth411 7-26, 2008)

16
Student Recommendations

• To facilitate a move from representational to
  participatory diversity
• Recommendations in the Archive
• www.ideals.uiuc.edu/handle/2142/755
• Another idea that was prompted through this
  observation is that maybe it isn't just locations
  that encourage interaction across racial/ethnic
  groups. Maybe common interest is a better
  facilitator of interactions across racial lines.
  Hip-Hop is a music form that has penetrated
  American society. It has cross the boundaries of
  racial, economic, gender, and residential
  classes.After this observation my research has
  began to evolve from just looking at locations to
  areas of common interest that band people
  together across racial/ethnic differences
  (Hibbler, 2005).