Journal of College & University Student Housing "Housing While Black" Theme Issue - 34

standing, as well as for the ways that this connection provided by a shared identity
would inform his greater experience (Flett et al., 2019; Rosenberg & McCullough,
1981; Schlossberg, 1989).
Thomas was not alone in his perception of mattering. Out of the 12 interviews
conducted, 10 Black students discussed a shared identity as being critical to developing
a sense of mattering. This was a critical finding. Black participants in this study
did not hope for inclusion within the greater predominantly White population; instead,
they hoped for connection to other Black students who shared and understood
their own experience.
More deeply, shared identity was defined in three ways within this study: shared
race, shared ethnicity, and shared experience. This was a critical difference from the
currently utilized definition of mattering. This theme was repeated throughout interviews,
particularly when students discussed their reasoning for choosing to live in an
ILLC. In fact, all six students who lived in an ILLC recognized shared identity as being
critical to their definition of mattering. They also identified the ILLC as critical to their
belief and value of investing in self and others, indicating a reciprocal contribution of
shared identity.
In addition to shared identity, mattering in this study was described as an institutional
commitment, which was defined by students in two ways: (1) support for the
spaces needed by Black students to develop their shared identity and (2) the institutional
understanding that Black students had an experience different from that of their
White peers, shown by the institution centering Black experiences within their decision
making. Often, there was little differentiation between housing and the greater
institution in these descriptions, showcasing the blending of life for students in and
outside of the classroom.
In Alissa's experience, the existence of ILLCs was one important part of the greater
picture of mattering: " Things within housing, it's a space for us. I think creating
a space for our ILLC, specifically for people of color to fill those spaces and feel seen,
that is mattering. " For Siarah, mattering meant more than having shared identity
within a community space; it required active institutional commitment: " I think it
should be more of an active thing rather than passive because passive means it's just
non-existent. It should be active engagement and active action to change a system.
Engagement tells us that we matter. " This sentiment about institutional commitment
was shared by Ace:
Mattering to me means that your perspective or opinion is taken into consideration
when a decision is made. Having our opinions matter as a society, having our views
and our perspectives and our opinions put into consideration, not just by staff, but the
university as a whole, that would be what it means to matter on campus.
This is an interesting finding in that it shows the importance of " by whom " and " for
whom " within a greater definition of mattering and highlights the differences between
Black students and their White peers. Black students within this study fully understood
Volume 48, No. 3 * 2022 31

Journal of College & University Student Housing "Housing While Black" Theme Issue

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