Journal of College & University Student Housing "Housing While Black" Theme Issue - 41

Residential Mattering for Black College Students
student experience. Therefore, a new, more inclusive definition of mattering for Black
students is important to consider. Based on findings within this study, the definition
should include consideration of the importance of shared identity based on race, ethnicity,
and experience as well as institutional commitment. This commitment involves
not only creating physical spaces in which this shared identity can exist and be celebrated
but also investing in the Black student experience, ensuring the recognition,
representation, and inclusion of Black students in decision making.
Developing this research into a replicated study design could be highly beneficial
since research on the student housing experience often utilizes belonging, not mattering,
as a leading framework. While mattering and belonging are certainly connected
within research, they are not the same. If mattering is to be lifted up as a key theoretical
framework within housing research for Black students, there must be further
testing and replication to better understand the differences between student groups
found within this study. In all instances, additional movement for research should
include qualitative approaches to research in addition to the quantitative measures
currently employed. The Black student population has repeatedly been lost within
quantitative measurements due to the size and breadth of the White student population
at PWIs, and if we truly wish to better understand Black students, then lifting
their voices through qualitative approaches can serve as a better and more meaningful
method design.
CONCLUSION
This study may serve as a helpful bridge to understanding the residential experiences
of Black students, but it is only just the beginning of the work that must be done. Black
students must be placed in the center of both research and institutional commitment,
instead of at the margins, and this applies both to the research being completed and
the methods and design of the studies themselves. This requires a focus on study purpose,
design, and implementation, one that places student voices at the heart of design
and not on the fringes. This will not only help administrators develop understanding
but will also allow Black student voices to articulate how housing systems can best
meet their needs. Black students can and should be contributors to the development
and implementation of ideas to improve their own residential experience. When we
neglect to include Black students in the process, we miss the beauty of what the outcome
could be. In this way, " Let Us Make It Ours " is then not only the title for this
study, but a continual call to remember our purpose and an opportunity to support the
collegiate experience for all students. The student experience is made by students for
students. Let us listen. 
38 The Journal of College and University Student Housing

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

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