The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1 - 155

Black Gay Male Undergraduates’ Experiences in Residence Halls

culties in their living situations. rather than question the validity of their assertions or perceptions (e.g., “i think my roommate is homophobic”), affirming housing professionals would acknowledge students’ feelings, affirm their emotions, and offer several strategies that might be useful in responding appropriately. For example, recall torre’s incident with his roommate presented earlier. torre approached his ra and explained the situation and how he felt about his roommate’s behavior. His ra,

recalling negative experiences such as breaking up with a boyfriend, fighting physically with a roommate, or losing a loved one. despite these setbacks, Bgmus were determined to succeed where others might have failed. they invoked this inner strength, when necessary, to stay focused, work through roommate conflicts, and to even “go back home [i.e., to the room] when stuff was like crazy.” Having Black female friends with whom they could communicate, gay or ally ras and housing professionals upon whom they could rely for advice and support, and a reasonable portion of self-direction and resilience sustained Bgmus through living situations that were, at times, unwelcoming and uncertain.

Gay or ally RAs would talk openly with their residents about building environments in the hall that were safe and comfortable for all men, regardless of their sexual orientation .

DISCUSSION
recall that the purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the challenges that Bgmus face in campus rHs, as well as to identify the supports that enabled their success in negotiating such challenges. to this end, we interviewed 29 Bgmus using a semi-structured interview protocol and collected background and descriptive information using a biographical data questionnaire. Findings suggest a number of important conclusions related to the study’s objectives that make a significant contribution to the existing literature. First, Bgmus in the study reported varied experiences with both subtle and overt forms of racism while living in campus rHs. nearly three-fourths of them identified their roommate as the primary perpetrator of such acts and, in almost all cases, the perpetrators were White male residents. subtle racist acts ranged from displaying offensive signs or symbols (e.g., hanging the confederate flag) to sharing
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who identifies as heterosexual, spoke with the roommate to get his perspective, scheduled a meeting between all parties, and helped torre convey his feelings to his roommate, who was “wildly rude” during the meeting. not only did participants identify individuals upon whom they could depend for support, but many of them also described in elaborate detail an unwavering “drive” or “motivation” to achieve that supported them through their rH experiences. about one third of our participants talked about being “kicked out” of their parents’ homes or “rejected by close friends,” as a result of disclosing their affectional status. Others paused when they became emotional,

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The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 38, No. 2 & Volume 39, No. 1