The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 11

Social Justice

of existing assessment approaches, the authors
use a case study approach to describe how a
housing and residence life's department utilized a social-justice centered framework to
examine its residential curriculum. Suggestions for designing social-justice centered assessment practices in housing and residence
life are offered. This piece situates social
justice as a facet of all aspects of our work
within housing, particularly within assessment, an area often overlooked in the social
justice agenda.
Lori Patton Davis, Sacha Sharp, and Berenice Sánchez shared findings from a critical
discourse analysis of comments written in
response to an online article about the University of Connecticut's ScHOLA2RS House,
a culturally-themed residential program to
retain and support African American male students. Their analysis exposed commentators'
blatantly racist or suggested racist undertones
centered around segregation and stereotypes
of Black inferiority to substantiate their disagreement with the ScHOLA2RS House existence. Recommendations for residence life
professionals to create cross-cultural engagement and educational discussions to dismantle
race and racism are presented in this article.
Particularly given their recent emphasis on
college campuses in offering safe spaces for
students of color, the piece offers a commentary on public perceptions of person-of-coloronly living spaces and how to engage with and
challenge these narratives.
In drawing our attention to the impacts of
hostile climates as experienced by Black students on college campuses, Bryan Hotchkins
and T. Elon Dancy explored 20 Black students'
perceptions of campus racial climate within

residential learning communities across two
predominantly White universities using photovoice and a constructivist case study approach.
Participants illustrated and described Black
student community strengths and cultural
supports found in academic, fraternal and
activist organizations. Key insights into how
they constructed their own spaces, felt absent
while present in residence hall spaces, and experienced a perpetual homelessness are thoroughly described. Residence life professionals
are offered essential interventions aimed at
identifying and lessening or eliminating racial
trauma for Black students.
Stephanie Sears and Dawn Lee Tu explored
the development of students' critical consciousness and commitment to social justice based
on a qualitative analysis of student reflection
papers from a course tied to a social justice
focused living-learning community (LLC). The
piece offers important insights into how an intentional, justice-centered curriculum within
LLCs can promote social justice orientations
among students. Participants in this course described as a space where they received support,
encountered challenges, and learned from one
another. These students also identified ways
that the community helped them understand
their own agency and promoted a strong desire
for social change. As postsecondary institutions seek ways to prepare students for succeeding in a diverse society, findings outlined
in this paper could assist housing practitioners
support this goal.
Drawing attention to the important role
of White allies on college campuses in the
work for social justice, Kathy Cook and Dorian
McCoy use a critical case study approach to
examine how White resident assistants parV O L U M E 4 3 , NO. 3 * 2 0 1 7

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3