The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 30

Lori D. Patton * Sacha Sharp * Berenice Sánchez

increased recruitment, culture centers or
multicultural affairs offices, and Black and/
or Ethnic Studies programs (Grier-Reed &
Buckley, 2008; Hu-Dehart, 1993; Rojas, 2007).
Additionally, institutional leaders have established culturally-themed housing to address
demands and provide a validating space (e.g.
University of Iowa; see Charis-Carlson, 2016).
This study reveals findings from a critical discourse analysis (CDA) of comments written in
response to an article related to the University
of Connecticut's (UConn) announcement of
the ScHOLA2RS House, a culturally-themed
residential program established to retain and
support African American male students. We
consider how discourse through an online
medium can create challenges, particularly in
residence life programs, by emboldening racist
ideals.

Online news provides opportunities for
readers to publicly and anonymously
offer opinions and commentary
regardless of expertise, oftentimes
with minimal accountability.

Following the announcement of UConn's
ScHOLA2RS House (UCSH), we selected an
Inside HigherEd article and analyzed associated
reader commentary. We conducted a CDA of
230 comments to examine the reproduction of
inequities, racial dominance, and social power.
We discuss implications of such discourses for

shaping campus and national dialogues on
institutional racism and its disproportionate
impact on racially minoritized students. We
also use existing literature on culture centers
to draw parallels with culturally-themed
housing to highlight their relevance for Black
students' experiences. We offer recommendations to residence life professionals for
supporting racially minoritized students and
encouraging racial dialogue.

INSTITUTIONAL DIVERSITY
EFFORTS AS "NEWSWORTHY"
Fifty years ago, the public learned of campus
racial tensions through television and newspapers. Institutional efforts to address demands
were not overwhelmingly newsworthy. Presently, campus racial tensions are documented
through social media (e.g. Twitter, Facebook)
and other outlets (e.g. Huffington Post),
through which large audiences remain informed, quickly and continuously through
a 24-hour news cycle. Online news provides
opportunities for readers to publicly, anonymously to participate in a 24-hour news
cycle. Online news also provides opportunities for readers to publicly and anonymously
offer opinions and commentary regardless of
expertise, oftentimes with minimal accountability. Providing space for public commentary is promising and problematic. On one
hand, audiences can weigh in on interesting
and controversial topics. On the other hand,
individuals can also express antagonistic and
racially-charged viewpoints. Colleges and universities often pride themselves on connecting to their surrounding community and to
society writ large. Online news articles and
their public comment sections provide institu-

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