The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 89

Housing Is An Epicenter For Change

from faculty, staff, and other key stakeholders.
BNAACC staff continued to support the movement by purchasing materials for campus
demonstrations. Though these campus partners provided support in different ways, both
were crucial to realizing and creating change.
Despite the unique relationship between
student organizations and University Housing,
our experiences with #BeingBlackAtIllinois provides insight to broader implications for practitioners who may be called upon by students
to provide material and emotional support
through Housing as a department and as individual staff who work in Housing. University
Housing provided the meeting space which
initiated the launch of this new wave of Black
activism at the University of Illinois. There were
a series of demonstrations that include a march
across campus and a "die in" at the center of
campus. In each instance, there were conversations between campus housing staff and
campus police to ensure there would be secure
spaces for the demonstrations and at times full
street closures. Housing support was necessary
because there were formal support structures in
place to propel CBSU's plan with #BeingBlackAtIllinois, because the new movement had no
formal advising structure.
Student leaders stated at the very beginning that they wanted limited administrator
oversight as not to create personal challenges
related to clauses in their employment contracts. However, many administrators felt it
was their responsibility to mobilize human
capital within their respective roles to advance
the movement. Administrators involved in this
work found it especially important to be cognizant of the power differentials that are present
when a faculty/staff member interacts with

students, both inside and outside of the classroom. In this case, staff leveraged their power
to enact policy reform and positive personnel
changes that contributed to be culturally responsive to students. Furthermore, staff were
as allies when they served on campus committees, regularly reported to senior university
administrators, advocated at board meetings,
interviewed candidates for senior level enrollment management positions, and developed
policy for long-term change.
Staff who support the ever-changing
student activist community must keep a close
eye on issues of self-care. During #BeingBlackAtIllinois, staff served as a sounding board for
the students who are deeply entrenched in
organizing. In some instances, staff can recognize that students are so immersed in their
activist efforts that they are not always able to
objectively assess their psychological well-being. However, challenges are presented when
practitioners are not able to identify those same
limitations within themselves. Encouragement
and motivation from supervisors, peers, and
departmental structures to develop wellness
can help to bolster the best self-care of practitioners and student leaders. Many administrators
of color often have their own experiences with
racialization, such as feeling the need to repress
aspects of their identities in certain professional
spaces. This can lead to racial battle fatigue and
burnout, as administrators navigate the expression of their identities. When advocating for
students, staff must also not forget to hold the
institution accountable for their responsibility
in seeing to their employees' wellness. Just as
housing practitioners work to create the safest
spaces for residents, there should be equally
safe and supportive environments for staff.

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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