SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020 - 14

FEATURE ARTICLES

This article is important for so many reasons
in the work that we do. Our primary focus is
the student experience, so how are we ensuring
that students in general, but more specifically
our students of color, continue to have an
enjoyable and quality college experience. If we
claim to be a student serving, are we holding
ourselves accountable in making sure our
minority students feel supported in the work
we do. In more ways than one, if the goal
is educating and equipping students to live
and work in our current diverse and divided
society once they walk across that stage at
graduation or virtually, an understanding of
racial dynamics is a key component of their
college education (Hamedani, Markus, & Moya,
2020). Again, these conversations surrounding
race can be difficult and uncomfortable but
we as educators have to be willing to lean into
discomfort for a greater outcome. Do I think all
higher education professionals should engage
in these conversations? No, but that is not my
decision to make. However, I do feel as though
this article does provide some powerful insight
to assist those who choose to do so. Increasing
one's own racial literacy by learning how to
perceive when, where and how race is done is
essential (Hamedani, Markus, & Moya, 2020).
In thinking about some tangible tasks, we can
do in here in Housing and Residence Life, this
could look like Coordinators, Resident Directors,
Assistant Directors, etc. hosting programs about
race or collaborating with our RA staffs to do

building/department wide events. This could
be beneficial in cultivating communities and
environments within our residence halls where
students feel accepted and comfortable being
their authentic selves. We could potentially
craft sessions during RA training surrounding
race, about how to have intentional and difficult
conversations, etc. At a divisional level, I
believe this would require us to look at our
strategic plan. We talk frequently about what
we can do to abide by our 'Culture of Care'
initiative, as such, we should truly make note
of if the work we are doing is benefiting our
student populations. I do believe the article
does a good job overall addressing this topic,
but there could have been more discussion on
examples and how we do the work outside of
simply having conversations, as it requires
more than just talk. What actions are we doing
in tandem with what we say. Do our actions
align with the conversations we are having? If
we can collectively do an efficient yet impactful
job addressing race on our campus, we can then
empower our students to be the change agents
in building a more equal and inclusive world!!
References
Hamedani, M., Markus, H. R., & Moya, P. (2020,
May 14). Pushing Back Against Racism and
Xenophobia on Campuses. Retrieved from Inside
Higher Ed: https://www.insidehighered.
com/views/2020/05/14/five-ways-collegeeducators-can-have-more-effectiveconversations-about-race

https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/05/14/five-ways-college-educators-can-have-more-effective-conversations-about-race https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/05/14/five-ways-college-educators-can-have-more-effective-conversations-about-race https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/05/14/five-ways-college-educators-can-have-more-effective-conversations-about-race https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2020/05/14/five-ways-college-educators-can-have-more-effective-conversations-about-race

SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020

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