The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 12

Brian L. McGowan * Desiree D. Zerquera * Dawn Lee Tu

ticipating in 12 hours of diversity and social
justice training made meaning of their experiences. Using Helms' White Racial Identity
Model as a theoretical framework, the authors
illustrate participant's thinking about diversity and social justice as they went from racial
oblivion to having a sense of awareness. Since
participants were extremely critical of the
department's overall commitment to social
justice, the authors offer concrete suggestions
on how housing and residence life educators
can make explicit connections to how these
trainings apply to participants and how it influences their work as resident assistants.
As a result of recent waves of activism, protests, and student demonstrations,
housing and residence life professional staff
members are uniquely positioned to serve as
both a catalyst and epicenter for campus movements. Kimberly Otchere, Tekita Bankhead,
and Ayanna Williams reflect on events that
led to the creation of #BeingBlackAtIlinois, a
collaborative campus based social movement
between university housing, student leaders,
and the African American cultural center that
derived from a social media image that ultimately went viral. In addition to reflecting on
lessons learned through collaborations, recommendations are centered on ways institutions can sustain the integrity and longevity
of housing-based student movements. This
piece offers a critical insight into the current
and potential role student affairs and academic
affairs can play together in supporting students during and after campus unrest.
Lastly, an overview of undocumented
student experiences serves as the focus of the
final article in this issue by Amanda Davidson and Henoc Preciado. Although state and
12

federal policies have made higher education
more accessible to undocumented students,
they face unique challenges. Housing and residence life professionals must be knowledgeable of these challenges and actively work to
create inclusive living environments for these
students to succeed. In this reflection, the
authors provide an overview of undocumented
student experiences foregrounding the financial and social challenges that may impact their
campus residential experiences. This piece
draws attention to a significant, underserved,
and not widely understood student population
on our campuses to broaden our thinking in
how to best serve all students through housing
experiences on campus.
Residence halls are often one of the initial
places college students encounter and make
meaning of differences, and have the potential to serve as spaces to raise consciousness
among staff members and residents alike.
Structured and intentional opportunities to
engage in issues of equity, inclusion, and
social justice among residents need to be provided within the context of residence halls. We
hope that this special issue will provide higher
education professionals insight into how residential life and housing are critical spaces for
students' development of social justice understanding and ways to support their growth and
self-determination. For housing educators, we
hope this special issue provides new ways to
approach their work in their quest to create inclusive environments for all.
Thank you to Magnolia Justice, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, who
served as editorial assistant for the special issue.

THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT HOUSING

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