The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 60

Stephanie D. Sears * Dawn Lee Tu

managed to appreciate the blessings of having
each other. That is home! That is family! . . .
I felt safe in the EMDS community. I felt like
everyone more or less had my back.
Jamal connected the EMDS environment to
notions of "home," "family" and safety, and
the feeling of his peers "having his back"
enabled students like him to take risks when
sharing their experiences. Lola, a Latina, also
valued the strong sense of support and mutual
trust: "I really felt like I connected with my
peers and that I could share anything and it
would be confidential and that they would have
my back."
"Having one's back" became especially significant for students who felt like they did not
belong to or were not welcomed by the University and San Francisco. Riley, an African
American female shared:
EMDS is the closest thing I've been able to
come to a home here in San Francisco. I
felt no culture of Blackness on this campus,
and it was one of the reasons I was so
uncomfortable, so the people in EMDS
became a safe haven. During the day I would
have to stiffen my neck and code-switch
constantly, but coming home was relaxed, and
there were people like me; I could be myself.
For African American students like Jamal and
Riley, "having one's back" meant that they
could depend on one another to empathize
with feelings of being an outsider.
Additionally, EMDS provided a safe, supportive space for students being challenged
with new ideas, who needed space to learn and
grow. Amy, a white female shared:
Awareness of the problem is an important
first step, by talking about it amongst each
other, whether that be during Karamu (weekly

community meetings), or afternoons while
working on other homework in the lounge, or
even brief chats with the other ladies in the
restroom . . . I think my favorite part of EMDS
has been the opportunity it has given me to
learn from my peers, and keep an open mind
to new experiences and ideas.
This intentional creation of the LLC environment and students' mutual contribution to
fostering a sense of trust and openness set the
optimal stage for and promoted a deepening
of students' critical consciousness in their intimate living environments. The organic nature
of this participation and engagement provided
a seamless way for students to continue thinking about and engaging in diversity and social
justice issues. Social justice education has
been literally embedded within the program.

CRITICAL REFLECTION
Critical reflection encompasses three elements: self awareness, awareness of others,
and a structural analysis of social issues
(Cipolle 2010). We found that 70% of the reflection papers referenced some form of self
awareness ranging from becoming aware of
"not taking on too many responsibilities," to a
more complex self awareness of being "privileged" and/or "oppressed." Isabella, a Latina,
reflected:
. . . We played a plethora of activities that
not only allowed me to recognize my own
oppression, but the oppression of my peers . . .
I recognized how often I have been oppressed
and been treated poorly because of innate
qualities that I couldn't control. . . . I didn't
recognize that I was being treated badly
before! . . . I thought it was normal. And that
was the problem; it is normal, and that's why
there needs to be a change. . . . That triggered

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

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