The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 76

Kathy Cook * Dorian L. McCoy

race relations in the United States were better
for People of Color than they have been historically, with many of the RAs referencing
colonization, slavery, segregation, and the Civil
Rights Era. Past malfeasances were offered
as evidence that times have changed, and the
inability to offer contemporary examples provided the RAs justification that socio-political
conditions had improved for People of Color.
Chad acknowledged:

through one diversity and social justice training. The RAs struggled particularly with the
ways in which the content challenged their
beliefs, and the emotional influence of the experience. Because of deeply entrenched racial
constructs and White privilege, the RAs failed
to recognize the influence of race, the realities
of their Whiteness, and the ways in which they
unconsciously and unintentionally contribute
to and perpetuate racism.

I never realized that race really was a potent
factor in American interactions today.
Generally, since Civil Rights, things have gotten
better. There are still all these little things that
you just say to yourself that it's better.

The incongruence between the RAs' beliefs
and the messages of the diversity and social
justice content and format has implications for
RA training. What seemed to be missing for
the RAs during summer training was the connection between the training content and how
it applied to them specifically, what it had to
do with diversity and social justice, and how it
applied to their role as RAs.

Another factor contributing to the RAs
beliefs that race relations are better is that most
of them did not recognize racism. All of them
acknowledged racism exists but they could
not provide contemporary examples, beyond
having heard a racist joke or having seen racist
graffiti. Carrie commented, "I'm sure there
probably is [racism]. I don't see it ... I don't see
racism. Maybe I just don't know what racism
exactly is." Liam concurred, "In my experience,
I've never seen any racism, which is good.
But I'm sure it's out there somewhere." Jack
shared the following, "I believe it does exist,
but I don't think it's like an outright...like it's
not...people aren't going around in white robes
and burning crosses and stuff." Most of the
RAs admitted that some racism still existed,
but they also acknowledged being unable to
recognize it in their daily lives.

DISCUSSION & IMPLICATIONS
FOR PRACTICE AND FUTURE
RESEARCH
This study examined White RAs' experiences

76

The RAs greatly benefitted from their
White privilege. It permitted them to comfortably remain in the early stages of WRID,
and allowed them to retreat into comfort, if
discomfort emerged while engaged in diversity and social justice training. White privilege
perpetuated the RAs' beliefs that they obtained
all there is to learn about diversity and social
justice during the 12-hour training, and that it
could have been learned in half the time. Their
White privilege allowed them to completely
"miss the point" of the training curriculum
while believing they received everything out of
it and more.
The findings also support that the White
RAs are tightly bound to a colorblind ideology; particularly their lack of interest in race,
their unawareness of racism, their beliefs that
contemporary societal conditions are better for
People of Color, and their belief that no inter-

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

Contents
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - Intro
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - Cover1
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - Cover2
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 1
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 2
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 3
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 4
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 5
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 6
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - Contents
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 8
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 9
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 10
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 11
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 12
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 13
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 14
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 15
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 16
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 17
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 18
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 19
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 20
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 21
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 22
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 23
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 24
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 25
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 26
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 27
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 28
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 29
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 30
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 31
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 32
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 33
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 34
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 35
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 36
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 37
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 38
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 39
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 40
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 41
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 42
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 43
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 44
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 45
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 46
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 47
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 48
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 49
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 50
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 51
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 52
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 53
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 54
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 55
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 56
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 57
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 58
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 59
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 60
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 61
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 62
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 63
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 64
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 65
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 66
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 67
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 68
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 69
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 70
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 71
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 72
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 73
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 74
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 75
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 76
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 77
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 78
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 79
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 80
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 81
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 82
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 83
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 84
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 85
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 86
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 87
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 88
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 89
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 90
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 91
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 92
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 93
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 94
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 95
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 96
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 97
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 98
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 99
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 100
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 101
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 102
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 103
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 104
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 105
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 106
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 107
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - 108
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - Cover3
The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 43, No. 3 - Cover4
https://www.nxtbook.com/acuho-i/acuho/journal_vol50no1
https://www.nxtbook.com/acuho-i/acuho/journal_vol49no3
https://www.nxtbook.com/acuho-i/acuho/journal_vol49no2
https://www.nxtbook.com/acuho-i/acuho/journal_vol48no3
https://www.nxtbook.com/acuho-i/acuho/journal_vol49no1
https://www.nxtbook.com/acuho-i/acuho/journal_vol48no2
https://www.nxtbook.com/acuho-i/acuho/journal_vol48no1
https://www.nxtbook.com/acuho-i/acuho/journal_vol47no3
https://www.nxtbook.com/acuho-i/acuho/journal_vol47no2
https://www.nxtbook.com/acuho-i/acuho/journal_vol47no1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol46no2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol46no3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol46no1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol45no2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol45no3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol45no1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol44no3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol44no2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol44no1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol43no3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol43no2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol43no1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol42no2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol42no3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol41no2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/acuho/journal_vol40no2
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com