Abstract
This case will allow for conversations related to multiple identities and how our identities impact issues such as advocacy, supervision, role and expectations, professional and personal identity, navigating campus politics and community expectations.
Keywords : Graduate students; Racial identities; Gender identities; First generation
Primary Characters
Olivia Navarro (they/them) is a first-year graduate student in the master’s program in student affairs and higher education from New Jersey. Her graduate assistantship is in the Office of Admissions at Midwestern University.
Dana Madison (she/her) the Associate Director of Admissions, supervises Olivia. Dana has a master’s degree in Business with a minor in Women and Gender Studies who has worked at Midwestern University for two years in the Office of Admissions.
Prospective students and family members (all first-generation students as a part of a special campus visiting day program)
Dr. Bailey Calderon (she/her) is the President of Midwestern University. Dr. Calderon previously served as the Provost for a small, private college in another state and is now in the third year as Midwestern’s president. Dr. Calderon has been working with faculty, staff, and students at Midwestern University to generate new ideas and initiatives to increase enrollment.
Dr. Peyton Washington (he/him) is the Director of the Graduate School at Midwestern University. Dr. Washington has been at Midwestern for 16 years as a member of the faculty in the Department of Sociology. Well-respected at Midwestern, Dr. Washington is a national leader in student advocacy having researched and written on this subject for over twenty years. Dr. Washington is active in local service organizations in the community serving underrepresented populations.
Context
This scenario takes place at Midwestern University, a comprehensive, public, residential, four-year coeducational institution of 10,000 in a medium sized community. A majority of students are undergraduates, but there are about 750 graduate students enrolled in education and business programs. Having been founded in 1890 as a Normal school, the institution offers a rich teacher education experience for a large portion of the student body. Enrollment on campus has declined over the past 10 years with state-wide budget cuts and student reluctance to both commit to a teaching career and move to a small town with seemingly “nothing to do.” Historically a predominantly white institution, Midwestern University has been successful in recruiting students of color, transfer students, undocumented students, and first-generation students to campus using state and institutional financial aid made available through scholarships and grants to underserved populations committed to education. This institution has been a leader in encouraging students to have a voice on social justice issues. While the institution has supported student voices on social justice efforts, the institution does not have any written policies on student activism, free speech zones, and registering campus rallies and protests.
The Case
Olivia is a new graduate student studying student affairs and higher education at Midwestern University. Her graduate assistantship is in the Office of Admissions. Admissions at Midwestern is housed in Academic Affairs, specifically in the Office of Enrollment Management which is comprised of Admissions, Registration, and Financial Aid.
Olivia’s primary graduate assistantship task is coordinating the campus tour guide program and supervising 20 tour guides who represent the university by giving walking tours of the campus and residence halls. These tours happen daily every hour during weekdays. Olivia is responsible for all aspects of the tour guide program, including selection, training, and supervision of the tour guides. One of her goals for this program is to select a diverse group of tour guides that represent all students enrolled at the institution. Olivia is in her first year and has learned much from this experience. She completed her undergraduate degree at Rutgers University where they were active in the Latinx Student Organization, Student Government, and as a campus tour guide. Olivia is the first person in her family to graduate with a bachelor’s degree. While they would not call themselves a social justice warrior, they are committed to helping those who did not have the privileges they did growing up.
Each spring, the University provides a special visiting day program for first generation students where they and their family members visit the campus, attend information sessions from admissions and financial aid, meet with enrolled students who are also first generation, meet with academic advisors and department faculty, and take tours of campus and residence halls. This event typically brings over 100 students and their families to campus. It is believed that these visiting day programs are part of the reason for the success Midwestern University has had in attracting first generation students, students of color, and undocumented students to enroll on campus. Assessments of the program clearly demonstrate the role the program also plays in student retention and graduation. This program is heavily funded, as a recent donor made a sizable gift to the university having benefited from attending it herself.
On the same day as the special program, the Latinx student organization plans a campus-wide rally to educate the community about issues facing undocumented students in the U.S. and on college campuses nationwide. The campus has a history of activism, supported by the administration and local community. The issue of undocumented students has, however, been a highly contested one as the campus has admitted many undocumented students, and most students, faculty, and staff feel the university has been unresponsive to the needs of these students. As a tour is passing by the large group assembled, the undergraduate tour guide proudly tells the group that his supervisor, Olivia, is one of the speakers at the rally. Several family members with potential first-generation students seem surprised that a staff member would be so publicly vocal about how the university should admit and support undocumented students. The tour group passed by the rally as Olivia was speaking and the tour group saw attendees holding up signs with messages of “Undocumented and Unafraid,” “Support DACA,” “No Human is Illegal,” and “Education not Deportation.” A number of participants on the tour were shocked, alarmed, and expressed concern for their safety given the intensity of the rally. They questioned the tour guide as to the frequency of such rallies, types of students attending the institution, and if the administration realized this event was occurring.
After the visiting day, Dana, the Associate Director of Admissions, receives emails from several family members expressing concern about the rally, the admissions graduate assistant who was involved and the tour guide who appeared to support the rally. Comments from the emails included “The campus rally was disruptive”; I do not want my student to come to a campus where there are protests on political issues all the time – it interferes with their education” and “I was afraid for my safety and worry about the safety of my child attending the institution.” Other comments indicated concern for the graduate student’s comments which seemed to advocate sit-ins and demonstrations that she appeared to lead and questioned if that was her role as a paid graduate staff member. Given the history of activism at Midwestern Dana is shocked at these emails, and unsure of how to proceed. Dana does take special note that for almost all the emails the President of the university and the Director of the Graduate School were copied. The President has been encouraging the President’s leadership team, under the direction of the Vice President of Student Affairs, to establish polices related to campus rallies and protests. The Vice President of Student Affairs has been reluctant to develop any policies related to staff participation in campus activism. Ironically, both the President and the Director of the Graduate School were not on campus the day of the rally. They were meeting with the state legislature to share the successes of their efforts to increase student diversity on campus and to present the institution’s strategic plan which would work toward increasing diversity among faculty and staff.
Discussion Questions
- What is the role of graduate students in advocacy efforts, such as rallies and campus protests? What is the role of administrators in advocacy efforts, such as rallies and campus protests?
- What response is warranted from campus administrators… to the emails received from prospective students/families? to the current policies in place? To Olivia?
- What resources, tools, and strategies need to be consulted and considered in framing a response?
References and Resources
*Free speech
Ben-Porath, S.R. (2017). Free speech on campus. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
Binder, A. J., & Kidder, J. L. (2022). The Channels of student activism: How the left and right are winning (and losing) in campus politics today. The University of Chicago Press.
Chemerinsky, E., & Gillman, H. (2017). Free speech on campus. Authors.
DeVitis, J. L., & Sasso, P. (2019). Student activism in the academy: Its struggles and promise. Myers Education Press.
Linder, C., Quaye, S. J., Lange, A. C., Evans, M. E., & Stewart, T. J. (2019). Identity-based student activism: Power and oppression on college campus. Routledge.
*DACA
American Council on Education website. Protect Dreamers Higher Education Coalition. http://www.acenet.edu/Pages/Protect-Dreamers-Higher-Education-Coalition.aspx
College Board website. Advising Undocumented Students. https://counselors.collegeboard.org/financial-aid/undocumented-students
National Association for College Admissions Counseling website. Undocumented Students. https://www.nacacnet.org/advocacy–ethics/initiatives/undocumented-students/
*Ethics in student affairs
ACPA: College Student Educators International. Statement of Ethical Principles & Standards. myacpa.org/sites/default/files/Ethical_Principles_Standards.pdf
CAS Statement of Shared Ethical Principles. https://www.naspa.org/images/uploads/main/CASethicsstatement.pdf
Eberhart, D.M. & Valente, A.M. (2007). The moral landscape of student affairs work. Journal of College and Character, 9(2).
*Ethical practice in admissions work
National Association for College Admissions Counseling website. NACAC’s Guide to Ethical Practice in College Admissions https://www.nacacnet.org/advocacy–ethics/NACAC-Guide-to-Ethical-Practice-in-College-Admission/
*Role of parents in higher education
Kiyama, J.M. & Harper, C.E. with Delma Ramos, David Aguayo, Laura A. Page, Kathy Adams Riester. (2015). Parent and family engagement in higher education. ASHE Higher Education Report, 40(6), 1-94.
Wartman, K. L. & Savage, M. (2008). Parental involvement in higher education: Understanding the relationship among students, parents, and the institution. ASHE Higher Education Report, 33(6), 1-125
*Theories of intersectionality of identities
Cole, N. L. Definition of Intersectionality. ThoughtCo, Dec. 11, 2016, thoughtco.com/intersectionality-definition-3026353
Crenshaw, K. The Urgency of Intersectionality. https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?language=en.
*Latinx students in higher education
Freeman, M., & Martinez, M. (2015). Special issue- College completion for Latino/a students: Institutional and systems approach. New Directions of Higher Education, #172. San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Garcia, S. A Vega, (2017). Latinx students research guide. http://instr.iastate.libguides.com/c.php?g=49236&p=317724
Nora, A., & Crsip, G. (2009). Hispanics in higher education: An overview of research, theory and practice. In J.C. Smart (Eds), Higher Education: Handbook of Theory and Research, pgs. 317-353. New York: Springer.
Patel, V. (2016, December). Grad-Student Unions. The Chronicle of Higher Education https://www.chronicle.com/specialreport/Grad-Student-Unions/53
*Graduate Assistants Work Agreements and Activism
Haider, A. (2014). The Power of grad students. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved on November 24th, 2014
Jaschik, S. (2012). Revived fight on grad unions. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved on November 26th, 2014
Schmidt, P. (2012). College leaders and labor organizers spat over possible graduate student Unionization. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved on November 26th, 2014
van Leer, K. A. F., Ashby, K. M., Bhattacharyya, S., McGillen, G. G., & Simmons56, C. M. (2021). When students listen: A Co-Constructed autoethnography of graduate student activists eradicating racism in higher education. Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 12(3).
Wong, K. N. (2021). The role of on-campus, race-based student activism in a multicultural center at a predominantly white institution: An ecological case study (Doctoral dissertation, The George Washington University).
*First Generation Students
Capannola, A. L., & Johnson, E. I. (2022). On being the first: The role of family in the experiences of first-generation college students. Journal of Adolescent Research, 37(1), 29-58.
Nyhan, S. (2022). Beating the odds: Finding success as a first-generation college student. National College Fairs. https://www.nacacfairs.org/learn/prep/beating-the-odds-finding-success-as-a-first-generation-college-student/
Ricks, J. R., & Warren, J. M. (2021). Transitioning to college: Experiences of successful first-generation college students. Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 11(1), 1-15.
Suwinyattichaiporn, T., & Johnson, Z. D. (2022). The impact of family and friends social support on Latino/a first-generation college students’ perceived stress, depression, and social isolation. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 21(3), 297-314.
Biographical Sketches
Dena Kniess (she/her/hers) is an Associate Professor and Director of the Higher Education Administration doctoral program at the University of West Georgia. She teaches courses in higher education administration, capstone, qualitative research, and organizational theory. Prior to becoming a faculty member, she served as a student affairs practitioner in residence life and student transition programs for 11 years.
Tony Cawthon (he/him/his) is an Alumni Distinguished Professor of Higher Education and Student affairs at Clemson University. He teaches student development theory, higher education administration and current issues in student affairs and higher education. Prior to being a faculty member, Tony served as a Director of Residential Life. His research interests are in inclusion, identity development, and career development.
Phyllis McCluskey-Titus (she/her/hers) is Professor Emeritus of Higher Education and Student Affairs. She taught student development theory, organization and administration, and college students and their cultures. Her research interests included the study of teaching and student learning inside and outside the classroom. Phyllis served as a student affairs practitioner before joining the faculty and is currently serving as the Interim Director of Academic Advising at Illinois Wesleyan University.