Artifact

How Campus Environments affects Biracial Student success and engagement

Timothy G. Klagues

Department of Higher Education and Student Affairs, Northern Illinois University

HESA 509: Campus Environment and the Culture of College Student

Dr. Gyant

October 28th, 2020

 Introduction
When thinking of higher education and factors that can determine whether a student or

group of students will be engaged or successful on their respective campus, it is beneficial to

take into account campus environments. Something that is generally overlooked when

determining success and engagement, campus environments and its components play an integral

role in both. Components of the campus environment include: the people, spaces, places (such as

buildings), resources, campus size and location, and the community around the campus. Each

component, mentioned previously, plays a vital role in the success and engagement for students

on campus. However, it is important to note that the campus environment affects students and

groups of students differently in regards to success and engagement. As we know, not every

student or group of students are the same, and as a result, engagement and success may look

different based on the campus environment and components. One group of students where the

campus environment may affect engagement and success differently compared to other groups of

students are biracial students. This paper serves to discuss how campus environments affect

biracial student’s engagement and success on college campuses.

Campus Environment
One of the most prominent campus environment resources, besides services, clubs,

activities, and organizations, is counseling. Counseling services give students the opportunity to

talk and seek help from someone who is not a professor or friend. Counselors are generally well

equipped to assist students from different groups. Having the ability to speak to a counselor

allows students to feel not only safe; it gives them comfort knowing that they can talk to

someone whenever necessary. However, like most colleges and universities, counselors are not

prepared or well equipped to help biracial or multiracial students on campus. An article written

by Paladino and Davis, Jr. (2006) discusses why counselors, colleges, and universities are not
well equipped to assist biracial or multicultural students. The two authors also discussed the

ways in which colleges, universities, and counselors can become more equipped to assist biracial

and multicultural students as the population with these two groups continue to rise. As discussed

by Paladino and Davis, Jr. (2006) with the rise in both biracial and multicultural students

entering colleges and universities, most colleges and universities are not prepared or are able to

assist, assist biracial or multicultural student’s needs, or acknowledge these students. If

counselors, along with colleges and universities want to be more equipped with helping biracial

or multicultural students, it would be beneficial for administrators or counselors to attend

workshops on how to help these students succeed and engage in college (Paladino and Davis, Jr.

2016). If administrators or other faculty/staff at colleges and universities are not sure how to

assist students from biracial or multiracial backgrounds, how can we expect counselors or others

to be able to help biracial or multicultural students? Students who are biracial and multicultural

will pick up on this. As a result, biracial or multicultural students will be questioning who they

could reach out to in order to become engaged and succeed on campus if no one is able to assist

them. Mentioned previously, one of the core components of the campus environment consists of

the people who are on the campus. By not being able to assist or prepared to help, biracial

students will become less likely to engage in the campus environment or succeed in the campus

environment.

One of the ways in which campus environments can affect biracial student’s engagement

and success on campus involves how biracial student’s feel about themselves and how they

believe they relate to others on campus. While biracial student’s face similar struggles with

adjusting to college along with the social and academic components, biracial students are more

likely going to face macroaggressions, microaggressions, and discrimination. Mentioned by

West and Maffini (2019) macroaggressions, microaggressions, and discrimination are common

across college campuses in the United States and that biracial students are often exposed to race-

related attacks on campus. West and Maffini (2019) also discuss in their article that a second

barrier that biracial students face is creating and building a support network along with having a

lack of sense of belonging. The prominent reason for biracial students not being able to create a

sense of belonging is due to biracial students having to navigate multiple identities. However, the

campus environments from colleges and universities do not help biracial students create a sense

of belonging (West and Maffini, 2019). While it is beneficial that colleges and universities have

cultural centers or clubs that are race specific or cultural specific, there are no cultural centers or

clubs for biracial students to join. Instead, campus environments essentially are making biracial

students choose one their multiple identities and neglect their other identities. Because of this,

biracial students are less likely to engage in their respective campus environment, which affects

their academic success in a negative way.

Adding to campuses not having any, if at all, organizations or groups for biracial

students, campus environments also do not include, generally, student services or offices for

biracial students to utilize to seek help or engagement on campus. An article written by Ingram et

al. (2014) discussed how it is important to raise the question at colleges and universities about

whether or not the respective institution should in fact create university student services, offices,

or both that serve biracial students who attend the institution. Discussed by Ingram et al. (2014)

“A case study conducted on six biracial college students found that five of the six students

supported the need for biracial student organizations on campus” (p. 298). Essentially, this is

saying a few things. The first is that college and universities need to ask themselves that if we

were to add a university student services, offices, or both for biracial students, how would that
campus environment affect biracial students overall engagement and success on campus? This

also says that biracial students feel that their respective institution should implement these

student services and offices along with having biracial student organizations, clubs, and activities

on campus. If all of these are added to the campus environment, biracial students will feel that

they belong because they will have the opportunity to interact with other biracial students and

create friendships. Also, by adding these to the campus environment, biracial students would

have a safe space on campus, and biracial students would feel more welcome on the campus

community, as this would create a welcoming environment (Ingram et al., 2014).

It is important to note that campus environments that are most successful keep students

on campus engaged in multiple ways. Some of the multitudes of ways in which campuses keep

students engaged include both in and out of the classroom along with engagement in the local

community. Strange and Banning (2015) discuss some of the different ways in which colleges

and universities can keep students engaged. According to Strange and Banning (2015) “Colleges

and universities most successful at inviting students to become engaged in them seem to do so

through offering a continuous and seamless experience of learning, both within and beyond the

classroom” (p. 207). Strange and Banning (2015) also discussed in their book that if institutions

want to promote more engagement among students, leaders have to become aware of the extent

in which the environments they create align with student interests and sense of belonging. While

it is beneficial for students to be engaged on campus, institutions are responsible for creating

ways in which students can become engaged and successful inside and outside of the classroom.

If institutions want students to be engaged and successful in meaningful ways with campus

environments, they need to have an understanding of student’s sense of belonging and create

these environments (Strange and Banning, 2015). Leaders are colleges and universities, however,
are still trying to figure out how to keep biracial students engaged on college campuses.

Specifically, colleges and universities are in the process of trying to figure out how to offer a

seamless experience of learning for biracial students and how these learning experiences will

help biracial students succeed. It is imperative that colleges and universities create environments

in which biracial students are able to engage in both of their interests and sense of belonging. If

colleges and universities are unable to help biracial students create a sense of belonging in the

campus environment, then they will be unable to help biracial students engage in meaningful

ways inside the classroom, outside the classroom, and in their respective community.

Conclusion
The campus environment is significant in the engagement and success for students on

campus. However, this paper discussed how colleges and universities campus environments do

not help biracial students with on campus, which leads to a negative effect in success and

engagement. Two of the main reasons why colleges and universities campus environments are

unable to help biracial students succeed are due to not having any clubs or organizations along

with no campus environment being created by leaders to foster success and engagement.

Colleges and universities campus environments are not equipped to help biracial students, which

forces biracial students to pick between one of their identities and ultimately neglect their other

identity. If colleges and universities want to create a campus environment that will help biracial

students succeed and engage, student services and offices, clubs/organizations, and a welcoming

environment need to be created.

 References
Ingram, P., Chaudhary, A.K., & Jones W.T. (2014). How do biracial students interact with others

on the college campus? College Student Journal, 48(2), 297-311.

Paladino, D.A. & Davis Jr., H. (2006). Counseling and outreach strategies for assisting

multiracial college students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 20(3), 19-31.

Strange, C.C. & Banning, J.H. (2015). Designing for learning: Creating campus environments

for student success (2nd edition). Jossey-Bass.

West, M.T. & Maffini, C.S. (2019). “What are you?” Conceptualizing the complexities of

bicultural and biracial college student experiences. Journal of College Counseling, 22(2),

164-178.