Shh... there's some racism in these policies: a phenomenological study of Black student experiences with on-campus housing policies

Abstract

Black students are called to live on campus and promised a better college experience by doing so. However, when Black students move on campus, they continue to experience hostile environments and microaggressions from those around them. Black students not only experience these microaggressions, but they also experience difficulties when navigating on-campus housing policies and those who enforce them. Black students express concerns about interacting with their peers, staff, faculty, and campus police departments. This study used phenomenological methodology to examine the relationship between anti-Blackness and on campus housing policies. I center Black ways of knowing and being by using BlackCrit to analyze the data and situating the study in an Afro-pessimistic frame. I frame this study through a lens that recognizes the historical positioning of Black people as less than present in the afterlife of slavery. The study dives into the experiences of Black students who live on campus and how to best support them in navigating the negative impacts of on-campus housing policies. The study calls for housing and residence life professionals to interrogate whether their policies and practices create a welcoming environment for Black students to live authentically.