The purpose of this paper is to consider a different point of view as to why historically underrepresented minority students ultimately succeed in school, but do so at a cost (Goward, 2020). The authors argue that considering John Henryism, i.e., high-effort coping as a response to environmental stressors, as a source of motivation for…

College students in the 21st century face unprecedented levels of stress, which has led to a global and deleterious impact on their mental health. The mental health of college students is widely considered to be a public health crisis according to the World Health Organization (WHO), and universities are challenged to provide adequate resources…

Canonical research and identity-evasive best practices have pushed Student Affairs Professionals (SAP) to limit the applicability and effectiveness of involvement for a swath of the student body. By examining the push for involvement on college campuses, it is imperative to critically examine the impact traditional forms of student engagement have…

Routine practices in federal and state penal facilities deny undocumented individuals access to various programming, including sentence-mandated and education programs. Many prison higher education programs also exclude individuals who are not US citizens and because undocumented people cannot access Pell Grant funds, it is unlikely they will…

As the need to provide advocacy and support for marginalized college student populations increases and campus challenges related to college men persist, educators and scholars are increasingly finding themselves in need of more nuanced frameworks for engaging and understanding college men. One such model, the "Intersectional Model of College…

In this article, the authors explore how to support students with disabilities in the transition to higher education by using the metaphor of acquiring a signal to represent thriving. Drawing upon the authors' research on students with disabilities, they share stories of Taylor, David, and Ali as they transition into college life. They then use…

In this article, the authors discuss that equity is the aspiration for justice resulting from the intentional distribution of capital in its myriad forms in the context of generations of state, system, and institutional oppression. The conflation of equity with equality and the white-washing of equity have upheld systems of dominance within higher…

When analyzing student reflection assignments from a mandatory research methods course, the authors were struck by the tension between students' own approaches to learning and the challenges, uncertainties, and frustrations accompanying their efforts. Students' ideas about what constitutes learning, how learning is to be done, and how they…

Peer mentoring programs have repeatedly shown that peer-to-peer support is a vital part of the transition process for new college students. Sometimes, what a student needs most in those imperative years is someone who can identify with them and provide the advice needed to get them to the finish line. In August 2019, the University of Nevada, Las…

Higher education demographics continue to shift, with students from various minoritized identities increasing in enrollment. Yet, retention, completion, and success rates remain scarce for these students. Current metrics uphold homophobic and transphobic binaries in the categorization of gender and sexualities prohibiting higher education…

In this article, the author explores how higher education and student affairs (HESA) administrators can conceptualize servingness by understanding the experiences of Black students, administrators, and faculty at Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). The author uses an organizational conflict lens to propose recommendations that could support HESA…

The climate for minoritized groups in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) is exclusionary and hinders their capacity to thrive and earn degrees in STEM disciplines. Most research on and support for programs to diversify technology and STEM fields have focused on strategies in highly selective, well-resourced institutions, which…

The COVID-19 global pandemic brought unexpected challenges to the curricular and co-curricular offerings of the Women and Gender Studies Program (WGST) at George Mason University. In March 2020, all courses were immediately transitioned to virtual, online experiences--none had previously been offered in a virtual format, programming ceased, and…

Alternative Spring Break (ASB) is a program hosted by college campuses in which students use their traditional vacation to serve the community locally, domestically, or internationally. There are 101 recognized and accredited Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) across the United States (National Center for Education Statistics,…

Student involvement for Black women at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) has shaped the lives of many prominent Black women such as current Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Senator Kamala Harris, and former minority leader of the Democratic Party Stacey Abrams in today's society. In this article, Jamila L. Lee-Johnson will…