This article relays the author's experiences and lessons learned after she was selected to serve as the faculty coordinator for first-year student scheduling at her institution. The new assignment to run the first-year scheduling function in the summer was supposed to be a way to do something interesting and engaging in the summer. It turned out…

A hostile campus climate and culture significantly impacts students' of color overall well-being and learning, especially in the present day's highly tense racial and political environment. As fourth-year doctoral students, identifying as a Black woman and Latina, the authors have faced adversities and obstacles navigating both personal and…

In this article the author explains why it is completely possible to claim a strong identity of being "anti-racist" while simultaneously being complicit with the many covert forms of systemic racism from which one inherently (and perhaps unconsciously) benefits. To be anti-racist is to say that one is against racism, but have no intent…

The author recounts how they could not "be myself" or be authentic in the same way that White peers could without being stereotyped as anything other than a typical college student. The article endeavors to interrogate the loose, subjective definition of authenticity in higher education as a potentially precarious practice for BIPOC who…

For years university administrators and faculty have navigated the complex and difficult terrain responding to demands for equity and inclusion from marginalized students. Most recently, the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 responses on communities of color has caused some students to allege the nation's universities did not adequately consider…

After years of enrolling high numbers of Hispanic/Latinx students, Northern Arizona University (NAU) gained Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) status in Spring 2021. The institution currently enrolls a Hispanic/Latinx community of 25%. However, servingness is not accurately reflected through percentages alone. Rather, a university that engages in…

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…

The United States continues to become more racially and ethnically diverse, and the nation's colleges and universities' demographics are commensurate with that growth. Between 1976 and 2017, the percentage of White students enrolled in postsecondary institutions fell from 84% to 56%, while the percentage of American college students who identify…

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…

Despite tempting illusions of college campuses as bubbles removed from "the real world", college students are not immune to trauma in its many forms including sexual violence, racism, death of loved ones, car accidents, abuse, or natural disasters. In the best-case scenario, colleges and their administrators and faculty can be sources of…

Though traditionally confined to the literature classroom, poetry is finding its way into courses of all disciplines in K-12 and higher education. Poetry and expressive writing are useful for encouraging critical thinking, serving as a way for students to synthesize course content, and building classroom rapport. It can also positively impact…

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…

In this article, the author describes the changes to their work in higher education due to the COVID-19 international pandemic. The move away from campus and in-person meetings and interactions to work-from-home and videoconferencing led the author to consider the changes to the students lives: What was it like for them taking their last steps off…

One subpopulation of students on the rise at many university campuses is e-sport gamers or "e-athletes." Video gamers are giving a new definition to the traditional athlete and are attracting the attention of athletic administrators, who are willing to fund scholarships to attract today's top e-athlete. The relationship between gamers…