Minority Students On Majority Campuses Now Have A Guide

12-5-97
University Park, Pa. -- The college experience for a minority student on a majority campus can be frustrating, difficult and sometimes even painful. But those who persist and graduate overwhelmingly say that they would make the same decision if they had to do it over again.

"How to Succeed on a Majority Campus: A Guide for Minority Students," by Penn State professionals working in minority student recruitment and retention, is the first book of its kind and has been described as a must-read for minority students and their parents attending or considering a majority campus. Published this fall by Wadsworth, it is now in bookstores across the country and Canada, and is priced for general use at $8.50.

The book was written to help students overcome barriers associated with race, ethnicity and cultural isolation, and addresses issues head-on, including racism on campus, navigating unfamiliar ethical points of view, special challenges for women of color, building relationships with others and resolving conflicts. Lesbian, gay and bisexual students of color and the experiences of international students of color are issues rarely dealt with in college advice books, but are addressed here in depth.

"Based on more than 100 interviews of minority students and minority student counselors across the country, we wrote the book not just to give advice, but to explore ideas, open minds and excite the imagination," says Marc Levey, senior diversity program analyst at Penn State, who wrote several chapters and was editorial project director. "In all 12 sections, we stress thinking, not just surviving, and include check lists, questions and direct comment by students."

W. Terrell Jones, deputy vice provost for educational equity, and Michael Blanco, director of the Multicultural Resource Center, are the other principal authors. Interviews reported on and referred to throughout the book were conducted between January 1995 and March 1996, and include a cross-section of students of many cultures, races, ages and nationalities from majority campuses of higher education.

The authors also prepared a streamlined edition for minority students already enrolled at majority institutions, which can also be used by college and university administrators to examine their own policies and procedures for promoting minority student success.

Ninety percent of the non-white graduates at predominantly white institutions surveyed for the book said they would make the same decision again, in spite of the fact that more than 75 percent of these same graduates reported having been subject to, or having witnessed, some form of discrimination as undergraduates. "Because I did well here, I am equipped to do well out there," is the rationale behind minority students' satisfaction.

"The bottom line is that attendance at a predominantly white institution is probably going to mirror the state of society in general, and even though college can pose a challenge, the struggle and triumph can be richly rewarding," Levey says.

The direct tone of the book is evident in the very first chapter, "Choosing the Right College for You." When choosing a college or university, Jones cautions students to consider the cultural fit between themselves and the school. He carefully outlines the strengths and weaknesses of both historically Black institutions and predominantly majority campuses, and urges students to know what they want from higher education before making their decision.

"It is not uncommon for students of color to think that they shouldn't have to consider cultural fit," he says. "They think that issues like cultural fit and race relations are relics of the past, not relevant to their college experience. However, in recent years, institutions of higher education have experienced marked increases in acts of intolerance and both racial and cultural bias, underscoring the need for students of color to make an informed decision."

Readers are guided through a series of questions to ask colleges and sample responses to help students interpret the level of support or comfort they might find on that campus.

"'How to Succeed on a Majority Campus' is a guide to thinking," says Blanco. "It is part survival guide, part primer on college life, part historical review of relevant trends and part sampling of student perspectives."

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Editors: For more information, contact the authors in care of Marc Levey at 814-863-2294, phone; 814-863-8218, fax; or emailto:mbl1@psu.edu. To request a review copy, send your request to 1-800-423-0563 (phone); 1-800-522-4923 or mailto:request@wadsworth.com.