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ABSTRACT
“Safe spaces” denote areas where students show up as they are and express themselves without fear of being made uncomfortable because of their sex, cultural background, or other status. Many dismiss the importance of safe spaces for students by accusing the institution of becoming a “therapeutic institution” concerned with their well-being, and/or viewing them as victims. We recognize the value of safe spaces to promote inclusion, and a sense of belonging for students. Utilizing photovoice with a LatCrit framework, we demonstrate the power of community-based participatory research to help Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x students 1) explore and articulate which spaces at an emerging HSI support their sense of safety; 2) illuminate unsafe spaces and how they navigate them; and 3) center student voices in safer spaces issues. We also identify factors that make university spaces feel safer and unsafe so as to provide guidance to those interested in being supportive of this student population. The findings provide insight into the factors that impact Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x students’ sense of safety and offer greater understanding of communal approaches that might support navigation of unsafe spaces and the increased creation of safer spaces.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
2 On the website of the UC Office of the President, campus climate is defined as “the current attitudes, behaviors and standards of faculty, staff, administrators and students concerning the level of respect for individual needs, abilities and potential.”
3 AB540 is the name of the bill passed on October 2001 by the California State Assembly that enables undocumented students who have attended high school in California and received a high school diploma or its equivalent to pay in-state tuition at universities and colleges.
4 Every year the CBPR course has helped develop three community-led projects and one student-led project. Students can decide which project they want to participate in. For example, in 2018 students interviewed local community members and local Woodland Community College (WCC) Alumni for the 50 Years of Ethnic Studies Struggle and Resilience Exhibit. That same year another group of students developed a wage theft survey for WSWA and helped the nonprofit conduct the survey around Sacramento. In 2019 a project was a result of a partnership between UC Davis’ Strategic Diversity Recruitment Initiatives and Transfer Programs and faculty from the School of Education and the Chicana/o Studies Department. Through this partnership, students examined the effectiveness of strategic efforts to increase Latina/o/x enrollment and achieve HSI designation. Preliminary results from students’ evaluation indicate that this intentional recruitment effort created a sense of community for students. About 44% of admitted Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x students identified UC Davis’ sense of community as an important determining factor in their decision to enroll at UC Davis.