How racialized students navigate campus life in a mid-sized Canadian city: ‘thrown against a white background’ but ‘comfortable enough to laugh’

ABSTRACT

We studied how racialized students navigate and cope with campus life amidst a context of discrimination in a midsize Canadian city. Using a situational analysis approach informed by participatory action research principles, our analysis revealed two overarching themes: (1) Thrown Against a White Background, representing frequent encounters of White normativity and supremacy often experienced through racially-based social stigma, marginalization and tokenism and; (2) [I am] Not at Home But I Feel Comfortable Enough to Laugh: students’ struggles to build a sense of home constrained by limited infrastructure and supports to sustain their efforts. This research points to the need for service providers to explicitly acknowledge cultural differences as opportunities to build rapport with racialized students, and, to consider normalized and overt racism as key determinants of students’ progress and wellbeing. Ultimately, policies that build on racialized students’ efforts and vision for a more inclusive community must be fostered.

KEYWORDS:

• Racism
• university well-being
• coping
• resilience
• equity
• people of colour

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. The Canadian government defines visible minority as non-White in colour or ethnic origin and not Aboriginal (within Canadian borders).

2. In order to protect the anonymity of the setting, we are unable to provide supporting references.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Hampton Endowment Fund, UBC Internal Funding;