Marc P. Johnston

When Parties Become Racialized: Deconstructing Racially Themed Parties

Racially themed parties are all-too-common occurrences on college campuses. Using critical race theory as a lens, this article provides a contemporary overview of these events and deconstructs these incidents as examples of overt forms of racism often emanating from subtle, everyday occurrences of covert racism or racial microaggressions. Implications for future empirical research and professional practice are provided in hopes of better responding to and prevention of racially themed parties.

Understanding Context: Cultural, Relational, & Psychological Interactions in Self-Authorship Development

Existing research points toward dissonance as the primary catalyst in self-authorship development. This study investigated the cultural relevance of current conceptions of dissonances role in self-authorship development. A total of 166 participants of color were recruited from three large public research universities from different regions in the United States. The results of our qualitative study suggest two kinds of dissonance lead to self-authorship development: Identity dissonance and relationship dissonance, and that type of dissonance experienced impacts developmental pathways. The implications of our results suggest that there is a need to further specify the current understandings of the catalysts and processes involved in self-authorship development.

The Concept of Race on Campus: Exploring the Nature of College Students' Racial Conceptions

Despite the widely documented benefits associated with racial diversity in higher education, less is known about why and how race matters. A potential answer may be found in how students conceptualize race. This qualitative study explores students’ underlying racial conceptions, which have been shown to influence various attitudes and behaviors. Semistructured interviews with 18 undergraduates at one racially diverse campus reveal four distinct racial conceptions that are related to the line of inquiry in which race is evoked and influenced by campus contexts. The findings suggest a potential model of campus racial conceptualization with implications for student affairs research and practice.

Which Box(es) Do I Check? Investigating College Students' Meanings behind Racial Identification.

Abstract How students racially identify continues to be critical for tracking and monitoring disparities in a number of outcomes. Little is known, however, about the meanings of race students enact when encountering the ubiquitous “race questions” used to operationalize these groups. This mixedmethods study explored college students’ (N = 637) underlying meanings behind racial identification, finding six distinct patterns of racial meanings that provide insight into the fluidity of racial demographics and implications for practice.

Examining the Significance of "Race" in College Students' Identity Within a "Postracial" Era

This qualitative study examines the significance of “race” within the identities of a diverse sample of traditionally aged college students (N = 59) across 2 institutions. Our findings demonstrate that more than half of the participants felt race mattered to their sense of identity, since it was either descriptive of a sense of self provided order within differing contexts, or highlighted inequities. Why race did not seem to matter to the remaining students was explored with 3 resulting frameworks: race-salience and beliefs in a postracial society having the most explanatory value, while racial colorblindness the least. Methodological and theoretical innovations provide the foundation for implications toward complicating notions of race and identity within higher education research and practice.

Asian Americans and Campus Climate: Investigating Group Differences Around a Racial Incident

Abstract Racially biased incidents pervade college campuses warranting further attention to their influence on campus climate. This study examines one such incident that targeted Asian American students, who are the largest racial group at the compositionally diverse institution. Using the Diverse Learning Environments survey and the “naturally occurring” incident during data collection, we demonstrate significant group differences across a number of climate indicators and explore the malleability of campus racial climate after the racially biased incident.