Introduction: The Changing Nature of Student Demographics in Community Colleges Globalization, shifts in immigration, and increasing access to higher education have changed the characteristics of students in colleges and universities. The profile of students has changed as universities and colleges became open access institutions to students from nontraditional lower socioeconomic backgrounds. First-generation college students, students who aspire to attain education beyond high school for the first time in the family, have become an important demographic to study (Terenzini, Springer, Yaeger, Pascarella, & Nora, 1996; Trow, 2001; Woods-Warrior, 2014). Community colleges in the United States provide education to nearly 50% of all undergraduates, many with diverse backgrounds and needs. Out of this group of students, 36% constitute firstgeneration college students (American Association of Community Colleges, Fact Sheet, 2018). Community colleges offer flexible programs and various financial aid opportunities. Their affordability allows many students to achieve their higher education goals. Both administrators and professors in community colleges work hard to increase success rates for all students, especially for minority and economically disadvantaged students (Niu & Tienda, 2013; Shugart, 2013). Although many students enter community colleges with great aspiration, they are at a greater risk to take at least three years to graduate due to various reasons, such as depending on financial aid, working part time, and having less persistence getting a degree (Fike & Fike, 2008; Thayer, 2000). After making the transition from high school to community college, their academic progress is rather slow. Only one-third of community college students get a college degree within six years (Bailey, Calcagno, Jenkins, Leinbach, & Kienzl, 2006). There are several economic and flexible curricular incentives for students to graduate in a timely manner. The Pathway Project, Pell Grants, and the Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) provide the opportunity for students to graduate in three years through financial, academic, and support programs

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Culture is a fundamental guide to all facets of a person's life; it is symbolic, historic, and dynamic (Jones, 2003). Kroeber and Kluckhohn's (1952) definition of culture includes learned behaviors and ideas that are based on tradition and their attached values which are socially transmitted from one generation to the next. Culture is entwined in a person's daily actions and is consequently a key factor in the meaning of food and eating. This study will examine the relationship between cultural orientation and eating behaviors of African American men and women. African American cultural attitudes Jones (2003) posits that African American culture has a unique worldview that reflects the attitudes, cognitions, values, and behaviors of African American experiences in five dimensions: time, rhythm, improvisation, orality, and spirituality (TRIOS). TRIOS, as a theory, is a way to understand the psychological and cultural resources that helped Africans in America to survive and be resilient to racial oppression and dehumanization (Jones, 2003, 2004). These coping mechanisms became cultural patterns, which in turn were passed onto the next generation of African Americans. Jones (2003) has developed a scale operationalizing the TRIOS dimensions, and African Americans score significantly higher than, or as high as, any other ethnic group on all five TRIOS dimensions in a test of validity. High levels of TRIOS are associated with greater psychological well-being in the African American population (Jones, 2003). This broad and comprehensive theory of cultural orientation for African Americans aids in our understanding of African American eating behaviors.

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