Alienation of Ethnic Minority Students at a Predominantly White University

An Exploratory Study of Perceived Discrimination and Homesickness: A Comparison of International Students and American Students

“…For instance, Loo and Rolison (1986) postulated that non-White U.S. students entering the university environment in the United States would experience feelings such as alienation and isolation because of their entrance into a new culture where White, middle-class values are the norm. They concluded that the academic difficulty and alienation experienced by non-White students in the university setting stemmed, in part, from culture shock (Loo & Rolison).…”

Considering the Impact of Racial Stigmas and Science Identity: Persistence Among Biomedical and Behavioral Science Aspirants

“…Feelings of prejudice or alienation have also been shown to be negatively correlated with minority student persistence (Loo & Rolison, 1986; Muñoz, 1987; Suen, 1983) and adjustment to college for high-achieving Latina/o students (Hurtado et al, 1996) and African Americans (Cabrera et al, 1999). Smedley, Myers, and Harrell (1993) reported that racism and discrimination on campus increased the levels of psychological and sociocultural stressors that minority students experience, which in turn negatively affected their adjustment at their institution.…”

Ethnic Segregation and Perceived Discrimination in College: Mutual Influences and Effects on Social and Academic Life1

“…Minority college students often report experiencing greater levels of alienation and prejudice than their White counterparts, and perceive the predominantly White campus environment to be unsupportive of minority students (Loo & Rolison, 1986;Nora & Cabrera, 1996;Sedlacek, 1999).…”

“…Belonging to an ethnic organization on campus can be viewed as an effective coping strategy to deal with such stresses, providing students of color with comfort zones in an environment that can, at times, feel hostile (Mendoza-Denton, Downey, Purdie, Davis, & Pietrzak, 2002;Sidanius et al, 2004). Others agree that membership in ethnic organizations and spending time with members of one's in-group provide critical social support for students of color who find themselves in culturally unsupportive environments (Hurtado et al, 1998(Hurtado et al, , 1999Loo & Rolison, 1986;Oyserman, Gant, & Ager, 1995;Oyserman & Harrison, 1998;Oyserman, Harrison, & Bybee, 2001). Hence, it may be that students develop in-group friendships as a coping strategy to deal with perceptions of ethnic discrimination on campus.…”

“…Moreover, they fear that ethnic clustering leads to increased ethnocentrism and racial intolerance on campus, and that it can foster negative attitudes toward the university (D'Souza, 1991). Others, however, have argued that some students, especially students of color on predominantly White campuses, may seek friends of their own ethnic group in order to gain refuge from a hostile campus racial climate (Hurtado, Milem, Clayton-Pedersen, & Allen, 1998, 1999Loo & Rolison, 1986). Ethnically similar peers then may go on to have positive effects on academic adjustment and performance in college, especially for African American students for whom the hostile climate is most salient (Griffin, 1991).…”