Tracing institutional change: How student activism concerning diversity facilitates administrative action.

Abstract

Over the past decade, increasingly more colleges and universities have had to address student-initiated demands following racist incidents that occur both locally and nationally. However, the demands to address unfair conditions on campus do not necessarily result in meaningful change. To better understand how student activism facilitates administrative actions that lead to change and the extent to which social media accentuates activism, we examined student-initiated efforts to increase “diversity” at Yale University. Our study combined more than 100 documents with 5 years of social media data to identify key patterns that significantly contributed toward facilitating institutional change. The findings show that to facilitate administrative actions, student activists grew their reach, reiterated their demands over time, and activated the individuals and groups peripheral to the original demands. Their combined efforts were accentuated by the use of social media, which served to make their activism even more consequential for mediating tangible and demonstrable change at the institutional level.

When coupled with anti‐egalitarianism, colour evasion predicts protection of the status quo during a university‐wide movement for racial justice

“…Undergraduate students have a long history of engaging in activism aimed at promoting positive change in the broader society and at their institutions (Havey, Gogue, & Chang, 2022). Student‐led movements have played a role in shaping higher education itself.…”

“…However, not all student‐led activism efforts successfully engage students and result in meaningful change. Indeed, many recent diversity‐related activism efforts by students in higher education have fallen short of bringing about consequential institutional change, particularly when they are unable to develop a broad base of support (see Havey et al, 2022). Whether other students join in and work to promote the success of campus‐based movements for social justice is likely determined by factors across various levels, including facets of the local and societal context, the behavioural strategies employed by the activists and individual student beliefs (Cuellar, 2021; Lake, Alston, & Kahn, 2021; Mac Intosh, Martin, & Kluch, 2020; Yi & Todd, 2020).…”

Diversity situationships: Exploring the complexities of a diversity peer educator program.

“…For example, research consistently documents how racist and hostile campus environments impede the academic achievement, mental health, and sense of belonging of minoritized students, faculty, and staff (e.g., Harper & Hurtado, 2007; Strayhorn, 2019; Sulé & Brown, 2023). Even as universities discursively promote diversity and inclusion in mission statements, strategic planning documents, and various initiatives, there has been little systemic change (Ahmed, 2012; Havey et al, 2022; McNair et al, 2020). This is perhaps best evinced by continued and, in some cases, worsening reports of racist and culturally insensitive campus environments and resulting student efforts to facilitate institutional change through activist activities such as protests, demonstrations, and marches (Hurtado et al, 1998; Morgan & Davis, 2019; Linder et al, 2019).…”