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The Growing Knowledge Series (GKS) creates a pathway for those who have completed their dissertation, but never published, to share their scholarship with the profession through a hosted webinar. This collaborative effort of our three Communities of Practice is positioned to benefit practitioners and scholars alike, creating a space to share new knowledge frequently left on the shelf. Join Dr. Aaron George, an instructor for the Student Affairs in Higher Education (SAHE) program at Slippery Rock University, as he presents research on how professionals of professionals of color, who are themselves members of culturally based fraternal organizations (CBFOs), advocated for students of color and CBFOs on their campus.
Research Summary:
Dissertation Title: "Listen to the students": Composite poems on racial justice advocacy in fraternity/sorority life
Brief Summary: The racist history of fraternity/sorority life (FSL) is inextricably intertwined with the history of higher education in the United States. The way FSL is advised on college and university campuses has created a community that has become resistant to change, especially in the context of racial inclusion. Using ACPA’s Strategic Imperative for Racial Justice and Decolonization (SIRJD), I sought the narratives of how professionals of color, who are themselves members of culturally based fraternal organizations (CBFOs), advocated for students of color and CBFOs on their campus.
The stories of advocacy shared by the participants revealed insight into how advocacy was understood, the contexts in which advocacy was done, and what advocacy looked like in practice. Through poetic thinking and a performance analysis, ten composite poems were created that captured the various ways advocacy was approached. These approaches to advocacy included participants’ self-awareness to the racial history of FSL, their critical consciousness to the practice and praxis of FSL advising, centering and engaging students in their advocacy work, advocating among other campus professionals, and advocating to disrupt the larger discourse and structures of FSL advising.
The findings of this study suggest that advocacy of students of color and CBFOs in FSL is racial justice work. Moreover, the actions of racial justice advocacy reflect foundational student affairs philosophy on what student affairs work is. The participants of the study have shown that their advocacy of racial justice reflects the need to address the larger dominant narrative of FSL advising, based on historical predominantly white fraternities and sororities, that not only informs current student experiences but their experiences as professionals. The advocacy of racial justice in FSL would be served better by the inclusion of naming race and racism, and the power of the dominant white narrative, in foundational documents that speak to FSL advising practice and competencies. The role of advocacy in FSL practice and praxis and higher education/student affairs graduate preparation programs should also be explored as an area of future research, to consider how advocacy is learned, implemented, and understood as a function and competency of the profession. Lastly, findings of this study take a critical look at the SIRJD by focusing on who the SIRJD is for. The imperative of engaging in racial justice work in practice and praxis falls short for these professionals of color for they have been doing it all along.
Registration Fees:
Complimentary for ACPA Individual Members
$10 for ACPA Chapter Only Members
$10 for Non-Members
ACPA/NASPA Professional Competencies:
Advising and Supporting; Social Justice and Inclusion
Presenters:
ACPA Growing Knowledge Series-Listen to the Students: Composite Poems on Racial Justice Advocacy in Fraternity/Sorority Life
- Thursday Sep 26 2024, 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
