How Microaggressions Affect Students of Color

Credit: Huffington Post 

A recent post by Inside Higher Ed highlighted the impact of microaggressions on students of color at  universities across the United States. They drew upon a report published by Harvard University's Voices of Diversity Project which collected interview and survey responses from over 200 students across 4 different college campuses. Despite an increase in the number of students of color, the report rightfully states that numbers alone does not mean a hostile college environment cease to exist.

More specifically, the authors reinforced that "simply changing the representation of various groups does not in and of itself ensure that the experiences of racial/ethnic minority and women students are as positive as those of their white and male counterparts...since institutional change tends to be slow, one cannot assume that increases in numbers of students of color have been accompanied by adequate changes in what has been called the 'chilly climate' for students of color and for women in undergraduate populations at predominantly white institutions."

This quote is particularly significant as statistical information related to "diversity" is often used to avoid criticism or used to demonstrate some sort of monumental "progress". However, as this report would support, an institutional change needs to occur in order to provide a safe space for students of color.

This safe space is often not a reality for students of color as many reported several ongoing microaggressions on their university campus. Gladys, a Latina senior, said the racist and sexist incidents she experienced "[hurt] so much, so much. It’s indescribable the way it makes you feel. Your whole body becomes hot and your eyes automatically become glassy, because you just feel so inferior.”

Here experience is reflective of the impact that microaggressions have on student performance. As a Huffington Post article indicates, several studies have confirmed that microaggressions hinder academic performance. Having your personhood be under constant attack not only holds physical emotional, and mental health consequences it also places certain students at a perpetual disadvantage. Additionally, because these microaggressions are never formally seen as forms of discrimination, because they can be subtle, no student faces the consequences for such messages. What will it take to have universities acknowledge the impact of microaggressions and ensue institutional change in service of those whose humanity is under constant attack.