On this week’s The Sci-Files, your hosts Chelsie and Danny interview Jasmine Jordan. One of the projects that Jasmine has worked on was about housing segregation in the dorms at MSU. Basically, Black and Latinx students are hyper concentrated in dorms on the edge of campus. This may contribute to feelings of isolation and alienation among them. While other universities have gone above and beyond to address students of color and housing, MSU has not. Studies show that students can spend up to 70% of their time in their dorms. Below is a paragraph from the introduction of the study:
For a school like Michigan State University, which requires all freshmen to live on campus, this means that experiences inside of them will have a significant impact on students’ welfare and their overall attitudes towards their university. Students do typically see gains from staying in the dorms, including African American students.2 However, the racial composition of these dorms may affect the wellbeing of those who live there, because Black and LatinX students who choose to go to Predominately White Universities/ Institutions (PWIs) routinely face challenges associated with their minority.
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S.A.Harwood, M.B. Huntt,R. Mendenhall and J.A.Lewis, “Racial Microaggressions in the Residence Halls: Experiences of Students of Color at a Predominantly White University,” Journal of Diversity in Higher Education 5 no. 3 (2012): 159–173. 2. L.A. Flowers, “Effects of Living on Campus on African American Students’ Educational Gains in College,” NASPA Journal, 41 (2004): 277–293.

K.M. Foster, “Diet of Disparagement: The Racial Experiences of Black Students in a Predominately White University,” International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education 18, no. 4 (2005): 498–505; J. McCabe, “Racial and Gender Microaggressions on a Predominately White Campus: Experiences of Black, Latina/o and White Undergraduates,” Race, Gender, Class 16, no 1 (2009):133–115. 4. C.M. Loo and G. Rolison, “Alienation of Ethnic Minority Students at a Predominately White University,” Journal of Higher Education 57, no. 1 (1986): 56–77;J.C. Hernandez and M.A. Lopez, “Leaking Pipeline: Issues Impacting Latino/a College Student Retention,” Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory, and Practice 6, no. 1, (2004): 37–60.