Paper Sample: Discrimination on College Campuses

Introduction

For many years, a lot of people's lives have been greatly affected by racial discrimination. In the United States (US), racial discrimination has spread in all the states in the US and involved most learning institutions from the largest Universities to the smallest colleges (Daftary). Problems associated with racism have positively impacted different minority students in the academic scholars as well as those who are athletically gifted. From the 1950s till the 1960s the levels of discrimination at those times were very high because, in those days, minorities were not allowed to share the same bathrooms with the majority (Billingsley). The research study will focus on the significant causes of racism and how racial discrimination has affected learning institutions, mainly in colleges.

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The level of separation occurred in almost every field of association. For example, the minorities could not use the same worship places as the majority; the minorities were not allowed to use the same public transportation as the majority. Despite these, many efforts have come up to counter this issue of racial discrimination. Examples of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s works were set against the practice of racism and pleaded for the end of racial violence.

However, to this day, racial discrimination is still visible in the US, and from its effects, it continues to tear apart the student's hearts across the country (Billingsley). The victims of racial discrimination go through difficult moments in their daily life activities as compared to those people who have not experienced racism. The US is known as a land where people are equal and have freedom. Still, unfortunately, the great United States as all know it has been blinded by those people who cannot appreciate that there are different varieties of ethnicities that exist there (Bird). The biggest problem is that it affects the livelihood of so many students, both colleges and campuses such that they can no longer handle such stress.

Methods

The research used qualitative methods to get precise data from the extensive volume of data available. During the study, surveys included only a certain number of college students. Also, answered questions regarding how they felt after being discriminated against, their reasons for being discriminated against, and when were they discriminated against. However, the effects of racism do not impact only scholarly students.

Literature Review

In our study, the idea of racial discrimination and race is defined from the research of the social science perspective. The issue of racism, which has resulted in the disadvantaged growth of the United States, has promoted the review of factors and effects caused by the impact of racial discrimination on ethnic groups. Other research studies have clearly shown that the levels of stress increase when the cases of racial discrimination increase (Billingsley).

One of these studies concludes that cases of racial discrimination increase the levels of depression, lower self-esteem, and even trauma in communities (Daftary). Even though racism occurs in learning institutions, they are said to be places filled with learned and intellectual people.

Mostly the campuses and colleges are supposed to give students the best experience of their lives. Therefore it would be bad for people to ruin other people's campus life experience by discriminating against them against their race, religion, or even gender. Many professions have studied racial discrimination that takes place on college campuses. From the study, they also analyzed different ways people get discriminated against and the effects on the victims of discrimination.

Despite overt racism cases being rare, the study shows that some black students often experience covert and individual racism. There are numerous cases of covert discrimination directed at black students in predominantly white learning institutions (Jochman). Research shows that most of the academic advisors who are racist tend to discourage or give bad advice to black students regarding a particular course. Sometimes they may scare off black students by overloading them with many classes that they cannot handle.

Secondly, most of the white students tend to separate themselves from the black students during classroom time, in hallways, or even in study groups. Thirdly most black students experience being left out in the student sharing networks, for example, note sharing, course outlines, or even during old/makeup exams. In many colleges, most of the racist lecturers have devised ways to avoid being racist labels. For example, in such lectures when approached by black students, they hesitate to give the black students advice and most likely suggest that they drop the course.

Analysis of the survey data collected indicates that institutional racism is still present every day in colleges. Black students tend to have lower scores on standardized tests than their white counterparts students. The black students' results weighed heavily during the admission stage, therefore raising the college tuition fees, reducing the amount of aid the student can get, and creating challenges in other financial supports.

Unfortunately, decreasing financial aid for black students creates more barriers for them to access education facilities. Recent research has proved that on white campuses, the level of racial attitudes is high (Bird). Some white students have now started to believe that society has become racially equal and that both black students and other minority students are being treated equally or are being singled for just having different cultural backgrounds. From such efforts, white students also developed a sense of being the victims instead of fixing discrimination.

Findings

From the research study, results show that most racially profiled students suffered a state of denial, which led to higher levels of psychological stress, therefore affecting the performance of students in the colleges. Most minority students usually go through very frustrating and decolorizing academic life, but some choose to survive and thrive through the challenges.

They do not face typical challenges for regular students, such as struggling to balance their home and classwork or even facing challenging class assignments. In our society, black people live under two identities. They are under pressure to view themselves from their white peers' perspectives. Finally, according to the research, today's black students may develop a unique circumstance related to psychological problems that may become a severe health problem concern if left unnoticeable.

Feelings about the research

From the research, a reader tends to see racial discrimination as a habit of learning from others. In most schools across the US, black students and other minorities feel disconnected from their schools. Their schools' implicit institutionalized racism creates an emotional barrier between minority students and their white peers. Readers can also think that being black in a predominantly white college as a student, you are likely to have mental health issues. Also, from the study, most readers can see that various suggestions show that most minority students will not enjoy campus life as compared to the way white students would.

Personal Feelings about the Topic

From the Topic of the study, racism does not only affect learning institutions, but also it has spread across all social sectors in our lifestyles. Experiencing discrimination in learning institutions creates a very unpleasant feeling, bad enough such that even scholarly students have to experience its effects. But not only the academic students but also affects the sports in schools.

There have been cases whereby sports coaches are said to strategically position specific players based on their racial capabilities. There are racial stereotypes devoted to African American athletics, suggesting that they are faster in track than white athletes. From the stereotype, coaches in colleges tend to assign African Americans to the speeding truck positions.

Other people tend to have two minds from the above claims of college coaches practicing discrimination by positioning individual players based on their race. Even it is normal to see specific race athletes in certain positions. I believe that coaches strategies their players' based on performance capabilities. Therefore, it does not depend on students' race; if they can perform best at a specific position, he/she should play in that position.

Conclusion

Although racial discrimination cases are becoming less and less over time, its testicles can still reach the learning institutions in our current society. Many people's lives have been affected by racial discrimination. Many colleges across the United States have been affected by racial bias. Different students in both universities and colleges experience racism based on their race, religion, or even gender. Racial stereotyping is as ignorance from those people who do not want to acknowledge the diversity of different cultures and races in the world. The next research will look at racial discrimination experiences in workplaces. Finally, the study's recommendation would be to those who are arrogant and are still practicing racism. They should try to understand that the world contains unique people, so they should embrace it.

Works Cited

Billingsley. "Discrimination, mental health, and academic performance among underrepresented college students: the role of extracurricular activities at predominantly white institutions." Social Psychology of Education 22.2 (2019): 421-446. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11218-019-09484-8

Bird. "Evaluating social inclusion: An adaptable measure for use on college campuses." International Journal of Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities 12.2 (2020). https://ijurca-pub.org/articles/10.7710/2168-0620.0303/

Daftary. "Discrimination, depression, and anxiety among college women in the Trump era." Journal of Gender Studies (2020): 1-14. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09589236.2020.1767546?casa_token=x2E8Or0Nk-kAAAAA:Vzs5h5TmYJNWk7IPRK_-VQtWR98wgJZm589z0i4bqk1Rj7jiALuhVcIiAIDulhkuPWnnOgzkSgl0L-U

Jochman. "Mental health outcomes of discrimination among college students on a predominately White campus: A prospective study." Socius 5 (2019): 2378023119842728. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2378023119842728