Building capacity and transforming lives: Anthropology undergraduates and religious campus-climate research on a public university campus

2016 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
pp. 258-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
BONNIE GLASS-COFFIN
2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (2) ◽  
pp. 26-29
Author(s):  
Bonnie Glass-Coffin

We live in an era where xenophobia, Islamophobia, and dangerous “Othering” is gaining ground in our communities. If anthropology's purpose still is, as Ruth Benedict once said, “to make the world safe for human differences,” it is more important now than ever for colleges and universities to provide our students with the necessary tools to do so. This report documents how a new initiative is building capacity for positive interaction among all who orient around religion differently while building bridges of interfaith cooperation at Utah State University. After summarizing campus climate research that led to the initiative's emergence in 2014, this report summarizes some of the major changes on campus that have come about as a result of these efforts. It then discusses the pros and cons of implementing positive institutional change from the “bottom-up” versus “top-down.” It concludes by asserting that we need applied and engaged anthropology in higher education now, more than ever, to prepare our students for the challenges of living and working in the 21st century.


Author(s):  
Lucila T. Rudge

This study examines the differences in experiences and perceptions of campus climate of 38 minority students enrolled in a predominantly white institution (PWI). African American students, Native American students, gender and sexually diverse students, students with disabilities, Latinx students, and international students participated in the study. About half of the participants reported negative experiences with racism and discrimination on campus whereas the other half reported the opposite. Attribution to discrimination theory informed the theoretical framework of this study and the data analysis. Policy recommendations to improve the climate of diversity on university campus are provided.


2020 ◽  
pp. 79-94
Author(s):  
Andrea Kölbel

Chapter Four unpacks the decisions that students made in relation to their university studies. Drawing on the concept of ‘vital conjunctures’, it investigates to what extent students identified with somewhat stereotypical images projected onto the public university campus and explains how educated young Nepalis tried to negotiate numerous competing social pressures on an everyday basis. In an effort to comply with established notions of female and male respectability, the students made use of the campus in different and often unexpected ways. In shifting the focus of the analysis onto the reasons behind students’ absence from and presence on campus, the chapter calls attention to the spatial dimension of young people’s agency and, in so doing, advances our conceptual understanding of vital conjunctures of youth.


Author(s):  
Jenny Manry ◽  
Shala Mills ◽  
Dorothy Ochs

Students and faculty at a rural university in Western Kansas took steps to decrease food insecurity in the campus population through the establishment of a campus garden and food pantry. Over a two-year period, the campus garden was relocated and expanded to provide easy access to faculty, staff, and students. The campus food pantry was enhanced to include cold and frozen foods and well as staple items. Survey results showed an increase in participation of both the garden and food pantry over the two-year period.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
S. Y. Erinosho ◽  
M. N. Femi-Oyewo ◽  
E. O. Oduwole

Sexual harassment (SH) is increasingly reported as an issue of major concern among both students and staff on campuses across the globe, and has been confirmed to have social and psychological consequences on the victim. However, the scale of the menace is underplayed because of under-reporting of cases. As a way to containing and/or regulating the behaviour, it is therefore imperative to obtain credible evidence on the veracity, the different forms, and how they play out to affect student victims with a view to foster an equitable campus climate. Thus, against the magnitude of the anecdotal reports on SH and the absence of empirical evidence on its extent, this study is concerned with obtaining baseline data on the forms and prevalence of campus-based sexual harassment, as well as ascertaining the awareness and knowledge of SH among undergraduates in a Nigeria University (OOU). An exploratory study involving cross-sectional survey of 1420 males and females was undertaken cutting across the faculties and levels in the University. The findings confirmed the existence of sexual harassment in OOU campus, though reported not to be on a rampant scale. Also, the behavior elements that indicate features of a hostile-environment harassment were reported with most likely occurrence on the campus. The policy implications of the findings were highlighted and recommendations made towards the prevention of SH victimization on the University campus.


Author(s):  
Selim Gunuc ◽  
Huseyin Artun ◽  
Emrullah Yigit ◽  
Hafize Keser

Several variables have been examined in relation to student engagement at universities in the past decades. However, the number of studies conducted especially with larger groups of participants to examine certain variables such as gender, accommodation, transportation to campus, and reasons for university choice is limited. In addition, there is almost no such research carried out in the context of the Turkish society. The study aimed to examine the relationship between student engagement and campus climate with a large group of participants from all over Turkey. The study was carried out using the survey research design. The research sample covered all the geographical regions in Turkey. The sample included 7,802 students in total. In the study, the Demographic Variable Form, Student Engagement Scale, and Campus Climate Checklist were used as the measurement tools. Finally, a significant correlation was found between the university campus climate and student engagement.


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