Running head: VOICE PROJECT REFLECTION PAPER 1

Voice Project Reflection Paper

By

LENA M. FRIEND

SAA7610 Student Development Theory
Wright State University
November 26, 2012

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I think the voice project was enlightening to say the
least. I believe it has broadened my understanding of the
Black male college student. I have read several articles,
attended events, visited support centers, held discussions
and conducted an interview to gain knowledge and
perspective of the male student of color. All of this has
helped me to experience a little of what it would be like
to walk in their shoes, for myself. I havent been as vocal
in class perhaps as I should have been, representing the
Black male college students voice, but I have in several
conversations outside the classroom. In this reflection
paper I will share more about specific activities and
experiences I took part in to accomplish this assignment.
I started my project by visiting the Bolinga Black
Cultural Resource Center on September 12, 2012. They were
holding an Open House that evening, to feature services and
resources offered by the center for students of color. With
its wide array of resources, the cultural center has become
a place for promoting the development of Black identity, as
well as a place which offers programming to assist students
from first year entry through successful completion of a
college degree. I was particularly interested in the VISION
mentoring program. Students who apply for this program are
matched up with mentors who serve as advisors and support
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members for the new student. The mentors are typically
upper classmen who have been through many of the same
experiences and can be of great assistance to mentees. If
the Black male college student were having difficulty
transitioning into college life, as many of them do, the
Bolinga center mentoring program would be a great resource
for them.
Dr. Patitu handed out a comparison sheet on
Chickerings seven vectors and how they apply to Black
student development. It has been a great resource for me to
understand the Black male development in college. I learned
that the Black male struggles to feel competent throughout
their entire college experience. They feel a lot of stress
over this and need support and encouragement to get through
it. They will work harder than most college students to
overcome it. As student affairs professionals we need to be
aware of this and work to design and support programming
that will offer help to these students, such as the
mentoring program in the Bolinga Center.
In class we learned about Kohlbergs Theory of Moral
Development and his stages of moral reasoning. In stage
four, Dr. Patitu explained, that individuals typically
uphold established societal rules, yet if a rule is seen as
inequitable, one may challenge it during this stage. I
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offered the example of Rosa Parks and how she refused to
sit at the back of the bus, but rather, she sat as an equal
in the front of the bus. Because of her bravery and
willingness to challenge the rules, equal rights for people
of color were further advanced that day.
Since I am taking on the voice of the Black male I
thought it would be interesting to learning more about the
sagging pants fashion many of them wear. I did a little
online research and found that the origins of the saggy
pants style began in prison. Evidently, when a man wore his
pants down low on his hips and exposed his underpants, it
was a signal to other men that he was a willing to engage
in sodomy. Now, many of the young men who sag today are
doing so as a tough man appearance and not that of an
invitation for sexual encounters. Antonio Daniels, the
author of the article His Story: Black Males and Sagging
Pants, asserts that men of color who dress in this fashion
may be asking for trouble because it will subject them to
unwarranted negative assumptions, such as they are
dangerous and criminally minded. He was not advising
against sagging, but rather just informing them of the
possible consequences of it.
In the film, Whats race got to do with it? a group
of high school kids from a wide array of diverse
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backgrounds formed a focus group to discuss racial issues
and their struggles with cultures other than their own. It
was helpful to see this film and see the issues each
culture deals with and yet I was surprised at how much
adversity was directed at the white students. This really
opened my eyes to how I may be viewed by not only the Black
male, but those of other cultures as well. Am I really
viewed as a person of privilege? I am a poor white girl who
was quite disadvantaged as a child and have never seen
myself in this manner. Yet, I can see why other culture
doI will always have certain advantages over them. Not
that I intend it or advocate for it...it is what it is. I
dont like it; I didnt ask for it; I wish it were
different.
I read a few articles on the success of Black males in
higher education. Some the things I learned are:
In 2002, only 4.2% of college students were Black
males, this is same as in 1976. It was asserted that
the reason is media has placed emphasis on the low-
performance and failure rates of this population,
rather than on educational successes and
accomplishments of men of color. Of those that did
go to college, many report they received positive
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reinforcement during boyhood by family and teachers
to pursue post secondary education.
There is a retention crisis among African American
male undergraduates. More than 2/3 of those who
start college never finish. Identity conflict is the
biggest reason. As student affairs professionals, we
need to advocate for and direct resources to help
Black male students develop and express their
identity.
Some experts report peers in primary school often
force Black males, to choose between being popular
and being smart. Those who choose smart are accused
of acting white and suffer ridicule.
In one study it was found that support from peers is
essential to an African American males success in
college. Peer support was further reinforced when a
high-achieving Black male was active in student
organizations and committees on campus where they
were advocating for and advancing the causes of
African American students.
As student affairs professionals we can do some
things to encourage peer support development: 1)
provide financial support, 2) offer social support
and academic encouragement, 3) pay for conference
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attendance and leadership retreats, and 4) establish
programming that brings members of different African
American student subgroups together to discuss the
importance of peer support.
Julian Oliver is a Masters student in the Student
Affairs in Higher Education program at Wright State
University. He allowed me to interview him for this voice
project assignment. I found that for a Black male student,
Julian had a high level of confidence coming into college.
This is not typical of a Black male entering college.
However, he had a mother and brother who attended college
before him and served as role models for him. His mother is
a teacher and placed high importance on academics and
pursuing a post secondary education. When in 4
th
or 5
th
grade
Julian began to disengage in school, his mother took
immediate action and pulled him out of the public school
and placed him in a private Catholic school. He finished
high school there. During his high school years there was a
strong emphasis on college prep. So, for Julian there was
no choice, he was going to college. As we seen in previous
research (Sept 28
th
journal entry), reinforcement from
family and teachers is key to a students success in
college.
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Because of his Catholic school experience Julian has
strong religious beliefs. He feels his faith has helped him
on all levels, socially and academically and has played a
key role in the development of his morals. Julian weighs
every decision very heavily against his morals before
acting on it. According to Branch-Simpson (Sept 10
th
journal
entry), religion is important to the Black male and is used
to resolve values questions in their lives.
During his sophomore year Julian joined a Greek
fraternity. He feels very connected to the frat brothers he
has met there and often refers to them as his college
family. This group has helped Julian to develop socially
and stay on track academically.
Overall, college has forced him to change and develop
drastically. He has matured, become more confident and more
self-assured as a result of his college experience.
When asked if he felt his experience was typical of
the boys he grew up with, Julian replied Yes and No. His
experience was not typical because not all of the boys had
the support he did growing up, nor did they have a mother
who attended college. He was more advantaged because his
mother could afford to take him out of public school and
put him in Catholic school. He felt he was typical in other
ways, they all had to witness violence and drugs in the
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neighborhood where they grew up. It would be harder for his
friends to overcome the disadvantages they face. We all
have choices and its up to each one of us to decide what
to do with them. For him it might have been easier than
most of his friends from the neighborhood, but as Julian
puts it, even people with choices mess up.