New Journal Article About White Undergraduate Student Leaders

I co-authored a new article about the ways in which white undergraduate student leaders perpetuate Foste’s (2020) construct of the “enlightenment narrative.” In this phenomenon white undergraduate student leaders perpetuate whiteness to facilitate narratives of racial harmony and present a nonracist identity. This study was co-authored with my ACPA Coalition on Men & Masculinities colleague Benjamin Jay Marcy (University of Minnesota-Twin Cities) as part of a special issue Journal of Campus Activities Practice and Scholarship (JCAPS) on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging. My co-author and I presented this at ACPA in New Orleans in spring 2023 which was recognized by the Commission on Social Justice Education.

Furthermore, in this phenomenological qualitative study we use Spike Lee’s class film “Do The Right Thing” as a metaphor for the ways in which white undergraduate student leaders are well-intended in their efforts, but are not conscious enough about their own positionalities. They continue to extend the boundaries of whiteness and use frontstage performativity of inclusion, but still engage in backstage racism. Participants engaged in frontstage performances of inclusion by “saying the right thing” to maintain ownership of their leadership positions and differentiate themselves from white peers through a white savior complex. They attempted to serve as the '“exception” to racism through virtue signaling.

Also, during interviews they revealed private sentiments of dispossession because they feared that some campus equity efforts threatened their leadership positions. This revealed ways in which participants undermined their initial rhetoric of inclusion through “doing the white thing.” We use Adaptive and Technical Leadership theories to frame implications for practice to suggest how student involvement professionals can challenge White student leaders to better understand themselves and their own whiteness.