Running head: ACTION PLAN

Action Plan: African American Students

Mayra Sierra
Azusa Pacific University

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Goal: I want to become more familiar with the African American culture and specifically learn
why African American students engage in the cultural center and only from relationships
among their own people.
Objective 1: Develop an Awareness of the African American Culture
a) Write a Personal Reflection about my own thoughts relating them to the African
American Culture
When I think about African American people, I think about them being antisocial and on the
aggressive side. For my undergraduate career, I attended California Polytechnic State University,
Pomona. While I walked around campus, there were times when I would look at African
American students, and some would stare back at me with a mean and aggressive expression. I
know that not all people are the same, but because of their reactions and how they are
stereotyped by society, I am sometimes scared to approach this specific group. I feel like these
groups of students only want to be around people of their same color. From what I have seen, it
is true to say that they associate with people of their same race. I would see groups of Black
students around one another, especially outside the cultural center. There would be a group of
over ten students just hanging around in the quad, while there were others inside the center. It
was rare to see people of different races spending time in the cultural center. I do not know why
they associate with their own people, but sometimes I feel it is because of the way people treated
their ancestors back in the 1900s. I feel like African Americans tend to isolate themselves from
others due to the fact that they were treated unfairly before, and now lack in trust. I hope that by
completing the following objectives in my action plan, I can learn more about this group of
students and will be better able to approach and work with them.
While people of color have been and continue to be the victims of egregious offenses at the
hands of a few White Americans, racism and racial injustice insidiously enter into everyones life

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by hindering the development of full and enriching relationships among people of different races
(Reason, Broido, Davis, and Evans, 2005). I added this statement to my reflection of what I think
about this racial group and this gives a brief overview of what I think. Like I mentioned above, I
sometimes feel like African American students associate themselves among others of their own
racial group due to what happened in the past. Reason, Broido, Davis, and Evans do illustrate
that people of color, this including African Americans, have been and continue to be victims of
racism, and therefore interferes the relationships between people of different cultural
backgrounds. Hopefully throughout my Action Plan I gain knowledge to further explain this
paradox or maybe I will end up expanding my view with a different perspective.
b) Watch a speaker/news/documentaries that focuses on African American CultureEducation
I watched a video called The Struggle for African-American Education, which detailed some
of the inequalities of African-American education through the years (2010). Nowadays, schools
are becoming segregated, even after the Brown case in 1954, which unlawful for schools to
segregate students based on the color of their skin. According to recent news from Alabama,
Black students tend to do better in school when they are enrolled in a diverse school, rather than
in an all-white school. Back in the time of slavery, teaching a slave to read and write was
prohibited, and if so, it came with punishments. Children who were born from slaves often
learned in segregated schools. They were able to attend school unlike their parents, and thus, it
was seen as unfit for slaves to be educated. Children went to segregated schools and faced
hatred. They died in segregated communities. Now in present time, there are more African
American men in jail than they are in college. One in 20 Blacks is in prison, compared to one in
180 Whites. Four out of ten African American, Hispanic and Native American students in United
States public schools fail to graduate on time. These statistics show that African Americans have

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gone through many struggles, inequalities and are even seen as inferior for being a Black
individual.
Sometimes I believe that schools are becoming even more segregated. Although I do not
understand the reason for this phenomenon, I am eager to find out what factors influence African
American students to self-segregate. To my knowledge, gained from previous history, I know
that there was a group of Black students fighting to make it unlawful to segregate schools in
respect to wanting to study in the same schools as White students. Now that this can happen, they
typically engage with people of their own, not allowing themselves to explore other cultures. On
the other hand, Black students fought to be given the same right as Whites and for them to be
able to attend diverse schools, but that does not imply that they have to engage with White
people. Furthermore, I believe that African American students need emotional support, as well as
societal support in order for them to feel like they can be someone in life. This group of students
needs to be introduced to role models who can influence their lives, and, therefore change those
certain statistics.
c) Watch a movie relating to African American Culture
I watched a film called American Promise that was recommended by the director of the
African American Student Center at Cal Poly Pomona. American Promise spans 13 years as Joe
Brewster and Michle Stephenson, middle-class African-American parents in Brooklyn, N.Y.,
turn their cameras on their son, Idris, and his best friend, Seun, who make their way through
Dalton, one of the most prestigious private schools in the country. Chronicling the boys'
divergent paths from kindergarten through high school graduation, this provocative, intimate
documentary presents complicated truths about Americas struggle to come of age on issues of
race, class and opportunity.
While I watched the movie, I tried to focus on the issues that the boys and their families were
going through. At age seven, Idriss family was told that their son was a hard-to-manage boy. He

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was suspended for allegedly pushing a White boy, something that he did not do. The movie
portrays Black male in a White dominant private institution, who was blamed for the incident.
Later on as he grew up, he was made fun of the way he talked. Idris had to change his tone of
voice and way of talking depending on the setting and what social group he was around with. If
he was spending time with his White friends at school he would talk normal, but if he was
spending time with his basketball friends, he would have to change his voice in order to avoid
the teasing of white boy talk. Furthermore, Seun was diagnosed with Dyslexia around age
nine. Seun and Idris had to attend after school tutoring. They were the only ones that, according
to their teachers, needed tutoring. Their parents speculated that they were seen as Black kids
needing extra help. Moreover, the school was saying that Idris needed medication because he
was becoming very impulsive and easily distracted. Upon hearing this, the father, who was a
psychologist, did not consider it that way. As the boys became older, Seun was tested in order to
see what high school he was going to be placed at since he was having a hard time succeeding at
Dalton. Idris continued at Dalton and graduated four years after. Seun started high school at a
predominantly Black school and felt comfortable being around other Black students. There was a
scene in the documentary where Idris was trying to stop a taxi in New York. A taxi stopped and
then left once he saw that it was a group of Black kids. The second taxi just passed by, and
luckily the third one stopped and gave Idris the opportunity to talk and ask for a ride. Further in
the movie, they also illustrated Seuns brothers death. The loss of his brother truly affected him
and his academics. He eventually accepted that he needed extra help and guidance in order to be
able to graduate high school. Both Idris and Seun succeeded and were accepted to a university.
Personally, the documentary was very informative and inspirational at the same time. I had
the chance to see two real life African American students go through their struggles and
successes throughout their K-12 education. Although they had people who were pushing them

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down and or not believing in them, they did their best to graduate high school. Seeing them
graduate made me feel great because, in the video I watched prior to this movie, it mentioned
that four out of ten African American students fail to graduate high school on time. Both boys
having been brought up in a White private institution gave them the opportunity to experience
diversity and especially the Black and White experience.
Objective 2: Gain increased Knowledge of the African American Culture
a) Arrange a meeting with the African American Student Center Director at Cal Poly
Pomona and note down their views on why students engage in only same ethnic friends
On December 3, 2014 I interviewed Tashiana Bryant, the coordinator of the African
American Student Center at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. When I first
entered the center, I felt nervous because everyone just stared and looked at me. At the same
time, I felt good because the students were having a good time talking about finals and laughing.
It looked like a small community where students would go and have some free time to enjoy
each others company, aside from academics. The meeting started right after I got to the center.
Tashiana had recently received her Masters in Higher Education from California State
University, Fullerton. She started by stating that every student is different, every student comes
from a different background, and that there are a few students who are aware of their identity,
while some that know their Black identity. She also stated that out of the 22,000 students
enrolled in Cal Poly Pomona, only about 700 students are African American. Further, the reason
that she gave me for explaining why Black students engage with other Black students is because
the sense of belonging they feel when they are around the same racial group of students. She also
mentioned that it was due to conformity, having similar interests, feeling like a family and
having a small community where they can open up and talk about their issues and concerns.

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Tashiana explained what her center offers African American students, along with what resources
they can take advantage of while being a student at Cal Poly Pomona. The resources from this
center included personal advising, mentoring, tutoring, a computer center and simply a place to
be themselves. The center also offers them a place where they can gain knowledge of their Black
history, as well as seek Black professionals as role models. In addition, she talked about retention
among African American students. Tashiana mentioned that retention is an issue and it all has to
do with finances. If African American students do not understand financial literacy, they are
forced to work in order to pay for their education, and unfortunately, working pulls them away
from attempting to succeed in school. This so-called financial literacy is among many diverse
students, but tends to happen more frequently among first generation students. Another issue that
was brought up by Tashiana was academic advising. She mentioned that many students are let
down by the type of advising they receive from their advisors. She mentioned that she knows
many engineering students who have been attending Cal Poly Pomona for over five years
because their advisors told them to take some courses that needed to be taken at a different time
or not at all.
It was shocking for me to know that out of 22,000 students only about 700 are African
American students attending Cal Poly Pomona. When I was a student at this institution I felt like
there was more diversity. Additionally, I was also astonished by the fact that students are not
being helped out academically. Many students go to their advisors for help, but instead of getting
correct information, they get advice that causes them to take longer to graduate. I understand
there are a lot of students in a public institution, but these students are paying a lot of money to
strive for a college degree and they cannot afford to take the wrong course. After she mentioned
this issue, I offered my assistance. I told her that I had interned for a year at the Educational

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Opportunity Program with academic advisement and currently I am a graduate assistant for the
Office of Academic Advising and Retention; therefore, I was willing to go back to Cal Poly
Pomona and help students with navigating their curriculum sheet and graduation planner.
As Oldfield (2012) stated, people of humble origins face difficulties when they encounter the
financially, socially, and academically challenging world of higher education. I introduced this
statement because similar to what Tashiana mentioned Oldfield mentioned it too. There are
students who come from a diverse background and some that were raised in an environment
where opportunities were slim. I am not saying that all African American students or all
minorities students come from a disadvantaged family, but there are some who do and they tend
to struggle in college more than students who come from a privileged background. Students who
come from this environment face challenges and often encounter financial barriers, similar to
what Tashiana was saying. These students lack financial literacy, and therefore need work.
Unluckily, some students even need to attend school part-time and work full-time in order to pay
for their college tuition. Students who come from humble origins generally need additional
support and guidance to make it through college. As a result, as future student affairs
professionals I feel like we need to become aware of our students lives and see how we can help
them succeed.
b) Interview three African American students attending both Cal Poly Pomona, Citrus
Community College and Azusa Pacific University
My first student interview was with Pamela Strigglers. She is a third year student attending
Citrus Community College. The first question I asked was How has your college experience
been like since you first attended college (clubs/work/orgs/support system)? Pamela responded
by saying that her college experience has been a bit rocky. Since she started college at a later

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stage in her life, it was a hard transition, but luckily has become a lot better throughout the years.
The next question was What struggles or challenges have you encountered throughout your
college experience? She responded by stating that finding roommates who she can get along
with, as well as those who have similar values as her, has been a struggle. In addition, she has
had financial challenges in trying to obtain scholarships, money from the government and
financial assistance from her parents. Another question asked was What are your goals?
Pamela stated that her goals have been to attend a private school and strive for her Masters
degree. Following that question I asked What has helped you or what have you done in order to
accomplish such goals or strive for those goals in life? She responded by saying that while she
had to endure such struggles and challenges at the beginning of her college experience, her
family, God, and friends have been there to help her get up and gain strength. She mentioned
having self-motivation and determination as her strengths in order to strive for her goals. The last
question was What group of people do you affiliate yourself with? And why? Is it based on your
comfort level or what factor? After I asked her this question, she immediately answered that she
does not affiliate herself with any particular group. She clearly stated that she is a social butterfly
that frequents herself with everyone.
My second student interview was with Danielle Harris. She is a senior at Azusa Pacific
University and is completing her Sociology major along with an Ethnic Studies minor. The first
question was How has your college experience been like since you first attended college
(clubs/work/orgs/support system)? She responded by stating that her journey has been
interesting; full of challenges and triumphs. She has been involved with poetry club/team and the
Black Student Association (BSA) for the time she has been at APU. The next question was
What struggles or challenges have you encountered throughout your college experience? She
responded by stating that the struggles she has encountered had to do with her race and people

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not being accepting of her culture. She has also had difficulties outside of school with family and
deaths in which all has affected her schooling. Another question asked was What are your
goals? Danielle said that her goals include being happy and putting herself first. Since she
started college, she has not put herself first and that has led her to gain weight, sleep fewer hours,
and become stressed. As of now her goal is to put herself first in order to take care of herself.
Following that question I asked What has helped you or what have you done in order to
accomplish such goals or strive for those goals in life? She responded by saying that so far, she
has read books on self-care, began to exercise, attended counseling, has a Bible study, and has
made sure that she leaves campus every once and awhile. The last question was What group of
people do you affiliate yourself with? And why? Is it based on your comfort level or what
factor? She responded by mentioning that she affiliates with BSA members and her poetry
friends because she can relate to them the most with, and they accept her for who she is. She
mentioned that she can be creative around them and completely express herself more than when
she is around people that have not encountered what she has experienced as an African
American.
From interviewing Danielle Harris, I experienced in person what I learned throughout my
first objective of becoming aware of this cultural group of students. Now having read Why Are
All The Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria, I can see that indeed, even students at Azusa
Pacific University feel the need to engage among their own racial group of people. Like Danielle
mentioned, she associates herself with her own racial groups of people because they can relate
more with what she has experienced in life. Although Danielle and Pamela were both African
American undergraduate students, Danielles responses were different from Pamelas. Pamela
seemed a bit more outgoing and easy to talk to. Although I can see that she has a well-established

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support system among her family members, she did mention being around a diverse group of
people and not focusing on engaging with specifically Black people
My last student interview was with Quine Jones. She has recently received her Master of
Arts. The first question was How has your college experience been like since you first attended
college (clubs/work/orgs/support system)? She responded by stating that during her first two
years of college, she had a lot of support from an organization that she was a member of called
Educational Opportunity Program, EOP, which assisted first generation students with different
services such as: tutoring, book vouchers, counseling, etc. During that time in her life, she felt
supported since she was in a new environment and trying to find her way. The next question was
What struggles or challenges have you encountered throughout your college experience? She
responded by stating that fortunately, she has been very blessed not to have encountered any
racial or ethnicity challenges during her college experience or prior to that. She mentioned that
the most challenging aspects have been financial, given that she was a full-time student and had
to work. For her, it was a challenge to stay on top of all of her schoolwork and earn successful
grades. Another question asked was What are your goals? Quine replied by stating that her
primary goal was to incorporate her Clinical counseling skills into a higher education setting.
Like I mentioned above, she received her Master of Arts in Psychology, specializing in Marriage
and Family Therapy. Given that college is a huge transition for many students, she would like to
provide counseling to them. Following that question I asked What has helped you or what have
you done in order to accomplish such goals or strive for those goals in life? She responded that
seeing as the clinical and higher education fields are becoming highly competitive, something
that has helped her to continue to strive to reach her goal is to keep focused on her purpose of
serving the community, do her best that she can in her current role as a Student Support Advisor
and continue being proactive with gaining additional skills to add to her resume and apply to

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jobs. Lastly, she voiced that her faith has helped her accomplish what she has done so far. The
last question was What group of people do you affiliate yourself with? And why? Is it based on
your comfort level or what factor? She said that she affiliates herself with different cultures
because she believes it is important to learn and grow however you can, which can mean
stepping outside of your comfort zone. She specified that by building relationships with other
cultures, this will prepare us to work with diverse populations and be the best counselor that she
can be.
c) Read Why Are All Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria
Before I started to read this book, I told myself that I was only going to focus on the parts
that talked about identity and the reasons why African American students act and engage with
certain people. There is still a great deal of social segregation in our communities. The
assumptions we make about others come not from what we have been told or what we have seen
on television or in books, but rather from what we have not been told. This book focused mainly
on racial identity development. Many people used ethnic and racial as synonymously, but both
are socially constructed and their definitions have changed over time.
In the section of The Early Years, the main idea was that many African Americans tend to
experience their first race-related memories beginning when they were little kids in preschool.
People think that children at a young age are colorblind, but in fact they notice physical
differences such as skin color, hair texture, and the shape of ones facial features. This is the time
when children are asked about their differences by other children in the playground. In the book,
a little boy was told that his skin was brown because he drank chocolate milk and another was
told that he must have been out in the sun too much seeing as he was very tan. These types of
conversations make kids wonder why they are different and if those differences make them
inferior to others.

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In the second section called Identity Development in Adolescence, the authors talk
mainly about why all the Black kids sit together in the cafeteria and why this is helpful for
students development in the long run. It mostly happens when children are advancing from
elementary school to middle school, and more so into high school. Racial grouping begins and
one of the reasons why is because as children enter the stage of adolescence, they start to go
through the process of puberty and begin to explore the question of identity. Black girls often
deal with devaluing messages such as the school drop-out, the teenage welfare mother, the drug
addict, and the victim of domestic violence. On the other hand, Black boys are seen as kids with
hands cuffed behind their back arrested for a violent crime, suspicious and fearful. Although
people might think of them like such, many of these stereotypes are not true for all African
American children. Blacks do not self-segregate because they want to; they do so because they
need to. As ones awareness of the daily challenges of living in a racist society increases, it is
immensely helpful for African American students to share ones experiences with others who
have lived it. Even when White friends are willing and able to listen and bear witness to ones
struggles, they cannot really share the experience.
In the next section called Racial Identity in Adulthood it explains that Blacks need a safe
space to retreat and regroup in the process of dealing with the daily stress of campus racism.
There is evidence that Black students at historically Black colleges and universities achieve
higher academic performance, enjoy greater social involvement, and aspire to higher
occupational goals than their peers do at predominantly White institutions. On the other hand, on
White campuses, Black students emphasize feelings of alienation, sensed hostility, racial
discrimination, and lack of integration. Additionally, adults also tend to self-segregate. In the

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corporate cafeteria, Black men and women are sitting together for the same reason as students
do, the feeling of comfort and belonging.
After reading a few chapters that focused on African Americans, I felt like I had most of
my questions answered. At the beginning of my Action Plan, my question was: Why do African
Americans engage only among their same group of people? Along with the interviews and this
informative book, I gained knowledge on why this tends to happen. This book gave me the
opportunity to have an open mind when it comes to working with a diverse student population,
especially since I want to work at a community college or a public institution where we tend to
see more of a diverse student body than at a private institution. Reading the different topics of
racial identity and student development I gained knowledge on how Black students develop
throughout their college career.
Objective 3: Develop Multicultural Skills to Work More Effectively with African American
Students
a) Attend Cal Poly Pomona and advise students at the African American Student Center
On January 5, 2015 I went to California State Polytechnic University, Pomona and helped by
advising a few African American students regarding if the classes they have for this quarter will
count towards their major, as well as what classes they still need to take in order to graduate. I
helped them by explaining the curriculum sheets and making them understand the university
catalog. A couple of them already knew what they were doing; they just needed a bit of
reinforcement and a person to take a look at their planner and see if they were on the right track.
Nevertheless, there were a couple students who were lost. There were two freshman boys who
did not know what major to choose, and since Cal Poly Pomona has a rule that students need to
decide what major they are going to declare by the end of their Spring quarter, they were mostly

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taking General Education classes. I told them not to worry because they had about two quarters
to decide and that they should focus on researching majors and doing well in their classes.
Helping this group of students made me feel useful and satisfying because since Tashiana, the
coordinator of the African American Student Center at Cal Poly Pomona, had informed me that
students were having concerns on not getting the right academic advising support, I went and
helped. From the knowledge that I gained throughout this past month, I know that it is not that
Black students need extra. These students need someone to be there for them when times get
rough and they feel lost in a college environment. I feel like freshman need it more because, for
them, entering college is new and might need someone that cares for their future.
b) Watch a Diversity Workshop
I watched two online diversity workshops because I could not find one that will allow me to
attend in person before the Action Plan was due. Most of them are further into the academic year.
The first one was called Dealing with Diversity. It discussed how to recognize and respect
individual differences and described some strategies that can be used to deal with diversity in an
organization. Diversity provides alternative viewpoints and enriches organizations' appreciation
of those viewpoints often leading to far improved results. It teaches future professionals, as well
as students, how to identify barriers to diversity and the methods that are used to overcome these
barriers. Also, in relation to etiquette, it showed a way to adapt to cultural differences in the
workplace. The workshop clearly stated that Diversity means Different. People need to become
comfortable with working with others who are not the same as them. Twenty-nine percent of the
United States population is of another race besides being of European descent. In 1998, workers
average age was 38 and it had been predicted that it was going to rise to 41 by 2008. Forty-six
percent of the workforce is now female. The top most common languages in the United States
are primarily Chinese, then Urdu/Hindi, English and Spanish/Portuguese. Diversity has increased
and it will continue to increase; therefore, businesses and employees that value and respect

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diversity will discover new business opportunities. The workshop mentioned four steps to
dealing with diversity: understand, learn, assert, and act. First, understand and respect individual
differences and have an open mind when working with a diverse group. Second, learn how others
want to be treated. Third, use assertive communication to communicate the way you want to be
treated, and finally act as a force of change.
c) Watch a Diversity Workshop Within the WorkPlace
The second workshop was called The Impact of Workplace Diversity. This one explored
how diversity is changing the workplace and how diversity can have positive effects on profits,
working environments, and interpersonal relationships between coworkers. The learning path
also teaches the student how to act when they witness negative behavior and how diversity can
help increase the productivity and profits of a company. It stated that the world we live in is
becoming more and more diverse. We, as individuals, need to understand how our world is
changing and recognize the benefits that diversity brings to our workplace. From 1995 to 2050,
the minority population will account for 90 percent of the total United States population growth.
Between 1995 and 2015, Hispanic-Americans will be the minority group with the largest
students enrolled in higher education shifting from 11 to 15 percent. Asian Americans
enrollment will increase from five to eight percent and the percentage of White college students
will decrease to 65 percent by 2015. The workforce is becoming more diverse, consequently as
demographics shift so does the workplace demographics.
When I watched both workshops, it did not seem shocking to know that the minority
population in the United States will grow and probably become 90 percent of the entire
population by 2050. More and more people are immigration and emigration to America, thus
there has been an increase in minority groups as well as multiracial people. What was surprising
to me was when I learned the four top languages used in the United States. In my opinion, I
would have assumed that English was the primary language, but according to this workshop

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Chinese is the top language spoken. English and Spanish are the last two of the four. Knowing
this makes me wonder about how traditions and cultures are going to change throughout the
years. Traditions are changing and even languages are being introduced to the American culture.
With completing these two workshops, I have gained knowledge of what it is to live in a diverse
country and how we should go about working with different types of people. With the knowledge
I have acquired I can say that I will be able to gain skills to work with students who are different
than me.
If I were preparing to continue with my Action Plan, I would introduce more activities
into my objectives. Completing more activities will allow me to broaden my knowledge even
further. I would conduct more student interviews for my second objective; I would do so to
explore various responses from male African American students. This would add to my learning
since I only interviewed females for my Action Plan, and having responses from males will give
me information on what they think about race and their college experience. I would also try to
incorporate students from different class standing such as freshman, who are attending college
immediately after high school, and seniors who about to graduate college. This will also bring in
responses that will integrate feelings about race throughout students college experience. Another
activity that I would add to the plan would be to work alongside staff members in order to
implement workshops for students to connect with one another. This will allow me to work with
a diverse group of people and carry out a plan for African American students to engage with
other diverse groups, not simply their own racial group of friends. I would also have attended a
Black Student Association meeting. I was going to attend one for my current Action Plan but
winter break came across and according to Danielle, the president of BSA, their next meeting
was going to be until January 22, 2015. A final activity would have been to attend the Imago Dei
Training at Azusa Pacific University, and this would have been added to the skills objective.

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Imago Dei means the image of God and all human beings are made in the Imago Dei. APUs
Imago Dei training is a16-hour diversity training. Updated in 2011, it now consists of a one-day
workshop, followed by eight hours of diversity-immersion" experiences, which should be
completed within 3 months after the workshop.
By completing a few more activities and forming a second stage of my Action Plan, I
would have gained further knowledge and better skills to work with an African American group
of students. This would help me in the future because both workshops talked about diversity and
how diverse our world is becoming. If time would have permitted, I would have researched more
about this group of students and how to go about working comfortably with these students, who
tend to primarily engage with their own racial group of friends due to conformity and comfort.
The connections and learnings that I gained from my Action Plan can help by providing
me with tools and implement them to working with students, specifically in the Student Affairs
field. The movie, American Promise, taught me ways in which future student affairs
professionals, working in a multicultural environment, can better respond to diversity. We should
not let our own views on diversity or race get in the way of helping students prosper in their
academics. Aside from American Promise, the workshops also provided me facts about our
future generations. The workshops illustrated how our United States population is growing, but
specifically our ethnic groups. There has been an increase in multiracial marriages, hence a
growth in mixed ethnic children. This portrays that students attending college and universities in
the future will be from mixed heritage. My view on this is that in order for this group of students
to succeed in school, faculty and staff should become aware and gain knowledge on how to
better serve these students. If student affairs professionals do not become informed, they will be
facing challenges with keeping their jobs, because more students will be from a diverse
background.

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Moreover, the information that I gained from reading Why Are All The Blacks Kids
Sitting Together in the Cafeteria enhanced my learning. I can apply this knowledge to the
Student Affairs field because I will be working with students that have had a hard time growing
up. There are different types of students; there are students who have had an easy, privileged life
and others who have had a hard, disadvantaged life. Although not all student affairs practitioners
will become multicultural experts, they need to acquire basic multicultural awareness,
knowledge, and skills to work effectively with individuals who differ from culturally (Pope &
Reynolds, 1997). Similar to what Pope and Reynolds mentioned, I feel like student affairs
professionals should learn about the different aspects of life that students from different cultural
backgrounds experience in order to recognize what the student needs to succeed in school. In the
book, I learned that students are perceived a certain way since they are from a specific racial
group. This is not helpful for them because they tend to notice what is happening and further
affects their future goals. If faculty and staff begin to gain knowledge on this topic, their skills
will be enhanced and they will be better equipped to work with students that are not from the
majority, dominant culture.

References
Oldfield, K. (2012). Still humble and hopeful: Two more recommendations on welcoming
first-generation poor and working-class students to college. About Campus, 2-13.

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Pope, R.L., & Reynolds, A.L. (1997). Student affairs core competencies: Integrating
multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills. Journal of College Student Development,
38, 3, 266-275.
Reason, R.D., Broido, E.M., Davis T.L., & Evans, N. (2005). Developing Social Justice Allies.
New Directions for Student Services, no. 110. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.