Content area
Full Text
Focus groups and selected individual interviews were conducted with 15 academically successful Black students attending a predominantly White institution. Students were asked questions about their academic, social, and racial experiences. The central theme that emerged from the data was that Black students faced stereotypes that eroded their academic sense of self.
The majority of the nation's Black college students continue to be enrolled in predominantly White institutions (PWIs) (Carter & Wilson, 1996). According to the American Council on Education (Wilds, 2000) the 6-year college graduation rate for Black students (40%), has continued to lag behind those of Asian American students (65%), and White students (58%). The literature on Black students attending PWIs revealed several barriers to students' satisfaction with college that may account for their low graduation rates at PWIs (Bennett & Okinaka, 1990).
The literature indicates that Black students at PWIs commonly viewed the campus as isolating, alienating, and hostile (Allen, 1992; Bennett & Okinaka, 1990; Fleming, 1984; Love, 1993; Smedley, Myers, & Harrell, 1993). Many Black students have found the PWI environment to be isolating because of the lack of a critical mass of Black students, faculty, and administrators. Broadly stated, critical mass occurs when students feel comfortable with the sense of connection and unity among Black peers on campus and when those students create their own social and cultural networks on campus (Allen, 1992). This connection and unity are likely to occur when campuses have successfully recruited and retained a significant number of racial and ethnic minority students. Without a critical mass Black students are less likely to participate in campus programs because the programs aren't designed with their needs in mind (Allen, 1992; Davis, 1991; Love) and even feel "inhibited from taking part in any but all-Black organizational activities" (Fleming, 1984, p. 152). In addition, the PWI environment is often counterproductive to Black students' intellectual and social growth, which negatively affects their ability to persist given the link of involvement in campus life to retention (Fleming, 1984; Gossett, Cuyjet, & Cockreil, 1996; MacKay & Kuh, 1994). Mow and Nettles (1990) found that 92% of Black students in their study identified feelings of alienation and loneliness as reasons for dropping out. Bennett and Okinaka found that as Black students persisted to...