Saturday, December 6

Tag: colleges

Colleges Strive To Better Support Trans Students – Common Applications Will Now Allow Students To Choose Their Gender Identity
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LGBTQ

Colleges Strive To Better Support Trans Students – Common Applications Will Now Allow Students To Choose Their Gender Identity

Genny Beemyn, University of Massachusetts Amherst Since its inception in 1975, the Common Application, the undergraduate admissions application used by more than 900 colleges, has required students to provide their “sex,” with only “male” and “female” as choices. But starting in August 2021, the Common App is also asking students their gender identities and the names and pronouns they go by. As a researcher who specializes in studying the experiences of transgender college students, I believe these changes represent a much-needed opportunity for colleges and universities that use the Common App to acknowledge and respect the gender identities of their trans students. The changes mean that some colleges will have information about their trans students for the first time. Other institutio...
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At Catholic Colleges Students Leave With Less Positive Attitudes Toward Gay People Than Their Peers – But That’s Not The Whole Story
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Journalism

At Catholic Colleges Students Leave With Less Positive Attitudes Toward Gay People Than Their Peers – But That’s Not The Whole Story

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work. The big idea Students at Catholic colleges and universities begin their studies with more positive attitudes toward gay, lesbian and bisexual people than their peers at evangelical colleges and universities, our survey found. But that’s no longer the case by the time they graduate. Multidisciplinary research teams at Ohio State University, North Carolina State University and Interfaith Youth Core, a Chicago-based nonprofit, surveyed 3,486 students attending 122 institutions of various types, sizes and affiliations. Our study, the Interfaith Diversity Experiences and Attitudes Longitudinal Survey, polled the students three times over their time in college – in the fall of 2015, the spring of 2016 and the spring of 2019. W...
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Esports Teams Dominated By Men, At Colleges Nationwide
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SPORTS

Esports Teams Dominated By Men, At Colleges Nationwide

Although esports – competitive, organized video gaming – has exploded into a billion-dollar industry, women players are hard to find on esports teams at America’s colleges and universities. In the following Q&A, Lindsey Darvin, an assistant professor of sport management, shines light on the reasons. The Conversation, CC BY-ND 1. Why are college esports dominated by men? Women and girls experience many obstacles throughout esports environments – both in terms of participation and employment. These include the way they are subjected to gender-based harassmment from male esport players, toxic masculinity, stereotyping and prejudices, as I and colleagues wrote in a forthcoming article for the Sport Management Review. These circumstances have resulted in lower numbers of women and girls i...
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Sports Teams Are Being Eliminated By Colleges – And Runners And Golfers Are Paying More Of A Price Than Football Or Basketball Players
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SPORTS

Sports Teams Are Being Eliminated By Colleges – And Runners And Golfers Are Paying More Of A Price Than Football Or Basketball Players

North Carolina Central University, a historically Black college, announced in February that its men’s baseball team – which formed in 1911 – would cease to exist after this season. The school’s athletic director called it “one of the most disappointing days in my career.” University leaders concluded that financial shortfalls due to COVID-19 were too much to support the team going forward. Since COVID-19 emerged, dozens of colleges and universities have announced the elimination of different intercollegiate athletics teams. The vast majority of these cuts are at schools and teams that never show up on ESPN’s SportsCenter. As professors who study higher education, we took a closer look at the 300 teams that were dropped between March and October 2020 by 78 colleges and universities. It’s...
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Confronting Their Links To Slavery Colleges Wrestle With How To Atone For Past Sins
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VIDEO REELS

Confronting Their Links To Slavery Colleges Wrestle With How To Atone For Past Sins

Colleges and universities across the U.S. have been taking a hard look at their ties to slavery. This isn’t an entirely new phenomenon. Back in 2006, Brown University published a report showing that the university – from its construction to its endowment – participated in and benefited from the slave trade and slavery. And since then, several other colleges and universities have disclosed their ties to the use of slave labor. For instance, Johns Hopkins University – whose namesake and founder has historically been portrayed as an abolitionist – reported in December 2020 that its founder actually employed four enslaved individuals in his Baltimore household. At the University of Mississippi, a slavery research group has found that at least 11 enslaved people labored on the campus. At G...
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Students could be undercounted in the census as coronavirus closes colleges – here’s why that matters
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HEALTH & WELLNESS

Students could be undercounted in the census as coronavirus closes colleges – here’s why that matters

At college dormitories and student apartments across the U.S., census forms will be piling up – but many run the risk of not being filled in. The spread of the coronavirus in the U.S. has coincided with the start of data collection for the 2020 census. This may not affect the process for most people who are self-isolating at home. But for students, it could well affect where and if they are counted – and that could have big implications. The rapid spread of the virus has meant that most colleges have by now closed their classrooms. Many universities have extended the usual weeklong spring break into a second week. At Texas A&M University, where I am an emeritus professor, online instruction will begin after the the spring break and continue through the end of the semester in late Ap...
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The mental health crisis on campus and how colleges can fix it
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Journalism

The mental health crisis on campus and how colleges can fix it

When college students seek help for a mental health issue on campus – something they are doing more often – the place they usually go is the college counseling center. But while the stigma of seeking mental health support has gone down, it has created a new problem: College counseling centers are now struggling to meet the increased demand. As a researcher who examines problems faced by college students in distress, I see a way to better support students’ mental health. In addition to offering individual counseling, colleges should also focus on what we in the mental health field refer to as population health and prevention. These efforts can range from creating more shared spaces to increase social connections to stave off feelings of isolation, to reducing things on campus that threat...
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