3 Reasons why there is a lack of minorities on Christian College Campuses

I was having a discussion with one of my friends and other RD Austin and the topic of minorities on our campus came up. I came up with a theory of why all Christian Colleges are lacking in this area, and since I don't want to forget my theory, and because I thought the ideas were pretty good I thought I'd share them, so here we go.

1. The cost of a Christian College Education is high.
The new trend in higher education right now especially since our economy is not doing so hot is to attend Jr. College first and then transfer to a 4 year institution. If students are trying save money on State College tuition where does that leave private liberal arts institutions? Most minority students come from lower middle class or lower class families. To be able to afford a private college education would be a stretch.

2. Many minority students are not academically prepared for a Liberal Arts Education.
Speaking from my own experience, I grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, went to public school my whole life and was in a very good school district. I did fairly well in High School academically but never really applied myself. I struggled mightily when I attended Gordon. I was not prepared at all for the work load, and expectations that my professors had for me. I am just now learning how to study as a graduate student. If I struggled academically coming from a good school district, where does that leave students who come from bad school districts?

The majority of minority students will be found in highly populated areas in and around major cities. The majority of public schools in urban areas are struggling to prepare there students academically. Students are being taught how to pass standardized tests rather than learning knowledge and information that would prove to be useful as they continue to grow physically and mentally. If a student can achieve high marks at their particular school, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are prepared to do well in college, especially at a small private college.

3. Minorities need to be highly adaptable and or have a missionary mindset in order to succeed at a Christian College.
As a minority attending Gordon I had no idea what I was getting into. I grew up in one of most diverse cities in the world and all of sudden my surroundings were the polar opposite. The majority of people around me were caucasian (90%). I had a couple of options at this point.

a. I could adapt to my surroundings and be willing and open to share my experiences and knowledge to other students. With a proper attitude of grace, meaning that I had to recognize that some students might say offensive things but had to recognize that the intent was not to be mean but out of ignorance/innocence.

b. Fully adapt, and not recognize my culture but embrace the majority culture (This is probably the most easiest for Asian students compared to other etnicities). This mentality would look something like this...I'm surrounded by white people, and I am comfortable with white culture, so I will not make race or culture an issue and continue to not step on toes and live as white as possible.

c. Unadapt and embrace my own culture i.e. challenge the status quo and die trying. This would mean fully embracing your racial or ethnic culture and let the majority culture influence you as little as possible. The problem with this option is that the mentality of having a proper attitude of grace mentioned in option a. is usually not taken. This is where the rub comes. White students would view these students as very ethnocentric and over-sensitive to racial issues, maybe to the point where small issues would be turned into much bigger ones.

So what is the solution?

The first obstacle of finances is going to be an ongoing problem for the rest of our lives and for generations to come. To Gordon's credit they did establish a program called the Clarendon Scholars Program for more information about it click here...http://www.gordon.edu/clarendonscholars
The challenge for Christian Colleges is that finances are always tight, especially when they are tuition driven. But if they begin to take a risk and expand the pool of which they try to attract students to markets of students of all types of backgrounds and ethinicities, then the challenge of getting in the numbers will be easier. If you have a bigger pond, there are more fish, more fish means it's easier to catch them...Yes you might be use to trout, but tuna and salmon taste pretty good too.

The second obstacle and third obstacle go hand in hand I believe. This initiative needs to start from the top down, meaning upper administration and board members need to make diversity a priority because major changes need to happen in order to fix these obstacles. Here are some things that I think need to happen at Christian Colleges in order for us to see a major change.

The obvious answer is that there needs to be more of a presence of minorities on faculty and staff. Students need to be able to go to professors of there own ethnicity and culture. This was vital for me at Gordon. I had one professor who was Chinese. She understood the cultural battle I was going through with my parents and was vital in my choices in the career path I took as well as helping me to graduate from college.

Professors need to adapt and change their way of thinking. Tim Clydesdale, author of "First Year Out" mentions the idea that the true academic student is a rare bread. Meaning the student that comes to college to purely learn, and gain knowledge to be a more well rounded person is few and far between. The majority of students come to college because it's just the next step after high school and it will get them a higher paying job. Am I saying that academic standards need to come down? Absolutely not. But the way we teach things does need to change. The lecture and note method isn't as effective anymore, especially to students who grew up in a urban public education system. Interactive learning, and other new creative ways to teach, needs to be the next step for ALL college students not just minorities to succeed.

Administration needs to continue to push diversity programs and racial reconciliation. I don't know how to sugarcoat this so I won't. White students think that racial problems do not exist because they haven't dealt with it first hand (because everyone looks and talks like them). This also means that faculty need to buy in to the fact that diversity is a problem on Christian Campuses. The more Christian Colleges do to recognize that there is a problem the more minority students will notice. It's ugly, it's messy, but it's so worth it. What does it say about the kingdom of God when our Christian product of education can't attract different cultures and races? We're not only failing other cultures but we are failing our students right now, for not giving them a proper perspective of what the world has to offer.

"Light Bulb" Moment

"Don't program just to program" I said to the RA's. Trying to plea to them the idea that if you're passionate about being an RA and what you do, you won't look at programs as a task to check off but something that you desire to do because it will help fulfill your passion. It then hit me personally...how often do I do things because I have to or just to check them off? I love building relationships with students. How many of my requirements in my job are to enable me to build relationships? Doesn't studying make me a more knowledgeble and a well rounded RD? Doesn't putting on hall programs allow me to spend time with students in my building? I then thought about how I need to apply this thought process into my whole life.
My passion for God...
Shouldn't I want to read scripture so I can know him better? I have always struggled with reading scripture and felt guilty because as a Christian I should read the bible everyday. I was looking at this virtue and pulling it down into a worldly level, as a task I needed to do, and often failed to do. I always heard about others and their challenge to desire to want to know God more, and how reading scripture was something you should want to do. I always balked at that idea, why would I desire to do something that I can't make a priority.

This reminds me of a scene in the movie "The Breakup"

Brooke and Gary get into a fight after hosting a dinner for Brooke's family. Gary immediately goes to the living room to play video games after the guests leave. Brooke get's frustrated with Gary because she just cooked a meal and there are dishes piled up in the kitchen. (Gary is somewhat justified for just wanting to relax because he came from a long hard day at work...)
The fight escalates and Gary reluctantly says something like, "ok, ok, I'll do the damn dishes." Brooke then says, "I don't want you to just do the dishes I want you to want to clean the dishes."
Then Gary yells..."Why I would I ever WANT to clean the dishes?"

It's true...why would anyone ever want to do the dishes? But at the same time, if you love someone and know how hard they have worked, you should desire to help them and serve them in any way possible....i.e. to want to clean the dishes. Gary eventually learns this lesson, after he loses Brooke and tells her "It's not about doing the things you love, it's about doing things with the one you love! "

Camp....loved it

So I've been back from camp for about 2 weeks. I started RD training and have been trying to recover physically from a long, tiring, but awesome summer. This summer was a special one because it was my first time back since 2005. I think the craziest and sweetest part about being back was seeing old campers that I worked with now serving on Leadership, as Kitchen Crew Disciplers and Counselors. It was also kind of nice to have some structure to my day. Yes, you might think I'm crazy, but it was nice to get into the habit of getting up at 7 everyday. The days are long at camp, but they fly, just like the weeks, and the months. All of sudden I was done at camp again, and I didn't even realize it.
3rd term was a special one because my parents came out and served. My mom was the camp nurse and my Dad helped out with grounds for 2 weeks. Although it was a really rough start for my Dad, I am really thankful and grateful that they got to experience camp. It's so difficult to explain what happens there, so a lot people assume it's some type of cult (not joking), but for my parents to experience competions betweens Romans and Galatians, Summer Life Nights, Surprise Night, the Wrestling Meet etc...was priceless. They definitely saw that God was working at camp through the counselors and the campers and they saw that I wasn't wasting my summers when I was in college.