Handbook offers minority students guide to life on campus

University members authored book of strategies for students to use when coping with being outnumbered at college.

Imagine a white student at the University of Ghana.

Walking around campus or sitting in the classrooms, it would be a struggle for the student to blend in, fit in or feel comfortable.

This is an example given by Marc Levey, a principal author of How to Succeed on a Majority Campus: A Guide for Minority Students, of what minority students often experience at a predominantly white institution.

Levey, senior diversity planning analyst at the University, said the pressures and scrutiny attached to being a minority student can make the adjustment to college even more difficult for incoming freshman.

"You get tags or associations that are often negative and false," Levey said. "Many times, minority students think about themselves as different. It never leaves their minds."

The guidebook's goal is to offer successful strategies for making the most of minority students' experiences at predominantly white schools, Levey said. All three principal authors are diversity officials at the University and the book is based on more than 100 interviews with minority students and minority student counselors across the country, according to a news release.

Complete with checklists, question-and-answer exercises, photos taken at the University and quotes from minority students, the guidebook resembles an interactive "how-to" book. It was released nationwide and in Canada in mid-November, Levey said.

The guide addresses broad subjects that apply to all minorities such as study skills, dating, health concerns and racism. But it also contains chapters devoted specifically to the experiences of international students and lesbian, gay and bisexual students of color.

"It's a book that hasn't been written before," said Michael Blanco, director of the Multicultural Resource Center at the University. "There is no other book that I know of that is a comprehensive guide on the experiences of minority students attending a predominantly white institution."

Blanco and Terrell Jones, associate vice provost for educational equity, are the other principal authors.

Joseph Selden, director of multicultural affairs for the College of Communications, said he read the book and would recommend it to students, faculty and staff.

"It's got a little bit of something for everyone," Selden said. "(The guide) is something everyone ought to add to their reading list."

However, Jameel Quarles (sophomore-marketing and international business), a member of Black Caucus, said he thinks the book may only be applicable to a certain audience.

"For freshmen and people who are about to enter college, I think the book is good," he said. "But for students who've been here for two or three years, we've already learned the stuff we need to survive."

Toshie Faloye (junior-insurance and international business) said she thinks being outnumbered is a constant issue for University minority students, adding that she is the only minority student in some of her classes this semester. Faloye, a member of the Caribbean Student Association, said many minority students hang out together because they can relate to one another.

"The Black community is more motivated to stick together," she said. "Sometimes I feel more comfortable with people of color."

The guidebook discusses the fact that some minority students cope by sticking together in large groups, but the book also addresses that some minority students at predominantly white institutions seclude themselves instead.

Quarles said he sees minority students who fit the latter mold.

"There's not that much for minorities to do on this campus, so some minority students will stay in their rooms and some go home," he said. "I know people who go home every weekend."

The guidebook is intended to help minority students deal with the difficulties of adapting to a predominantly white institution, Levey said, but he said the book can be a valuable resource for incoming non-minority students because they will be able to relate to many of the same situations.

"I think the notions of alienation, separation, fear of a new atmosphere, competition, the bigness of this place and getting lost in a crowd are examples that will ring true to the vast majority of new students," he said.