1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910452870203321

Autore

Park Julie J. <1982->

Titolo

When diversity drops [[electronic resource] ] : race, religion, and affirmative action in higher education / / Julie J. Park

Pubbl/distr/stampa

New Brunswick, N.J., : Rutgers University Press, 2013

ISBN

0-8135-6170-1

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource (214 p.)

Disciplina

378.1/9829

Soggetti

Minorities - Education (Higher) - United States

Affirmative action programs in education - United States

Multiculturalism - United States

Electronic books.

United States Race relations

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Monografia

Note generali

Description based upon print version of record.

Nota di bibliografia

Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-191) and index.

Nota di contenuto

The cultural and organizational contexts of race, religion, and higher education -- Changing a culture: IVCF decides to make race matter -- Pursuing common goals: building congruence between race and faith -- "Man, this is hard": the possibilities and perils of interracial friendship -- Shifting strategies: going ethnic-specific -- When race goes on the backburner: IVCF loses diversity -- When a minority is the majority: Asian Americans in IVCF -- Renewing a commitment: realigning values, structures, and practice.

Sommario/riassunto

Julie J. Park examines how losing racial diversity in a university affects the everyday lives of its students. She uses a student organization, the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF) at "California University," as a case study to show how reductions in racial diversity impact the ability of students to sustain multiethnic communities. The story documents IVCF's evolution from a predominantly white group that rarely addressed race to the most racially diverse campus fellowship at the university. However, its ability to maintain its multiethnic membership was severely hampered by the drop in black enrollment at California University following the passage of Proposition 209, a statewide affirmative action ban. Park demonstrates how the friendships that



students have-or do not have-across racial lines are not just a matter of personal preference or choice; they take place in the contexts that are inevitably shaped by the demographic conditions of the university. She contends that a strong organizational commitment to diversity, while essential, cannot sustain racially diverse student subcultures. Her work makes a critical contribution to our understanding of race and inequality in collegiate life and is a valuable resource for educators and researchers interested in the influence of racial politics on students' lives.