Social Justice and Inclusion in Higher Education/Student Affairs

"I can't influence everything...how can I make this a more equitable environment?" Beverly Tatum, psychologist, "Race: the Power of an Illusion (Documentary film, 2003)

ACPA (American College Personnel Association) and NASPA (National Association of Student Personnel Administrators) established ten competencies for the higher education/student fairs professionals. Social Justice and Inclusion (SJI) is one of the competencies and is defined as both"a process and a goal that includes the knowledge, skills, and dispositions needed to create learning environments that foster equitable participation of all groups and seeks to address issues of oppression, privilege, and power." (ACPA/NASPA, 2015, p.30). I appreciate that the creators of the document and the competency had the forethought in making this a "process" and a "goal". They understood that time, energy, and focus are needed to address the issues that they outlined. I admire their desire to be inclusive of "all groups", but I wonder if that lofty goal is truly possible?

As an aspiring higher education/student affairs professional, and as someone who has extensive work experience, I believe that for my practice, I should begin by understanding how social justice and inclusion work ( or don't work) within the higher education/student affairs settings in order to understand what needs to be accomplished and how I can be of assistance. I will be interning this fall with a college student health center so this will give me some insight while I study the theory that will be presented in the classroom. I also need to identify my sphere(s) of influence in order to potentially make an impact and a difference in the areas of social justice and inclusion. Dr. Tatum's words above ring true because I can only influence what I can have an impact on.

In becoming part of the student affairs/higher education profession, I believe that choosing your internships and eventually your jobs carefully are key. What is the culture like? Is your immediate supervisor on board with social justice and inclusion? Have they created any initiatives? Are they done with students and colleagues in mind? Are they real efforts or just done to appease various contingents? What has been done? Have the efforts been successful? If not, are they willing to try other ideas? Are they willing to listen to new ideas and viewpoints? Do they try to find out what students are thinking so needs can be understood and possibly met?

The above questions will need to be answered by me in order to guide my hands-on learning opportunities i.e. internships and eventually my career.