Racial Microaggressions in the Residence Halls: Experiences of Students of Color at a Predominantly White University

Students of color often perceive the campus climate more negatively than do their White counterparts. Our study begins to uncover what students of color experience in residence halls. Using focus group data from a larger study exploring racial microaggressions at a predominantly White institution (PWI), we identified over 70 racial microaggressions experienced by African American, Asian American, Latino, and Native American undergraduate and graduate students. Through the use of the racial microaggression taxonomy developed by Sue et al. (2007), four racial microaggression themes were identified: (a) racial jokes and verbal comments, (b) racial slurs written in shared spaces, (c) segregated spaces and unequal treatment, and (d) denial and minimization of racism. Findings contribute to the literature by detailing the types of racial microaggressions that students of color experienced when living in residence halls at PWIs. Implications for diversity in higher education and recommendations for university administrators are discussed.