Hardships and Hope: Mental Health in Underrepresented Students

• Professors and faculty members are significantly less diverse than their students.
• The ranks of mental health professionals are even less diverse than academia.
• BIPOC and other underrepresented groups are experiencing high and increasing rates of mental health issues, in part because of unique barriers and challenges faced by these groups.
• BIPOC, immigrant, and English as a second language students are less likely to complete college than those who don’t identify as part of any of these groups.
• Those from minority religions report a sense of isolation when among communities of people who don’t practice their faiths.
• Cultural taboos are a major factor in not identifying or seeking treatment for mental health challenges.
• Systemic issues related to health insurance and equitable healthcare play significant roles in people’s hesitation to begin or continue treatment.

All postsecondary students face challenges when entering this new phase of life, but students from underrepresented groups must meet even greater challenges, including in the realm of mental health.

• First Generation Immigrants: Those living in the United States who were not born on U.S. soil
• Second Generation Immigrants: Those born with U.S. citizenship to at least one immigrant parent
• Third Generation Immigrants: Those with both parents being born in the United States, but not all grandparents were
• AAPI: Asian American and Pacific Islander (including Hawaiian)
• BIPOC: Black, Indigenous, and people of color (meaning anyone who doesn’t identify as strictly white)
• ESL: English as a second language
• ELL: English language learner
• Hispanic: Spanish-speaking, regardless of country of origin
• Latinx: Gender-neutral term for people from Latin America
• Underrepresented: Communities with small populations compared to the general population

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Postsecondary schools in the United States are becoming more diverse. For instance, in 1996, 29.6% of undergraduate students were people of color; as of 2016, that amount had risen to 45.2%. However, the level of diversity doesn’t quite reflect that of the general population.

How Racially Diverse are Colleges Compared to the Overall Population of the United States?

When added together, BIPOC groups as a whole comprise a larger percentage of the college population than they do of the general population—barely. But this hides the underrepresentation among certain BIPOC groups, and—as you’ll see in a subsequent section—enrollment doesn’t necessarily lead to degree attainment.

It’s important to note that while college professors have become more racially and ethnically diverse over the past several years, the percentage of professors identifying as white (76%) is higher than the percentage of the general population identifying as white (60%), let alone among the population of undergraduates.

How Many Immigrants Are Enrolled in U.S. Colleges?

The majority of immigrants in the U.S. are documented, with 45% being naturalized citizens; only 23% of immigrants are undocumented. Approximately 454,000 college students are undocumented immigrants, including traditional and adult college students, which accounts for 2% of the overall postsecondary population. Of these students, nearly 50% arrived in the U.S. at ages 12 or younger.

How Many Postsecondary Students Speak English as a Second Language?

A recent study reported that, of those identified as ELLs, only 53% enrolled in college within two years of graduation. Further, only 18% moved on to attend four-year programs.

Even if we assume all 4.6% of those 12th graders graduate, cutting that nearly in half to reflect ELL college enrollment means only about 2% of the overall college population would be officially considered English language learners according to K-12 education standards. And small numbers can sometimes mean forgotten numbers.

How Religiously Diverse are U.S. Colleges?

There isn’t a straightforward answer to the question of how many college students practice any particular religion. However, some statistics can help us make educated guesses.

For this purpose, we’re going to compare those who are college-aged (18 to 29) with those most likely to be their parents’ ages (50 to 64), using Pew Research data from 2019. This could give us an idea of what religions this age group was raised in compared to how they self-identify.

Do Students of Different Background Graduate from College at Different Rates?

BIPOC College Graduation Rates

Immigrant College Graduation Rates

However, this number includes those who earned their degrees in their home countries (i.e., those who arrived with their college educations completed).

Further complicating the issue is that the majority of immigrants who complete college report fluency in English. Those who aren’t fluent (or don’t consider themselves fluent) are less likely to finish college.

ELL College Graduation Rates

College Graduation Rates and Religions

The majority of the U.S. population is Christian, though many individual faiths fall under this umbrella. Using these statistics, it would be nearly impossible to determine the number of Christians with college degrees, though Unitarian Universalist comes second in degree attainment.

In 2017, an estimated 18% of adults in the United States were living with diagnosable mental health issues, with 4% having serious mental illnesses. However, only 43% of those with mental illnesses received treatment. This includes those of all backgrounds. Members of underresourced communities live with these issues at different rates than the overall population and often experience different outcomes.

Common Mental Health and Treatment Challenges in Underrepresented Groups

Unsurprisingly—and unfortunately so—discrimination is a major cause of mental health issues at the college level. While already undergoing the challenges all college students experience—transitioning to a more independent life, managing classes and social pressures, etc.—underrepresented students also contend with biases from their peers, professors, and administrators.

Additionally, particularly in mostly white college settings, BIPOC students often report “imposter syndrome,” which means they feel they aren’t supposed to be there.

Some common stressors and treatment barriers members of these groups face are:

• Being first-generation students: Students who are the first in their families to attend college are less likely to live on campus than students who aren’t in this category, and BIPOC learners are more likely to be first-generation than white students. This means mental health resources on campus aren’t as easy to access because these students frequently commute to campus and simply don’t have extra time to seek out campus resources.
• Lack of health insurance: BIPOC, immigrants, and English language learners disproportionately lack health insurance, particularly in states where Medicaid hasn’t been expanded.
• Low-income backgrounds: Additionally, many underrepresented students come from low-income backgrounds and often work while attending college, resulting in their having to choose between work and medical or mental health visits.
• Professors and faculty who don’t understand their needs
• Religious and cultural taboos
• Issues with mental health services providers:
  • Conscious and unconscious biases
  • Minimal training in culturally responsive treatment
  • Few providers from underrepresented backgrounds (only 14% identify as BIPOC) or who speak languages other than English
  • Even fewer practitioners who identify as both BIPOC and LGBTQ+
  • Physicians being less likely to recognize the severity of mental health issues in BIPOC students
• School mental health services: Non-white students are less likely to obtain mental health services within their schools before college.

This section will further expand on these barriers and how they apply to different underrepresented groups.

Mental Health and the Black Community

These rates of mental health concerns may be skewed. Men in this community are significantly more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than their white peers, often without cause.

In addition to the general challenges above, Black students also experience mental health treatment barriers thanks to their unique history of oppression, societal expectations, cultural norms, and costs.

• In 1851, two “disorders” were invented—draeptomania and dysaesthesia aethiopica—to claim enslaved people were mentally ill if they ran away or wanted to “avoid hard work.”
• That same claimant said Black people were inherently incapable of complex emotional processes and therefore didn’t need thorough or effective mental health treatment.
• From the 1930s to the 1970s, hundreds of Black men participated in the Tuskegee Experiment. They were told they were being treated for “bad blood,” in this case meaning syphilis, when they actually received no treatment. Syphilis can result in neurosyphilis, which manifests in personality disorders, dementia, psychosis, and more. Many of these men ended up with this comorbid disease, as well as other health problems like blindness, often leading to early deaths and other heartbreaking endings.
• Even after the Civil Rights Act, segregation in medical facilities, including mental health facilities, was deemed “medically necessary.” Many of these facilities had forced labor for the patients, and the doctors were often unlicensed.
• In the 1970s, certain medications were prescribed to Black people to keep them “under control.”
• To this day, mental illness is criminalized through all populations—but this is especially true for the Black community.

The article quotes Dr. Annelle Primm, who adds, “Being an African-American carried its own negative stigma… To willingly step forward to seek out mental-health services and potentially be labeled as also having a mental illness in a society that also looked down upon people with that label is certainly something that people would want to avoid.”

In short, when you feel like you’re already being judged, you may take steps to avoid further judgment.

Many Black families spend as much as 20% of their household incomes on healthcare premiums, compared to 11% for families in general. The cost is part of the reason for the Black community being disproportionately uninsured. With the Affordable Care Act (ACA) so frequently challenged and Medicaid being slow to expand, it’s no wonder many feel stressed about healthcare, if not completely unable to access it due to financial concerns.

With insurance covering little to no mental health treatments and out-of-pocket costs being exorbitant, it isn’t hard to understand why many Black community members don’t seek help—even if they otherwise would.

But it’s not just about insurance: Black people statistically have poorer outcomes than white people when seeing medical professionals, including higher infant mortality and pregnancy-related death rates.

When we look at mental health specifically, things get even more complicated. According to verywellmind.com, in addition to being misdiagnosed with schizophrenia, “Black Americans are also less likely to be offered treatment for their mental health issues. Research has also shown that Black teens are less likely to be asked about eating disorder symptoms than white teens, even though they’re about 50% more likely to show bulimia behaviors.”

Frighteningly, Black children are diagnosed as psychotic more often than white children but are less likely to be given treatment. If these children go to college, they face additional challenges due to their unchecked mental illnesses (if the illnesses exist; as we see with the aforementioned unwarranted schizophrenia diagnoses, they may not).

When Black people seek mental health assistance, like many other BIPOC individuals, they tend to begin within their faith communities—though those diagnosed with depression self-report being more willing to seek help than the general population.

Mental Health and the Indigenous and Native American Community

Indigenous and Native American people experience mental health issues 2.5 times more often than the overall population in any given month. They experience alcohol and drug abuse younger and more often than any other ethnic group.

Frighteningly, while the community’s overall suicide rate is similar to that of white people, it’s nearly twice as high for Indigenous teens between 15 and 19.

Firstly, poverty is rampant among this population, making treatment financially inaccessible.

Additionally, Indian Health Service hospital staff are most likely to understand their needs, but most of these hospitals are on reservations, while only 22% of this population live on tribal lands.

Beyond logistical challenges, there are cultural factors at play in seeking mental health treatment. Factors may vary by tribe; these are general observations from Mental Health America:

• Encouragement to seek help from spiritual or other healers rather than mental health professionals is common.
• If treatment is sought, Indigenous and Native people may discuss or present symptoms in unique ways, potentially making the challenges hard for professionals to recognize as specific conditions.
• Belief systems often identify mental and physical health issues as one and the same, and their causes are understood through a unique lens.
• Many Native cultures believe connectedness with others and nature can serve as protection against mental health challenges.
• Over 200 languages are spoken within Indigenous communities, and language is an essential part of each culture. However, not many providers speak those languages.

Mental Health and the Hispanic and Latinx Communities

Mental health problems appear to have increased among the Hispanic and Latinx communities over the last several years. That said, it’s not clear whether it’s the rate or the reporting that’s increasing.

Poverty and lack of insurance are major factors in Hispanic and Latinx students having access to mental health treatment, but barriers go beyond that. As mentioned, providers who speak languages other than English are hard to find. Importantly, it’s been discovered that health issues are reported very differently in Spanish versus when only-English paperwork is provided.

When Latinx and Hispanic people seek medical treatment, they’re more likely to focus on physical health issues than mental health ones. For both mental and physical issues, these individuals are undertreated when compared to white people.

However, seeking treatment in the first place can be hard to do. Many don’t even know where to begin, and if there has been discrimination or other poor treatment a previous experience, returning is unlikely.

• Faith is often a critical part of these communities, which can both provide comfort and increase stigma because some behaviors can be interpreted as negative choices.
• Some community members believe having a mental illness—or even discussing the possibility of one—could bring shame to the family.
• Self-reliance is an essential part of many people’s identities, leading to them wanting to handle such concerns independently.

Mental Health and the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Community

AAPI mental health has been incredibly under-studied when compared to research into other groups. However, some information has been discovered through a few studies.

As with other communities, it’s difficult to determine whether the numbers of mental health problems are on the rise or the willingness to report is increasing.

A small-scale study[i] of 19 AAPI parents of public school students revealed they recognized both their children’s and their own resistance to seeking mental health services within their schools. They stated the hesitation was caused by knowledge, attitudinal, structural/practical, and relational barriers, all of which were intertwined with cultural factors.

Just over 42% of these parents said their cultures don’t emphasize mental health and, for many, their countries of origin had few resources available. They also said there are cultural stigmas and a tendency to turn toward faith leaders over mental health professionals. One mother, Huifen, who came from China, said, “[People] would rather go to their Buddhism religion and pray in front of the Buddha. They think if they are labeled with [a] mental illness, their whole life is ruined.”

Of course, the cultural issues don’t exclusively come from within. For years, Asian Americans have been forced to wear the title of “the model minority,” putting a huge amount of pressure on them to succeed. Their parents said this could cause their children’s mental health struggles to go unnoticed—more than their white peers, the APPI children often feel they need to focus more on academic skills than socioemotional ones.

On a related note, the parents reported their children felt embarrassed about being seen going to the schools’ mental health staff. Further, the parents feared such visits or any diagnoses would appear on their children’s school records, making them less appealing to colleges.

Like other groups, AAPI parents also reported having poor prior experiences with mental health providers. While some perceptions related to cultural issues, others said they felt professionals gave the same basic advice as good friends and family. They also were concerned about the overprescribing of mental health medications and their potential side effects.

Importantly, they also reported many of these negative experiences involved receiving treatment from practitioners who “don’t understand our culture…They are not trained…Definitely, cultural competence will be, is the barrier,” as one Chinese mother, Grace, put it.

Because of the lack of culturally responsive training, many parents felt mental health practitioners judged them. For example, Grace shared that a young woman she knew sought assistance from a school counselor. The girl left feeling she needed to defend her parents from accusations of abuse due to their culturally informed parenting style rather than feeling like she was on the road to better mental health.

While not all ELLs are immigrants and not all immigrants are ELLs, the two groups are often combined in most studies of immigrant healthcare. Additionally, many studies tend to group second language populations with Hispanic/Latinx, even though not all people who speak English as an additional language are native Spanish speakers or from Latin America.

This is due to a daily lack of certainty and legal inability to access services or even have jobs. If every day feels unsafe in some way, mental health could be negatively affected.

Of course, many people who immigrate to this country overcome these political challenges to varying extents. But, politics aren’t the only barriers immigrants face.

In her article for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Katherine Ponte says, “my quintessential hard-working immigrant success story still does not address a very important factor: I live with bipolar disorder. The mental health challenges that immigrants face are the part of this story that need to be told.”

Ponte goes on to say that not only are challenges like discrimination and language barriers faced, but there’s often an increased sense of isolation and being separate from others because immigrants frequently move into communities comprised primarily of other immigrants from the same area.

She also brings up immigrants’ underemployment, which often leads to a lack of health insurance, money, and time to get healthcare treatment.

“Coping with these challenges can lead to mental health issues or mental illness, particularly for those with a pre-existing biological vulnerability to a mental illness,” Ponte says.

And, like other groups, there is often stigma involved. People may come from cultures with limited educational opportunities, particularly when it comes to instruction about mental health, and (like many Americans, admittedly), there is often a dismissal of “women’s problems” and a strong belief that men can’t show weakness.

When there’s a language barrier, things get much harder. Being unable to communicate with a medical professional is frustrating to everyone, but getting treatment can feel impossible when the practitioner literally speaks a different language. Thus, people who don’t speak English as a first language often are unlikely to seek out healthcare.

Even if someone is reaching English fluency, medical terminology is practically a language of its own. If someone doesn’t understand what they’re told, they don’t know what questions to ask.

Additionally, the underemployment and language barriers often result in a stereotype that immigrants and language learners aren’t as educated or capable as those born in the States. It doesn’t matter if someone holds a doctorate—the stereotype can persist. And those who defy this stereotype sometimes distance themselves from their communities so they can try to avoid being identified by those misconceptions. A lack of community can lead to mental health challenges.

We would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. When introduced in 2012, DACA permitted some undocumented immigrants who arrived as minors to stay in the country without fear of deportation for two years with the possibility of renewal.

Positive Effects of DACA:

• Feeling like they could be more immersed in society
• Experiencing less fear of discovery
• Increasing self-esteem

Stressful Effects of DACA:

• Renewal only lasts two years and isn’t guaranteed.
• DACA recipients are often responsible for family needs because it’s easier for them to get jobs and drivers’ licenses.
• They increasingly worry about their families’ safety because of these responsibilities.

The list of pros and cons for DACA as it relates to mental health (though, as the journal puts it, “…DACA is a positive first step”) goes on and on. But this study was published in 2017, and it was conducted before DACA was rescinded in September of that year.

Since then, DACA has been a bit like Schrödinger’s cat: Both there and not there at the same time. Though applications are accepted at the time of this writing, there remains a lot of confusion about who is eligible and has this status.

Mental Health and Religious Minorities

Religious minorities experience mental health issues those in mainstream Christian religions—the ones comprising the majority religious group in the country—don’t. This is the case regardless of race, language, or immigration status, though those factors can further affect their lived experiences.

Being a member of a faith community can benefit mental health. However, religious discrimination correlates with much higher rates of all common mental illnesses—even when considered separately from race, ethnicity, or suspected paranoid traits.

Firstly, it’s important to address what can happen when one leaves their parents’ religion, which is the case among an increasing number of young people.

The challenges most commonly seen by the religious minority groups surveyed were related to:

• Difference and minority status: Biases from other people, sometimes leading to isolation, exclusion of non-Christian religions from the mainstream (e.g., Christmas decorations everywhere), struggling to find common experiences with friends from other backgrounds
• Other religious people: Beliefs forced upon them, feelings of betrayal or contention within their own communities
• Misunderstandings and ignorance: Others not understanding religious restrictions (e.g., days people can’t work), mistrust after events like 9/11
• Demands of the faith community: Pressure to conform and excel within their faith, fear of disappointment or separation from a deity
• Animosity and rejection: Hate crimes, employment discrimination and unlawful termination, intentional hateful comments, microaggressions (e.g., others saying they’re “worried about their soul”), loss of friendships

Further, college students are increasingly pulling away from religion. A study from Psychology of Religion and Spirituality[v] showed students who have experienced this struggle more than their classmates who haven’t left or reconsidered their faiths. This includes having increased feelings of being “immoral,” feeling judged or abandoned by members of their former communities, and experiencing a lack of sense that there’s a greater meaning in life—possibly for the first time.

• Social isolation can lead to depression, anxiety, difficulty sleeping well, and engaging in unhealthy habits.
• The pressure to practice one’s faith “correctly” and fear that a deity may abandon a person have been correlated with higher rates of depression.
• Hate crimes are often connected to PTSD, anxiety, depression, and general psychological distress.
• Existential crises—thoughts that life may have no meaning or that the meaning is unclear—can include feelings of anxiety and depression. In extreme cases, people may experience existential crisis obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

There’s also an unofficial diagnosis related to leaving one’s religion: Religious Trauma Syndrome (RTS). The DSM-V doesn’t recognize this syndrome, but according to Restoration Counseling, “Religious Trauma Syndrome is in the early stages of research and is gaining traction as a legitimate diagnosis.”

RTS occurs when someone decides to leave their faith and is especially common among those “who have escaped cults, fundamentalist religious groups, abusive religious settings, and other painful experiences with religion.” Symptoms are like those of complex PTSD, and a significant symptom is feeling like you’ve lost your community—which may include parents or other family.

When it comes to how people from different religions address mental health issues, we’re entering murky waters. What some of us would consider “barriers” others would consider “opportunities.” Interpretation may need to depend more on outcomes and individual circumstances.

A variety of faiths encourage members to open up to their faith leaders instead of, before, or in addition to pursuing mental health treatment. This isn’t restricted to minority religions, either—mainstream Christian sects often go this route. Underserved populations who are members of churches may be more likely to seek help from religious leaders because they’re familiar, often from the same backgrounds, and don’t have language barriers.

However, while guidance from within one’s faith is undoubtedly helpful for many people, not all religious leaders are trained mental health professionals. Moreover, diagnosing illnesses and prescribing medications are generally outside of their legal rights. So, those who would typically go to their faith leader for assistance may not get the help they need if they feel they can’t pursue outside treatment.

People from religions outside the mainstream may also not pursue help because they feel their challenges are a moral failing or punishment from God. They may experience shame as a result and feel they need to keep quiet about their struggles.

How to Help Yourself

There are ways underresourced students can help themselves get mental health treatment, but it takes some legwork.

The first thing to know: Your mental health care is private. If you’re a college student, your provider can’t ring up your parents to tell them you’ve been visiting, as they’re bound by doctor-patient confidentiality.

However, if you’re using your parents’ insurance to attend therapy, the bills and explanations of benefits (EOBs) may be sent to them. Choosing a counselor on your campus or using online therapy without insurance (often a full month costs about the same as a single in-person therapy session) may be better options if you want to ensure your family doesn’t know.

This isn’t to say therapy is shameful. It isn’t. But, hopefully, knowing doctor-patient confidentiality applies to mental health treatment alleviates some worries, and understanding your parents could receive EOBs and bills can help you plan accordingly.

When seeking out a therapist, it may be incredibly hard to find a practitioner who shares your background. As you’re looking for one, you should assume positive intent—most therapy providers went into the field out of a desire to help. But, be open about your needs. Do you want them to be of a certain religion or race? That’s fine! Do you want to see someone who speaks your primary language, even if you’re fluent in English? That makes perfect sense!

Some questions to ask include:

• What race/religion are you? Are you an immigrant? (These questions may seem rude, but many counselors give this information on their websites and understand why you’re asking.)
• Do you speak a language other than English (if relevant)?
• What training do you have in working with clients of my background?
• What professional experience do you have working with people of my background?
• Have you sought additional training in culturally responsive practices? If so, tell me a little about that.
• If I bring up something you don’t know enough about, will you be up-front about it? What will you do to rectify this for future visits?
• Do you believe in white privilege? What about institutional racism?
• How do you define discrimination/racism?

It’s probably difficult to ask people these things, but these are professionals and are used to being asked probing questions.

Additionally, the vast majority of mental health workers want to assist you, whether that means inviting you to their practice or referring you to someone better fitting your needs.

If you’re on campus, your counselors may rotate as they’re often graduate students. When one isn’t a good fit for you, tell the front desk to try to avoid pairing you with that person again.

How to Help Others

• Survey the local community regarding their needs.
• Determine the level of cultural competency of everyone in your practice (from administrative staff to practitioners).
• Conduct case study reviews and interact with patients—including surveying patients to determine satisfaction levels.
• Pursue continuing education courses regarding various cultures and ensure other staffers do as well.
• Read books and articles by experts in culturally competent mental health treatments.

While many, of course, find prayer a great source of comfort and an important part of their mental health routine, faith leaders need to seek mental health training. If you’re a faith leader, this may help you recognize when prayer and meditation are sufficient versus when something needs to be addressed from additional angles.

Faith leaders should take this education and use it in the right ways, particularly in determining when they can help and when they need to find outside resources for those who seek help.

While those who aren’t legally permitted to do so shouldn’t try to provide diagnoses, they should strive to recognize the differences between, for example, stress, nerves, and anxiety. Stress and nerves are generally temporary; anxiety can be a mental health issue or indicative of one.

They should also always take suicidal statements seriously. It can be extremely difficult to overcome years of being told—perhaps even trained—that suicide is a mortal sin. No one should argue this is easy. But, reframing the conversation from morality to preventing the act can save someone—perhaps in more ways than one, depending on your belief system.

Postsecondary administrators likely don’t get to know their students well—not due to a lack of care, but due to their jobs’ demands. But it’s also their job to ensure their students feel safe on campus and can learn effectively. Not doing so can have devastating consequences.

One such consequence was the 1995 murder-suicide of Trang Phuong Ho and Sinedu Tadesse, a pair of immigrant roommates at Harvard University. Tadesse had, in hindsight, sent out red flags before the tragedy, including in a letter directly to the school’s health center.

The question is, of course, how? It isn’t easy to know what to do—especially since the overwhelming majority of high-ranking school officials, from provosts to athletics administrators, are white.

Another route involves getting input from the students themselves.

• Hold formal meetings and informal meet-and-greets so you can have a dialogue with learners.
• Visit student groups during meetings and listen to what they have to say.
• Send out anonymous surveys to get an idea of how students perceive school culture—and act on the responses.
• Take student complaints seriously, whether they’re in-person statements, published in the school paper, or posted online anonymously.

As only 24% of postsecondary school faculty don’t identify as white, which is significantly less than the number of students who identify as BIPOC, professors have some extra homework to do.

When it comes to graduate students—not all of whom are TAs—as of 2016, 44% identified as BIPOC. This is slightly less than for undergraduate students. Additionally, knowing students from wealthy families are more likely to graduate from undergraduate programs, it’s reasonable to extrapolate that many graduate students are from higher-income backgrounds. This is statistically less common for students from underresourced backgrounds, meaning their experiences growing up may not have been the same as the undergraduate students with whom they work, regardless of any other aspects of their lives. So, there’s homework to be done on this subject area as well.

Their opportunities include the ability to:

• Pursue professional development regarding diversity, from lectures and conferences to reading relevant books and articles
• Engage in conversations with colleges and administrators about how to improve instruction and school culture
• Take student concerns seriously, addressing them swiftly and transparently

However, professors may have hundreds of students in a single class. While all teachers, from Kindergarten through college, know building relationships with students is essential, it can be a literal impossibility to connect with every student. This is where they need to lean on their TAs, whom they should train in diversity issues before TAs’ small group instruction begins.

Like professors, TAs have specific opportunities and barriers to providing culturally sensitive education.

• Small-group instruction allowing for relationship-building
• Potentially being closer in age and less removed from the undergraduate experience, allowing for more empathy
• When possible, taking classes related to diversity in their fields

The biggest barrier is, of course, a lack of school-work-life balance. Graduate students are busy. Over three-quarters of graduate students work, and one-quarter work full time. Almost one-fifth have children. All this is while taking heavy course loads, performing independent research, and, of course, performing all their assistant duties. This may mean they have no time to learn best practices in education and study culturally responsive methods.

In addition to pursuing opportunities to improve instruction of underrepresented students and working to overcome barriers to that instruction, there are some (relatively) simple steps to take inside the classroom. Inside Higher Ed offers some suggestions:

• Acknowledge the existence of microaggressions, and interrupt and address them immediately. Follow up with students who frequently commit these microaggressions.
• Find overt and subtle ways to show support. On day one and throughout the semester, you can state your commitment to diversity, discuss any training you have in the area, and concede you have areas for improvement—including telling students to call you out. You could also consider putting up posters showing your support for causes.
• Bring people and works from diverse backgrounds into your curriculum. Those who teach literature can purposefully use pieces by authors of different backgrounds, while those in the sciences can highlight the work of experts from underresourced backgrounds, for instance.
• Ensure your teaching and grading practices are equitable, recognizing students have different backgrounds, speak different languages, and have different life experiences. This isn’t about lowering standards—it’s about meeting students where they are. For instance, a student who speaks English as an additional language may not write “perfectly,” and you can cut them some slack and use it as an opportunity to help them improve their writing through meaningful, respectful feedback.
• Check your grades for patterns. Are students from certain backgrounds consistently receiving lower scores? And don’t just use names for this—you can’t tell race, religion, etc., from names alone. If your school has a class demographics program, use it. If not, look at your students’ records—either as a whole or from a reasonably sized sampling—and compare. If you notice students from other countries, different languages of origin, or with certain racial backgrounds are consistently scoring lower, ask yourself “why?” and work to rectify the situation.
• Get to know your students as people. Whether you’re a professor with a small class or a TA, speak to students about their lives and struggles. When students ask for meetings with you, ask questions beyond the materials to find out who they are and how that can affect their work. If you have a large class, you can still observe your students, see those who look like they’re confused or struggling, and pull them aside to talk—you don’t know if there’s an issue if you don’t ask. This is especially important for students from underresourced backgrounds, as they often don’t live on campus and work a great deal, meaning visits during office hours are difficult to arrange.

What You Can Do as Part of a Community

Then, look into community organizations, charities, and other groups focusing on issues directly affecting underresourced communities. Find out how you can get involved, whether through volunteering, donating, or attending meetings, so you can better learn how to improve your community.

Additionally, look at your community versus the people in charge. Are all voices being heard? If your community’s youth population is 45% Hispanic/Latinx, for instance, and your school board is all white, it’s worth investigating why the board doesn’t reflect the student body. Even if every member has the best intentions and functions as an ally, it’s simply not possible to understand the community’s needs thoroughly through an all-white lens, and change may be needed.

Also, think critically about your workplace, whether you’re an owner or an employee. Questions to ask include:

• Are you adequately serving underresourced communities?
• Are the employees especially suspicious of shoppers of color?
• Does the staff represent the community?
• Have you had anti-bias training?

If you’re a decision-maker, address any bias or service issues you see. If an employee comes to you with a concern about the company’s biases or behaviors, take it seriously. As a general rule, at least five people expressed this same concern elsewhere before someone got up the nerve to talk to you about it.

If you’re an employee and feel safe doing so, bring up any concerns with your boss.

Nzoma recommends incorporating books and other media featuring people from all backgrounds as positive protagonists. Further, she says immersing oneself in cultures, even with simple measures like going to authentic restaurants, can go a long way.

TalkspaceThis online therapy program allows you to message your counselor as often as you want, any time, day or night. They’ll generally get back to you within 24 hours on the days they work. Talkspace costs $260 to $396 per month. You’ll often receive a discount for your first month (displayed at the top of the page), and they accept many insurance plans.

Referenced Sources

Some of the sources used in this piece aren’t freely available online and aren’t linked above: