Mixed Plate: Exploring Multiracial Student Identities Within Higher Education

Race has been studied primarily from a monoracial perspective, which exhibits multiracial individuals from expressing themselves because their racial identities do not fit into the preestablished monoracial categories. The multiracial population in America is steadily growing, and as a result, the number of multiracial students on college campuses are predicted to increase. The purpose of this study was to learn about racial identity beyond a monoracial paradigm. This paper explores multiracial student identities within higher education at a public university in the Pacific Northwest using Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT). Through interviewing eleven students, racial identity development, challenges, and coping strategies for mixed-heritage students were identified. The concepts of convergence and divergence– both deriving from CAT, were utilized to analytically comprehend the challenges and coping strategies multiracial students employ. MULTIRACIAL IDENTITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION 3 Mixed Plate: Exploring Multiracial Student Identities Within Higher Education Higher education is an environment where students are able to explore and develop their racial identities: “the campus should be seen as a place that encourages racial dialogues throughout the students’ college experience, and as a place where racial discourse is valued and appropriate in academic and social settings” (Museus et al., 2011, p. 24). While racial identity has certainly made its way into higher education curriculums, racial identity is still often conceptualized as singular and static. However, racial identity is increasingly complex and varied. As such, it is important to study multiracial student identities within the setting of higher education institutions because mixed-race students are often overlooked in relation to their racial and ethnic identities; simultaneously, they are overwhelmingly existent on college campuses and their presence will only continue to grow (Museus et al., 2015). It is essential for higher education institutions to implement proper racial exploration tactics that are deemed appropriate for students who “fall outside of a monoracial-only paradigm” (Harris, 2017, p. 442). Faculty and staff need to be educated on how to engage in healthy conversations about race and ethnicity without making mixed-heritage students feel isolated. The expectation is that “college administrators and faculty members [should] work together to make connections between courses that address racial issues and cocurricular racial dialogues on campus” (Museus et al., 2011, p. 25). Students should feel comfortable expressing all parts of their racial and ethnic heritages both in and out of the classroom. As the demographics on college campuses are quickly changing (Gaither, 2015), the conversation topics related to support systems must also remain relevant. It is important to acknowledge and discuss the diversity of racial identities amongst college campuses because the needs of the multiracial population are still being identified (King, 2008; Nishimura, 1998). It is MULTIRACIAL IDENTITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION 4 imperative for our education systems to be equipped to “address the needs of this newly emerging student group (Nishimura, 1998, p. 46). Multiracial students should no longer be unseen or unheard of on college campuses; we need to ensure that these students view their racial and ethnic identities as a tool of empowerment. Literature Review This literature review is divided into three different sections. The first part addresses multiracial identities by discussing attempted definitions, and later transitions into obstacles that are commonly faced by those who identify as multiracial. The second section adds an additional layer of understanding multiracial identities through focusing on the realm of higher education. Historical significance, racial identity development, challenges, coping strategies, and tactics for navigating the college campus are explained through the work of previous researchers. Finally, the theory used for this project, Communication Accommodation Theory, is defined and the differing contexts in which it has been previously applied is provided. Multiracial Identity Placing a strict definition on who is or is not a multiracial person is subjective, yet the U.S. Census defines a person who is multiracial as “anyone who identifies with two or more races” (Gaither, 2015, p. 1). The challenge in defining “multiraciality” is that race is a social construct therefore racial identity is an ambiguous and abstract concept. Regardless of its complexity, the multiracial population in America is steadily growing. According to the 2010 U.S. census, “the population reporting multiple races grew by 32.0 percent from 2000 to 2010, compared with those who reported a single race, which grew by 9.2 percent” (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012). The way in which multiracial people define themselves depends on personal factors such as familial influence or societal pressures (Townsend et al., 2009; Nadal et al., MULTIRACIAL IDENTITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION 5 2013). Literature on multiracial identities include several terms for “multiracial” including, but not limited to, mixed-heritage, mixed-race, biracial, multicultural, and multiethnic. These terms will be used interchangeably throughout this paper. Having a multiracial identity presents certain disadvantages that are generally linked to racial identity development. Mixed-race people often feel the pressure from society to conform to socially constructed racial categories (Townsend et al., 2009). The pressure an individual feels to pick a single category of race can derive from a multitude of social contexts but nonetheless, having to “conform to a monoracial category is a source of tension” (Gaither, 2015, p. 1). Furthermore, this tension can then create an experience similar to an identity crisis for multiracial individuals. Moving between racial and ethnic identities can be difficult to navigate without proper guidance. In the U.S., a relevant example of pushing the monoracial paradigm is the lack of demographic categorization on surveys or forms. Many times, “institutional practices do not promote or accommodate bi-racial or multiracial identities” (Townsend et al., 2009, p. 187). Mandating individuals to “check the box that best applies” is a phrase that subconsciously encourages multiracial people to favor one of their identities over the others. Racial identity is simplified for the sake of a form and in doing so, effectively denies the identity of the mixed-race respondents. Thus, “limited choice is associated with lower self-esteem, reduced motivation, and heightened anxiety” (Townsend et al., 2009, p. 186). As humans, we are entitled to identify as we please yet contrary to this idea, lack of demographic racial categorization is a challenge that impedes mixed-race people’s identity (Townsend et al., 2009). It is with high hopes that in the upcoming years the multiracial population will feel supported in their efforts to develop and understand their multicultural identities– within all aspects of life. MULTIRACIAL IDENTITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION 6 Waves of tension are also commonly felt through physical racial ambiguity (Gaither, 2015). Mixed-race people often appear racially ambiguous; thus, society has detrimentally perceived those who are multiracial as exotic. Gaither (2015) notes that “this ambiguity, combined with a public construal of race in which monoracial categories are the norm, leads to incidents in which multiracial individuals are blatantly asked dehumanizing questions like, “What are you? ”” (p. 2). A review done by Shih and Sanchez (2005) found that other negative consequences of a multiracial identity are factors such as social exclusion, disapproval from extended family, increased discrimination, and lower psychological well-being. One’s identity development and exploration should never be a negative experience but due to society’s discomfort with being unable to racially categorize everyone, mixed-race people suffer the most. This is why it is important to research and understand the factors that affect how a multiracial person constructs and maintains her, his, their, cis identity. Studying Multiracial Identities in Higher Education As the multiracial population continues to increase, so does the number of mixed-race students on college campuses (King, 2008). Over 20 years ago Gibbs (1987) and Nishimura and Bol (1997) predicted based on their research that educational systems would experience an increase in their multiracial student population. In fact, “interest in racial identity development among college students had just broken the surface in the 1990s” (King, 2008, p. 33). Colleges and universities are a rich site to study multiracial identities because this is a time in students’ lives where they are provided opportunities to “explore and reflect on their racial heritage, prompting them to think about their identity in different ways” (Kellogg & Liddell, 2012. p. 524). Previous studies have looked at minority monoracial identities in higher education, but MULTIRACIAL IDENTITIES IN HIGHER EDUCATION 7 there remains a lack of research on multiracial identity development, challenges multiracial students face, coping strategies they employ, and how they navigate college campuses. Racial identification is a major component of self-recognition (Gaither, 2015), thus developing a strong multiracial identity is essential for mixed-race people. Multiracial identity development is a process that commonly begins with the person becoming aware of the differentiation of races (Renn, 2000). Upon establishing racial distinctions, a multiracial individual will feel the societal pressure of having to conform to one of their races over another (Renn, 2000). If the multiracial individual is able to accept all of their racial heritages, they are then able to achieve a multir