By Anesat Leon-Guerrero, Indiana University–Bloomington

Photo credit: Director Lillian Casillas, La Casa/Latino Cultural Center, Indiana University – Bloomington

Over the last ten years, the Latinx population—referring to people of a Latin American origin or descent in the United States has grown from 13% to 17%, making them the second largest racial and/or ethnic group in the country (Santiago, Galdeano, & Taylor, 2015). As the population of Latinx grows, the number of Latinx students enrolling in higher education is also increasing, and Indiana University-Bloomington (IUB) is no exception. In the past decade, Latinx undergraduate student enrolment has tripled from 776 in 2008 to 2,137 in 2018 (Student Diversity, 2019). Thus, it is critical for the university to make intentional efforts to create a sense of belonging for this population and establish supporting systems beyond cultural centers. Although on-campus living experience has shown to help students develop a sense of belonging at their institution (Schussler, & Fierros, 2008), we have noticed that Latinx students increasingly leave the residence halls after their first year in college. Students report not finding community where they feel belonging in their residence hall, which is ranked as the second most important reason when students decide whether to stay or leave the residence halls between their first and second year.

Seeing the need to foster students’ sense of belonging and community through on-campus housing, since 2017 Fall, the Luis Dávila Latinx Thematic Learning Community—named after a distinguished IUB Professor in Latin American and Latino Literature—in the Forest A Quad residence hall was established at IUB. The mission of this learning Community is to provide Latinx and non-Latinx students an opportunity to immerse themselves and critically examine the history, culture, politics, issues, and experiences of Latinxs. This learning Community aims to provide students an already established community within their residence hall that allows them to foster a stronger sense of belonging and connection to both their residence hall and the campus. The creation of this Thematic Learning Community helps provide students leadership development, an academic community, faculty involvement and educational opportunities for all while also assisting students in developing their cultural and social identit(ies). The intention of connecting students’ cultural identity and knowledge to their academic and professional development exemplifies the Culturally Engaging Campus Environments (CECE) indicator of Culturally Relevant Knowledge, which illustrates the kind of campus environment that provides opportunities for students to learn about their cultural communities through culturally relevant curricular and/or co-curricular opportunities (Museus, 2014). With the partnership with other campus units, the Learning Community fulfils its mission through focusing on the following three major components to address the needs of the residents and the goals of the community.

Programmatic

Student will participate in cultural and social programs hosted by La Casa/Latino Cultural Center—a designated institutional unit that serves and and advocates for the Latinx community. The programs are designed to build community within the students living in this learning community while also building a connection with La Casa and other safe spaces both on campus and around the Bloomington community.

Academic

Students living in this community are strongly encouraged to take at least two academic courses taught by the Latino Studies Program at IUB. The living community provides course information before the start of each semester to students. The academic learning opportunities are critical because they further foster culturally relevant knowledge of especially Latinx communities.

Professional Development

The Latinx Thematic Community partners with IUB Latino Faculty and Staff Council (LFASC) to provide professional development and mentorship opportunities for the students who are part of the community. In addition, monthly coffee hours are held that cover conversation topics such as Latinos in higher education, internships, graduate school, leadership skill development, academic support, and career planning. Faculty and alumni also participate in monthly gatherings that allow students to enhance their network and support system.

The effort toward diversity and inclusion that IUB has aligns with Luis Dávila Latinx Thematic Learning Community’s mission of creating a community with a strong support network that will allow all community members to grow as individuals and have a sense of belonging not only to their living community but also the IUB campus and Bloomington community.

______________________________________________________________________________________

References

Museus, S. D. (2014). The culturally engaging campus environments (CECE) model: A    new theory of success among racially diverse college student populations. Higher Education Handbook of Theory and Research, 29, 189-227.

Santiago, D. A., Galdeano, E, C., & Taylor, M. (2015). The Condition of Latinos in Education: 2015 Factbook. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED571548.pdf

Schussler, D., & Fierros, E. (2008). Students’ perceptions of their academics, relationships, and sense of belonging: Comparisons across residential learning communities. Journal of the First-Year Experience & Students in Transition, 20(1), 71-97.

Student Diversity (2019). University institutional research and reporting. Retrieved from https://uirr.iu.edu/doc/facts-figures/enrollment/diversity/summary-ipeds-base-set-views/2-UG_DS_summary_view_2018.pdf