For any young person, attempting to navigate the rough and winding road of adolescents into adulthood is challenging. Today’s young people especially are being forced to come of age in an increasingly polarized political climate littered with unease, uncertainty, and looming fear. Combining this stress along with the unique anxiety and pressure that comes with being a non-white person occupying a dominantly white space can prove to be quite difficult on a young mind.

The conversation on mental health has started but as a college community we’re still struggling to find the right solutions.

It’s no secret The College of New Jersey does not have the most racially diverse student body. As of recent 65% of TCNJ’s student body is identified as White while only 13% identifies as Hispanic, 12% Asian, and a very slim %6 identifies as African American.

While of course the college experience comes with many shared experiences and stresses, one must wonder how that stress can become amplified by not only being a student of color but specifically being a student of color on a campus that is overwhelmingly White.

I sat down with Dr. Hue-Sun Ahn, a counselor from TCNJ’s Counseling and Psychological Services, who gave me more insight on the issue. Dr. Ahn has been a part of TCNJ’s CAPS counseling service for about forteen years and has been running the Race, Culture and Identity group here since she has started at The College.

“Students of color are dealing with all the same kind of issues but there are some added additional factors,” she informed me. In giving me an idea about the some of the common issues that Dr. Ahn listed some of the common issues she has noticed among students of color at TCNJ:

Stigma
Living between two cultures
Lack of representation
Challenge to find mentors
Assimilation
Financial concerns

Dr. Ahn also discussed the idea of an imposter phenomenon with me during our sit down. “That’s been something that’s been talked about not just for students of color...they start to doubt themselves. Like how did they get into college, and even if they don’t doubt it themselves they might experience others doubting them. Did they come in just from affirmative action, is it just because of this or that, or chance or what. So, as I said they might struggle with it.”

Dr. Ahn further explained that even when students of color are confident they still are forced to deal with other people's assumptions about how they arrived at where they are. This can greatly affect a students self esteem.

According to an article found in the Journal of Counseling Psychology, Imposter Syndrome was defined as “...an internal experience of intellectual phoniness in high achievers who are unable to internalize successful experiences” (Cokley, et al. 2017).

“I definitely have had to deal with imposter syndrome myself,” says junior Dejon Ricketts. “To be honest I never really had a name for it but being a black student at a college like TCNJ I frequently have to remind myself that no matter what anyone says I belong here for a reason. I’d say that I am a pretty involved student. I’m a member of Student Government, Pride Mentoring Program, and have maintained a pretty decent grade point average but I still have others question how I exactly got to where I am. I’ve heard affirmative action comments directed at not only myself but at other students of color as well. That’s just really entitled thinking I feel. The idea that if you’re White you automatically deserve to be somewhere but as an African American student I must have gotten all the help in the world. It’s funny because in retrospect it’s quite opposite.”

The question remains: What exactly should the college do to ensure that students of color are getting the proper mental health care that they need?

In attempting to answer this question, one must keep in mind while many African American students struggle with mental health and wellness, their experiences still can vary. One could very well argue that students of color at predominantly white institutions have different mental health concerns that those who attend historically black colleges for example.

“On predominantly White campuses, Black students emphasized feelings of alienation, sensed hostility, racial discrimination, and lack of integration. On historically Black campuses, Black students emphasize feelings of engagement, connection, acceptance, and extensive support and encouragement. Consistent with accumulates evidence on human development, these students, like most human beings, develop best in environments where they feel valued, protected, accepted, and socially connected. The supportive environments of historically Black colleges communicate to Black students that it is safe to take the risks associated with intellectual growth and development. Such environments also have more people who provide Black students with positive feedback, support, and understanding, and who communicate that they care about students welfare.” (Tatum 1997).

The question remains, what can TCNJ do (and what have they already done) in order to better help and address the specific mental health concerns of their Black students. To better understand this I sat down with Dr. Don Trahan, TCNJ’s new (and first) Director of Diversity and Inclusion, and Mr. Johnson the head of TCNJ’s Pride Mentoring Program.

In speaking with Dr. Trahan the topic of “equity over equality” came up in our conversation.

“Equity is taking into the exact consideration of ‘Hey, this is who I am. This is where I’m presenting from. This is how I understand the world’...it’s saying ‘Here’s what the curricular is but this is how I learn…’”

As a former clinician, Dr. Trahan emphasized the important in taking into consideration the entire identity of an individual rather than just taking any issue or diagnosis on its face.

“At TCNJ how do we navigate collectively and how does that influence the experience of all beneficiaries. And so when I’m thinking about that I’m really looking at well we have to process equity. Equity then allows us to be able to understand everything that we do as an institution and how we are preparing our students to be able to understand their unique experiences.”

Dr. Trahan’s statement further emphasized the importance of not only the importance of Dr. Ahn’s CAPs group but also for Pride Mentoring Program (PMP), run by Mr. Johnson.

Dr. Johnson focuses on the mentoring and retention of underrepresented and marginalized student who are not included in access programs. Prior to his start at the college, his position and the Pride Mentoring Program did not exist. It was created by the vice president of enrollment management with him in mind for the job approximately six years ago.

Having the door to his office almost always open, Mr. Johnson hears from a myriad of students directly about their concerns and issues.

“One of the things that I think is a vehicle of stress for students of color here at a PWI is value. Wondering of they are valued even the value that they give to themselves. Many of them go through instances where they don’t feel that they belong. They don’t feel that they are ‘smart enough’ and they really struggle to find a place...many students are left to wonder. You know it’s not apparent who is here to support them. Who is here and doesn’t notice them and who doesn’t have their best interest at heart… They don’t have the privilege to say, ‘I can look at this person and know that they’re here for me’.”

What is interesting is here is that both Dr. Trahan, and Dr. Ahn, and Mr. Johnson were the first people to hold their positions. This alone shows the importance of actually having people of color on staff at The College in order to better represent the specific needs that students of color have on campus.

However it is important to note that TCNJ has taken tremendous leaps to work towards a more equitable campus community. After all, since much of the unique mental health concerns come from how well TCNJ handles racial discrimination, inclusion, and representation, change coming from policy, staff, and faculty alone can help remedy many concerns of students of color.

For more solutions, I asked Dr. Ahn for advice for students of color seeking mental health help who were unable to seek professional help.

“They can still find a supportive community whether that’s in peers, other student groups, allies, finding a mentor. That doesn’t always have to be the same racial background...I would also encourage them to access other support services whether that’s academic support, maybe religious leaders, mentors, res ed staff, a faculty member. Also some things that they can do on their own, I would suggest journaling, writing, other forms of expression.”
Dr. Ahn emphasized that creativity can also be a very good outlet and said she has had students who have turned to art, poetry, and creative writing. She also encourages students to read up on topics, whether it be on mental health, identity, or even other people’s stories.

Above all it is important to remember that when having discussions about creating an equitable campus, the responsibility is on all students, not just those who are marginalized, to repair their environment. TCNJ’s office of Diversity and Inclusion has introduced Sustained Dialogues this semester in order to foster conversations about tolerance and inclusion on campus.

Even though something doesn’t directly affect you or may even seem invisible doesn’t mean that you do not have an obligation to work to repair it. After all, if the vast majority of students at TCNJ are not of color then it will take more than just those directly impacted to change the campus culture. Social change in any environment in any capacity is not a personal obligation but rather a group effort.

For more on imposter syndrome:

Notes:
Cokley, Kevin, et al. “Impostor feelings as a moderator and mediator of the relationship between perceived discrimination and mental health among racial/Ethnic minority college students.” Journal of Counseling Psychology, vol. 64, no. 2, 2017, pp. 141–154., doi:10.1037/cou0000198.

Tatum, Beverly Daniel. "Why are all the Black kids sitting together in the cafeteria?" and other conversations about the development of racial identity. BasicBooks, 1997.