This post was originally published on the Improving Campus Climate Blog.
As part of the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) First Year Experience program, all first-year students take a First-Year Inquiry (FYI) course addressing the shared question: “How can one person make a difference?” Associate Professor Rose Vukovic, Department of Educational Psychology, asked students in her Fall 2019 FYI course to examine data from the 2018 Student Experience in the Research University (SERU) survey. Survey responses showed first-generation students and students of color felt less valued at the U of M Twin Cities than other students. Vukovic’s students, in their first semester of their first year of college, wrote essays reflecting on the survey results and how non-marginalized students can help make campus a more inclusive place to live and learn. Below are excerpts from student response essays, published with their permission.
