Running head: MULTICULTURAL ASSESSMENT: STUDENT INVOLVEMENT Mueller 1

Multicultural Assessment: Student Involvement and Activities

Chandler Mueller

Salem State University

Multicultural Issues in Student Affairs

Dr. Lee Brossoit

April 8, 2017
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At Salem State University, there is a branch of the administration called Enrollment

Management, Student Life, and Marketing (EMSLM). I work in the Student Involvement and

Activities office which is one of the departments housed under the EMSLM branch. The Student

Involvement and Activities office is home to almost 100 student clubs, organizations, and interest

groups. We also have a handful of Greek organizations, student employees, leadership programs,

and office collaborations that add a wide variety of responsibility for every Student Involvement

and Activities employee. One of the major functions of the Student Involvement office is

focusing on the overall engagement of the student body. With that being said, the demographic of

the students at Salem State University are quite diverse in many regards which makes the need

for the Student Involvement and Activities staff to be competent in multicultural issues

incredibly necessary. Using the Multicultural Organization Development template, I will assess

the strengths and weaknesses of the Student Involvement and Activities office at Salem State

University.

One competency of the Multicultural Organization Development (MCOD) template is

having a comprehensive definition of the term multicultural (Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller,

2004, p.64). One way to assess this competency is by the offices ability to work in using an

inclusive definition of diversity (Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004, p.64). Through my work

experience and participation in the Multicultural Issues in Student Affairs course, I believe that

the Student Involvement and Activities office attains this MCOD expectation. One of the

Multicultural Issues concepts that we discussed right off the bat was the importance of self-

awareness, understanding ones own privileges, and the value of lived experiences. The

professionals working in the Student Involvement and Activities express a notable understanding

of their own experiences when programing, collaborating, and developing procedures. For
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example, on multiple accounts I have noticed that individuals who hold certain privileges that are

working on something that may influence a community of people whom they do not personally

identify, they seek input from people who can provide a wider perspective. The Student

Involvement and Activities office is always looking for ways to utilize the organizations and

resources we have on campus. For example, the Viking Leadership Program includes specific

leadership session put on by the Diversity and Multicultural Affairs office, the Strategic Planning

Committee, and the Vikings Care group that provide educational opportunities that focus on the

needs of the entire student body. Although I would describe this as one of the strengths of the

Student Involvement and Activities office, there are elements of weakness regarding this

competency. I think the office could improve on identifying student groups who have

historically been underserved or underrepresented in higher education (Pope, Reynolds, &

Mueller, 2004, p.64). In regards to the Greek population on campus, we have four Greek

organizations; two fraternities and two sororities. It is to my understanding that the

representation of students of color within these organizations is not representative of the overall

student demographic of Salem State. There have been resent efforts in this past semesters

recruitment process that target the wide range of students on campus such as an increase of open

meetings and presence of the Greek community overall. One suggestion I would have drawing

on the knowledge from the multicultural class is to critically evaluate the level of access these

organizations provide both socially and financially. There have also been positive discussions

surrounding the construction of a multicultural Greek organization. The conversation stems from

the helpful implementation of assessment strategies. Looking at the Multicultural Organization

Development template, assessment is an important tool that I have noticed the Student

Involvement and Activities office been particularly intentional about. Using assessment through
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CheckImHere and other survey platforms, our office has utilized an evaluation system that

assesses the effectiveness of our services and outreach efforts to all students (Pope, Reynolds, &

Mueller, 2004, p.67). Using the data from the assessment tools gaging the demographic of

students engaged in Greek organizations, the conversation surrounding how to target

marginalized students has increased as well as reevaluating the current recruitment structure has

been a topic of discussion. Using our course concept of Critical Race Theory, it is important to

understand that there are certain limitations that are built into society that limit groups of people

and restrict their access to organizations which is why it is crucial for Student Affairs

professionals to be competent in the multicultural issues as they can challenge the process. With

the example of the Student Involvement office, using assessment as a tool has inspired steps in

the right direction.

A second competency of the Multicultural Organization Development template is the

value of the organizations mission statement. According to the Salem State website, the Student

Involvement and Activities office is a functional area that enhances and unifies the diverse

campus community by offering leadership development opportunities, social and educational

programming to foster student growth. Through campus-wide collaborations and the

management of the Campus Center and programming spaces, we provide a variety of co-

curricular activities that promote student engagement, self-awareness and citizenship (Student

Involvement and Activities). One way to assess the congruency of the Student Involvement and

Activities mission and this competency is by its explicit use of words such as multicultural or

diversity and their essential part of the mission statement (Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004,

p.64). Looking at the statement on the Student Involvement and Activities web page, it notes its

ties with diversity in a general sense. I would argue that the Student Involvement office meets the
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standards of incorporating diversity into its mission and that it is an essential part of the mission

statement, however, it could do a better job highlighting our strong focus on diversity off campus

as well through our campus partnerships. For example, in March 2017, the Student Involvement

and Activities office lead the efforts of putting together the 11th Annual Womens Leadership

Conference. We brought in Ferial Govashiri, an Iranian-American woman who worked her way

to becoming former President Obamas political aide as our key-note as well as invited Hope

Watt-Bucci to speak on the Womens Leadership Panel who is the president of the North Shore

Pride, a military veteran, and an LGBT community member. The drive to develop and sustain

these community relationships and could be highlighted better in the Student Involvement and

Activities mission.

A third Multicultural Organization Development category is portraying a competency

through leadership and advocacy. One way to assess the Student Involvement and Activities

office on this category is by how well we seek out additional multicultural training to assist

efforts toward creating a multicultural department (Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004, p.65). I

believe that as an entire department, this is one strength. At the beginning of the semester,

student employees and student organization executive board members attend a leadership

training day where they have Ally/Safe Zone training, Preferred Name Policy, and Bystander

Intervention training. Working with campus departments, this is a strong example of how the

Student Involvement and Activities office meets this category because it shows efforts of

cultivating an inclusive community that is both educated and empowered. One weakness,

however, is that although diversity and multicultural awareness and competence is valued by the

professional members, the office does not have any reward or recognition platform for

acknowledging members who fully participate in the multicultural vision of the office (Pope,
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Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004, p.65). I would also describe a similar weakness in the scholarly

activities category. Although the Student Involvement and Activities office makes a conscious

effort to attend and participate in multicultural trainings and scholarly activities, there seems to

be a lack of reward for doing so. For example, the offices Program Coordinator attended a

conference where he was presenting on his experience working as an LGBT professional.

Although he was certainly supported and encouraged, I believe that the Student Involvement and

Activities office could do a better job rewarding that kind of engagement. One suggestion could

be through certificates of recognition or even simply a card of gratitude. This directly relates to

Harros Cycle of Socialization. Working in an office where you are supported and encouraged to

engage in platforms centered on multicultural experiences and trainings is a fantastic foundation

that introduces professionals and employees to engage in critical thinking that might challenge

their previous ways of experiencing the world. Introducing a means of reward and recognition

for doing so would only be an added measure of support that would incentives in this kind of

engagement more often.

Recruitment and retention of a diverse staff is one category of the Multicultural

Organization Development template that I have begun to notice as of recently. With the current

transition out of the academic year sparks the professional search of graduate assistants and/or

Graduate Retention Fellows. It has been an ongoing topic of discussion regarding the pool of

graduate applicants and the diversity of the Student Involvement and Activities office. There are

seven hired professionals between graduate level and fulltime staff working in the office. Of the

seven, four are white, heterosexual women; three men, two of whom are men of color and two

are gay (one of the men of color is also gay). Approaching the graduation season, one of the men

of color is graduating and leaving the office. There are two open spots for the Student
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involvement and Activities office with an applicant pool of an overwhelming amount of white

women. The major concern and topic of discussion is that filling the position with two white

women would render the Student Involvement and Activities office as a body of people that

would not adequately represent the student demographic we serve. I believe having the

awareness and the understanding of the value a diverse staff is important to note as a strength of

the Student Involvement and Activities office, however, it is clear that one weakness that

without a diversity of voices, life experiences, and cultural backgrounds, staff may be limited in

their ability to meet the needs of some students (Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004, p.66). This

relates entirely to the course concept of the benefits of diversity. Diversity in decision making at

all levels of an institution, when done under the conditions described previously (institutional

support, equal status, common goals), is more likely to yield greater creativity, complexity, and

problem-solving capacities (Smith & Schonfeld, 2000). I would also argue that recognizing the

need for diversity and the acknowledgment of the limiting experiences one has from being white,

shows mature signs of appealing to the final stages of the White Identity Development Theory.

Between the redefinition and the internalization stages, I believe the Student Involvement

and Activities offices ability to recognize how a homogenies office is problematic in terms of

lacking representation are strong signs of increased consciousness of race and embracing the

value of unique experiences and backgrounds (Wijeyesinghe & Jackson, 2001, p. 113).

The level of diversity of the office employees, in my opinion, adds to the Multicultural

Organization Development template category of physical environment. At this moment, I believe

that between the members of the Student Involvement and Activities staff is comprised of a fairly

mix of diversity. There is a representation of both men and women, people of color and people

who are white, and people who are straight and people who are gay. In terms of the physical
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space, I can assess the strength of the Student Involvement and Activities office based on the

criteria that individual offices and public space do are void of offensive or insensitive materials

(Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004, p.66). The Student Involvement and Activities office has a

strict preapproval process before any posters, signs, or flyers are hung up in our spaces. They are

to be evaluated by members of the staff and then stamped before they are hung around campus.

This is a strength of our office as it protects students from triggering or offensive images or

language as well as offers a protocol when advertisements do not receive preapproval. I also

would argue the Student Involvement and Activities is strong on this category by being able to

ensure that all offices and programs are accessible and welcoming to students with disabilities

(Pope, Reynolds, & Mueller, 2004, p.66). All of the locations that our office manages and

operates are accessible to all students with disabilities with elevators, ramps, and electronic door

access. In terms of programing and activities, although most events are accessible to students

with disabilities, the conversation representing student with disabilities is not always present

which I would describe as an office weakness. One way I would suggest to combat this weakness

is developing an internal office checklist for events and programs. Would any component of the

event by restricting toward students with disabilities? is any example of one quick question that

could aide the overall access of any office sponsored event.

Using the Multicultural Organization Development template to assess the multicultural

competency of the Student Involvement and Activities office at Salem State University is a

useful tool to highlight some of the key facets of this functional area that could use improving,

updating, reevaluating, or even eliminated. It is also a fantastic tool for describing and outlining

some of the strengths and weaknesses of the office as a whole. Between the Multicultural Issues

in Student Affairs course, my experience working in Student Involvement and Activities, and the
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Multicultural Organization Development template, I believe that the Student Involvement office

is a multicultural competent office. It utilizes it campus and community resources, it seeks

critical feedback, it uses assessment to gage quality and efficiency of services, and has a general

awareness of experiences, identity, and privilege.

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References

Pope, R. L., Reynolds, A. L., & Mueller, J. A., (2004). Multicultural competence in student

affairs. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Smith, D. & Schonfeld, N. (2000) The Benefits of Diversity

Student Involvement and Activities. Salem State University (2017). Retrieved from:

http://www.salemstate.edu/student_life/27298.php

Wijeyesinghe, C. L. & Jackson, B. W. (2001). New perspectives on racial identity development:

A theoretical and practical anthology. New York, NY: New York University Press.