We’ve heard plenty from politicians and experts on affirmative action and higher education, about how universities should intervene—if at all—to ensure a diverse but deserving student population. But what about those for whom these issues matter the most? In this book, Natasha K. Warikoo deeply explores how students themselves think about merit and race at a uniquely pivotal moment: after they have just won the most competitive game of their lives and gained admittance to one of the world’s top universities. What Warikoo uncovers—talking with both white students and students of color at Harvard, Brown, and Oxford—is absolutely illuminating; and some of it is positively shocking. As she shows, many elite white students understand the value of diversity abstractly, but they ignore the real problems that racial inequality causes and that diversity programs are meant to solve. They stand in fear of being labeled a racist, but they are quick to call foul should a diversity program appear at all to hamper their own chances for advancement. The most troubling result of this ambivalence is what she calls the “diversity bargain,” in which white students reluctantly agree with affirmative action as long as it benefits them by providing a diverse learning environment—racial diversity, in this way, is a commodity, a selling point on a brochure. And as Warikoo shows, universities play a big part in creating these situations. The way they talk about race on campus and the kinds of diversity programs they offer have a huge impact on student attitudes, shaping them either toward ambivalence or, in better cases, toward more productive and considerate understandings of racial difference. Ultimately, this book demonstrates just how slippery the notions of race, merit, and privilege can be. In doing so, it asks important questions not just about college admissions but what the elite students who have succeeded at it—who will be the world’s future leaders—will do with the social inequalities of the wider world.

We’ve heard plenty from politicians and experts on affirmative action and higher education, about how universities should intervene—if at all—to ensure a diverse but deserving student population. But what about those for whom these issues matter the most? In this book, Natasha K. Warikoo deeply explores how students themselves think about merit and race at a uniquely pivotal moment: after they have just won the most competitive game of their lives and gained admittance to one of the world’s top universities. What Warikoo uncovers—talking with both white students and students of color at Harvard, Brown, and Oxford—is absolutely illuminating; and some of it is positively shocking. As she shows, many elite white students understand the value of diversity abstractly, but they ignore the real problems that racial inequality causes and that diversity programs are meant to solve. They stand in fear of being labeled a racist, but they are quick to call foul should a diversity program appear at all to hamper their own chances for advancement. The most troubling result of this ambivalence is what she calls the “diversity bargain,” in which white students reluctantly agree with affirmative action as long as it benefits them by providing a diverse learning environment—racial diversity, in this way, is a commodity, a selling point on a brochure. And as Warikoo shows, universities play a big part in creating these situations. The way they talk about race on campus and the kinds of diversity programs they offer have a huge impact on student attitudes, shaping them either toward ambivalence or, in better cases, toward more productive and considerate understandings of racial difference. Ultimately, this book demonstrates just how slippery the notions of race, merit, and privilege can be. In doing so, it asks important questions not just about college admissions but what the elite students who have succeeded at it—who will be the world’s future leaders—will do with the social inequalities of the wider world.

"Balancing Acts is a must-read for social scientists, policy experts, and educators interested in addressing the achievement gap between minority and majority students. This unique comparative study of multi-racial schools in the US and the UK considers through a new lens the impact of peer status on educational achievement for whites, Indians, and blacks. Never has expertise on the second-generation, racial and ethnic boundaries, youth culture, cultural consumption, and education been so skillfully brought together. And best of all, this signal contribution offers practical and sensible policy recommendations for addressing some of the causes of low educational performance."—Michele Lamont, author of The Dignity of Working Men: Morality and the Boundaries of Race, Class, and Immigration "This important comparative study skillfully unpacks the concept of culture and demonstrates with considerable cogency the role played by youth culture in shaping immigrant children's uneven educational achievement. Balancing Acts rightly highlights children's agency in negotiating the pressures of different identities and offers several most valuable recommendations."—Bhikhu Parekh, House of Lords, author of Rethinking Multiculturalism "This important study breaks new empirical ground and brings much needed conceptual clarity to the sociological study of culture, identity, and the schooling of the children of immigrants in the two defining global cities of our era. It achieves a marvelous balance—between London and New York, between institutions, social structures, and human agency, and between various immigrant-origin groups on both sides of the Atlantic. It is a must read for anyone interested in learning what the best of sociological research has to offer to us to elucidate one of the most relevant issues of our times."—Marcelo M. Suárez-Orozco, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, NJ “If this book doesn’t convince us that adolescents’ taste in music and style of dress have more to do with their quest for peer status than their attitudes toward school and achievement, I’m not sure what will. The second-generation immigrant youth in Balancing Acts add to the chorus of compelling young voices forcing us to reconsider how we think about the impact of youth cultures on student achievement. Warikoo’s careful attention to the meanings young people attach to contemporary urban music and style should be required reading for anyone interested in the world of adolescents.”-Karolyn Tyson, Sociology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill "Warikoo does an excellent job describing peer culture and its complex role in the everyday lives of teenagers in London and New York City. This book is essential reading for educators, scholars, and, of course, students."—Margaret M. Chin, author of Sewing Women: Immigrants and the New York City Garment Industry "This provocative and timely book offers a refreshing perspective on the relationship of second-generation immigrants and youth culture. Warikoo makes a bold argument regarding peer culture, status and academic achievement that is sure to take current discourse into a whole new direction."—Gilberto Q. Conchas, author of The Color of Success

Immigration, Diversity and Student Journeys to Higher Education presents an in-depth understanding of how immigrant students at a major public research university balanced keeping their family cultures alive and learning U.S. culture to get to college. A revitalized anthropological understanding of acculturation provides the theoretical framework for the book. The text builds its analysis using extensive quotes from the 160 immigrant students who participated in the 21 focus groups that form the core of this study. The students' families come from Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America, and reflect a wide diversity of experiences and insights into how these students successfully pursued higher education. A key theme of the book is the "immigrant bargain," where students repay their parents' hard work and migration sacrifices by excelling in school. A large majority of the parents made clear that a major motivation for immigrating was so their children could have better educational opportunities; these parents had the original dreams for their children. Immigration, Diversity and Student Journeys to Higher Education examines the similarities and differences across this diverse group of students, ending with a series of recommendations about how to improve acculturation research and how to facilitate immigrant students' journeys to educational success.

This new and updated second edition of Diversity and Inclusion on Campus: Supporting Students of Color in Higher Education provides an exploration of the range of college experiences, from gaining access to higher education to successfully persisting through degree programs. By bridging research, theory, and practice related to the ways that peers, faculty, administrators, staff, and institutions can and do influence racially and ethnically diverse students’ experiences, Winkle-Wagner and Locks examine how and why it is imperative to have an understanding of the issues that affect students of color in higher education. This new edition also includes features such as: New case studies and examples throughout that allow readers to take institutional-level and student-level approaches to the chapter topics Updated citations and theory across chapters New topical coverage, including discussion of college affordability, an exploration of a variety of institution types, and the role of merit in maintaining and perpetuating racial inequality in higher education End-of-chapter questions that encourage readers to explore chapter concepts in more detail This second edition is an invaluable resource for future and current higher education and student affairs practitioners working towards full inclusion and participation for students of color in higher education.

This text takes the view that the study of equality needs to consider not only issues of discrimination, but also the needs of people in relation to their diverse cultures and identities. It therefore takes a different approach to the issues of quality and diversity in the world of employment. The Dynamics of Managing Diversity discusses diversity as recognition of the differences and similarities between and among social groups, and how resulting policies must reflect these. This new edition has been extensively revised and up-dated to incorporate new conceptual, theoretical and empirical work now available in this growing subject area.

College Belonging reveals how colleges’ and universities’ efforts to foster a sense of belonging in their students are misguided. Colleges bombard new students with the message to “get out there!” and “find your place” by joining student organizations, sports teams, clubs and the like. Nunn shows that this reflects a flawed understanding of what belonging is and how it works. Drawing on the sociological theories of Emile Durkheim, College Belonging shows that belonging is something that members of a community offer to each other. It is something that must be given, like a gift. Individuals cannot simply walk up to a group or community and demand belonging. That’s not how it works. The group must extend a sense of belonging to each and every member. It happens by making a person feel welcome, to feel that their presence matters to the group, that they would be missed if they were gone. This critical insight helps us understand why colleges' push for students simply to “get out there!” does not always work.