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William & Mary

Belonging

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Full-Text Articles in Education

”Either Or, Not As A Whole:” Challenges Of Multiracial Student Placemaking And Belonging In Sorority And Fraternity Chapters, Pietro A. Sasso, Kim E. Bullington Dec 2023

”Either Or, Not As A Whole:” Challenges Of Multiracial Student Placemaking And Belonging In Sorority And Fraternity Chapters, Pietro A. Sasso, Kim E. Bullington

Journal of Sorority and Fraternity Life Research and Practice

This qualitative narrative inquiry study explored how Multiracial members negotiate multiple racial identities and locations to find a sense of belonging within sorority and fraternity environments. Participants eventually found a sense of belonging within their chapters through peers who they educated about their multiraciality. Their placemaking was fraught with experiences of monoracism, colorism, and relationships, which positioned them to serve as racial buffers and cultural translators for their monoracial chapter peers. The tenets of interest convergence and monoracism of Multiracial critical theory are used to interrogate these findings. Implications are provided to help campus-based professionals engage in identity advocacy and …


"I'M Thankful Every Day I Did It": An Exploration Of Belonging For Commuter Students In Historically White Sororities And Fraternities At Primarily Commuter Public Institutions, Michael D. Giacalone Mar 2022

"I'M Thankful Every Day I Did It": An Exploration Of Belonging For Commuter Students In Historically White Sororities And Fraternities At Primarily Commuter Public Institutions, Michael D. Giacalone

Journal of Sorority and Fraternity Life Research and Practice

Membership in historically White sororities and fraternities (HWSF) has been connected with sense of belonging (Cohen et al., 2017; McCreary & Schutts, 2015). The experience of commuter students in sororities and fraternities, however, has been largely overlooked, including an understanding of what belonging consists of as members. This phenomenological study sought to close that gap by exploring how commuter students in HWSF experienced belonging at primarily commuter public institutions through interviews with alumni who lived that experience. Three themes emerged from the data: personal connections, feeling welcomed and accepted, and transformation of the college experience.


Sense Of Belonging Of New Members Who Are First-Generation College Students: A Single-Institution Qualitative Case Study, Levi J. Harrel-Hallmark, Jason Castles, Pietro A. Sasso Mar 2022

Sense Of Belonging Of New Members Who Are First-Generation College Students: A Single-Institution Qualitative Case Study, Levi J. Harrel-Hallmark, Jason Castles, Pietro A. Sasso

Journal of Sorority and Fraternity Life Research and Practice

While there is research to suggest that first-generation college students benefit from and have a greater sense of belonging as a result of involvement in student organizations, there is limited research on how first-generation college students develop a sense of belonging specifically through their involvement as new members of a fraternity or sorority. This study, constructed within a single-institution qualitative case study framework, highlighted the unique role that organizational involvement, mentorship, emotional support, and first-generation status and identity can play in the development of sense of belonging for fraternity and sorority new members that are first-generation college students.