In the present work, we will consider how to describe and measure aspects of public space on university campuses (e.g., the extent to which public space is territorial, surveilled, symbolic of some identities and not others). We will then develop and use these measures, to test predictions about use of public space on campus and sense of belonging at the university. The aim of this work is to better understand how the built environment--notably, public space--contributes to social disparities in higher education.
Students from lower socioeconomic status (SES) and racially minoritized groups are less likely to go to college. If they go, they are less likely to graduate. Part of the reason is due to money and access to educational opportunities. We think another reason is that these institutions have been built--socially, culturally, and spatially--in ways that leave marginalized students feeling out of place. In the present work, we focus on the spatial dimension. More specifically, we draw from urban planning, human geography, and related fields. We hypothesize that the university campus is a territorial, surveilled, and symbolic space, in ways that leave marginalized students feeling like trespassers on campus. In this particular USOAR project, we will take a social psychological approach and test this hypothesis.
Interest in the research question and a deep curiosity :)
As detailed in the mentoring plan, our lab has the following goals for student learning:
1. Gain research experience in social psychology
2. Learn about the ethics of conducting human subjects research
3. Learn about different methodologies in social psychology
4. Develop Basic statistics skills
5. Gain experience in conference abstract and poster preparation
6. Early socialization with folks in the field of social psychology