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Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership
2017, Vol. 20(4) 72 –84

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DOI: 10.1177/1555458917713038
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Article

A Red Brick Wall:
Anti-Immigrant Rhetoric
in a Residence Hall
Environment

Antonio Duran1

Abstract
This case study was developed for leadership courses in higher education and student
affairs programs, specifically those looking at issues of multiculturalism and social
justice. It features a residence hall at a predominantly White institution with a student
population and a surrounding town that largely reflect conservative views. Specifically,
this case asks educators to think about how they would react to a series of events
that indicate xenophobic, racist nativist, and anti-immigrant rhetoric, culminating in a
physical barrier being built outside of the hall to symbolize a divide between students.
Both the Residence Hall Director and Assistant Residence Hall Director play a key
role in responding to these incidents as they hope to strengthen their residence hall
community in light of the negative events.

Keywords
multicultural education, higher education, xenophobia, racist nativism, immigrant

Introduction

Few studies exist in educational research that seek to understand college students’ expe-
riences of xenophobia and racist nativism. With the rising number of students attending
higher education institutions who were born in other countries, colleges might increas-
ingly see instances of xenophobia on their campuses. In defining xenophobia, Yakushko
(2009) described it as “a form of attitudinal, affective, and behavioral prejudice toward

1The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

Corresponding Author:
Antonio Duran, Doctoral Student, Higher Education and Student Affairs, The Ohio State University,
310 Ramseyer Hall, 29 W. Woodruff Ave., Columbus, OH 43212, USA.
Email: [email protected]

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Duran 73

immigrants and those perceived as foreign” (p. 47). Scholars postulate that these feel-
ings of prejudice frequently stem from ethnocentrism, or the belief that one’s culture is
superior to others (Esses, Dovidio, Semenya, & Jackson, 2005; Radkiewicz, 2003;
Reynolds & Vine, 1987). For Latinx students who were born outside of the United
States, these individuals may encounter oppression tied to their race, as well as their
foreign-born identity.

In fact, extant literature often focuses on Latinx students’ experiences of racism on
college campuses without examining how they can also encounter “racist nativism,” a
form of discrimination stemming from the perception that one is an immigrant.
Considering the drastic increase of Latinx and Asian immigration to the United States
over the past six decades (Lippard & Gallagher, 2011; Massey, 2008), a need exists to
contribute to literature that elucidates xenophobia and racist nativism in collegiate
environments. Before exploring these ideas, terms pertinent to the case study will be
defined to help readers understand the language utilized in this article. The following
sections will then incorporate knowledge from numerous disciplines to elaborate on
these two key anti-immigrant concepts: xenophobia and racist nativism. These pieces
of scholarship will aid readers’ comprehension of the anti-immigrant events set in the
fictional residence hall.

Terms Defined

To help readers better understand the language present in this article, certain terms that
are central to this case will be defined in this section. To begin, this article primarily
focuses on matters pertaining to various marginalized social identities. Social identi-
ties are those “roles or membership categories that a person claims as representative”
(Deaux, 1993, p. 6). These social identities typically include race, ethnicity, national
origin, sexuality, gender identity, ability status, and more. Two social identities that are
at the forefront of this article are race and national origin.

Although the United States census uses the word “Hispanic,” I use the descriptor
“Latinx” due to the fact that it is often seen as a less marginalizing and more self-ref-
erential term (Oboler, 1995). In addition, I do not describe Latinx as an ethnicity even
though this is the method used in the U.S. census, but instead follow the lines of schol-
arship that classify Latinx individuals as a distinct racial group (Núñez, 2014; Telles,
2012). I also use the term Latinx specifically “in order to be gender inclusive when
referring to peoples of Latin American descent” (Monzó, 2016, p. 164). While there
are arguments against using Latinx as a gender-neutral term (see Guerra & Orbea,
2015), I find it important to challenge the gendered nature of Spanish that creates a
masculine/feminine binary. Similarly, I note the gender identities of the primary peo-
ple involved in the case as a way to normalize discussions of gender in racialized
contexts. Moreover, to acknowledge the unique nature of national origin as a social
identity, I use the phrase “foreign-born” (Motel & Patten, 2013) to describe individu-
als who were born outside of the United States. When “Latinx” is used by itself, it
encapsulates both domestic and foreign-born students. Finally, to understand those
with privileged identities (e.g., White individuals) in the case, I encourage readers to

74 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 20(4)

consult Watt’s (2007) Privileged Identity Exploration Model. Establishing common
understanding around these terms sets the foundation for comprehending the core con-
cepts of xenophobia and racist nativism.

Xenophobia

The effects of xenophobia have the potential to be damaging to both domestic and
foreign-born students. In their study on passive xenophobia at two British higher edu-
cation institutions, Harrison and Peacock (2010) discovered that xenophobia in col-
lege students results from a perceived threat to one’s academic success and group
identity. When students fail to form these crucial bonds across national origin, colle-
gians born outside of the United States are more likely to experience systems of stress,
depression, and anxiety (Chen, 1999; Williams & Johnson, 2011; Yeh & Inose, 2003).
In addition, compared with their peers who interact more with foreign-born students,
domestic collegians who avoid these exchanges are less likely to have skills in navi-
gating intercultural environments (Hello, Scheepers, & Sleegers, 2006; Lin & Rancer,
2003). Therefore, xenophobia limits the learning and development of both groups of
students. Still, while xenophobia can affect students who are White and born in foreign
contexts, racist nativism directly applies to individuals who are seen as immigrants
and identify as people of color.

Racist Nativism

To explain the racist and anti-immigrant feelings that Latinx individuals may experi-
ence, scholars have begun using the term racist nativism (e.g., Lippard, 2011; Pérez
Huber, 2010; Pérez Huber, Benavides-Lopez, Malagon, Velez, & Solorzano, 2008;
Scheuths, 2014). Pérez Huber et al. (2008) defined racist nativism as

the assigning of values to real or imagined differences in order to justify the superiority
of the native, who is perceived to be white, over that of the non-native, who is perceived
to be People and Immigrants of Color, and thereby defend the native’s right to dominance.
(p. 43)

Racist nativism underscores superiority over nonnative individuals, reifying various
oppressive behaviors and thoughts. Thus, this phenomenon addresses intersecting rac-
ist and nativist attitudes that individuals may hold. To note, Latinx students may expe-
rience racist nativism regardless of whether or not they were born in the United States;
in other words, simply the perception of someone being an immigrant can generate
sentiments of racist nativism.

Racist nativism has the ability to impact Latinx students, specifically those who
were born outside of the United States, in a number of different ways. For example, in
describing the negative outcomes of this phenomenon, Lippard (2011) stated that immi-
grants can internalize adverse messages about their cultural practices: “to add more
nativist flare, a racialized group’s cultural traits would be attacked as ‘un-American,’ or

Duran 75

a serious threat to the American way of life” (p. 599). As a result of racist nativism,
foreign-born Latinx students may worry about displaying anything relating to their cul-
ture for fear of being seen as non-American. Furthermore, Kilty and de Haymes (2000)
noted that racism and nativism serve as a way for dominant groups to prevent marginal-
ized communities to join together in solidarity. Consequently, collegians from other
underrepresented backgrounds can also contribute to the oppression affecting foreign-
born Latinx students. One of the most harmful consequences of racist nativism, how-
ever, is its ability to influence policy and practices in a way that severely disempowers
Latinx immigrants (Pérez Huber et al., 2008). When policies stem from White and
nativist supremacy, individuals experience detrimental effects from a more systemic
level. Therefore, because of its ability to impact personal interactions and policy, educa-
tors must learn the skills necessary to combat racist nativism as it relates to Latinx
students.

Description of the Institutional Environment

Red Brick University (RBU) is a public 4-year research university located in the rural
town of Red Brick. The undergraduate student enrollment is approximately 16,500
students, with a graduate student enrollment of 2,500 individuals. Almost 40% of stu-
dents composing RBU’s undergraduate population are from within the state. Notably,
the institution also enrolls a large number of international students, encapsulating 13%
of the undergraduate student population. RBU requires both first- and second-year
students to live on campus, leading to a strong relationship between the Student Affairs
Division and Residential Life. RBU is consistently identified as one of the top univer-
sities for its commitment to undergraduate learning.

Description of the Surrounding Community

RBU is located in the town of Red Brick. The university’s main campus population
contributes mostly to the town’s population of 22,000 residents. RBU has a committee
with university administrators and community members designed to maintain town–
university relationships. Consequently, the people living in Red Brick often communi-
cate their concerns about the university’s students through this committee. The town is
fairly conservative and RBU has an alumni base that also largely identifies as such.

Primary People Involved in the Case

•• Dr. James Franklin (he/him/his) is the Dean of Students at RBU. Dr. Franklin
has been in the position for 11 years and was previously a faculty member in the
physics department at RBU. Therefore, Dr. Franklin has a copious amount of
institutional knowledge about RBU. James identifies as a White cisgender man.

•• Jane Carter (she/her/hers) is the Residence Hall Director of Shane Hall, a
first-year community at RBU. Jane is in her fourth year in the position, having
joined the department after completing a graduate program in another state.

76 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 20(4)

This year is the first time that Jane will be supervising a graduate student, hav-
ing previously worked in halls that only required one professional staff mem-
ber’s oversight. Jane identifies as a White cisgender woman.

•• Gloria De La Rosa (she/her/hers) is the Assistant Residence Hall Director of
Shane Hall. Gloria is in her first year in the department and in the College
Student Personnel program at RBU. Gloria grew up in New York and identifies
as a cisgender woman whose parents immigrated from Ecuador.

•• Alejandra Fernandez (she/her/hers) is a resident in Shane Hall. Alejandra, a
cisgender woman, was originally born in Mexico but became a naturalized citi-
zen at age 12. She is from a working class family and made the decision to
attend RBU thanks to a full tuition scholarship that she received.

•• Fred Bruns (he/him/his) is a resident in Shane Hall. Fred, a cisgender man, is
from a conservative town near Red Brick. Fred is a member of the College
Republicans Club at RBU, which his father was president of when he attended
RBU.

•• Ellen Chang (they/them/theirs) is a resident assistant in Shane Hall. Ellen
identifies as Asian American and gender fluid. Ellen is the resident assistant
who oversees the floor community with both Fred Bruns and Alejandra
Fernandez.

Information Germane to the Case

•• RBU has a strong alumni base that mainly stems from the amount of legacies
that attend the institution. RBU is frequently ranked in the top 10 list of univer-
sities with legacy students. As a result, Alumni Weekend is often one of the
most well-attended events at RBU every year, occurring in the sixth week of the
first semester. In the past, alumni of RBU have regularly donated large amounts
of money to the institution. In fact, the institution’s finances rely principally on
fundraising, especially considering the budget needed for its new scholarship
initiative discussed below. Hence, university administrators care deeply about
the alumni and go to great lengths to ensure that alumni respect institutional
decisions.

•• The population demographics of RBU are as follows:
|| Forty-two percent of students are men; 58% are women. No institutional

data exists that quantifies the amount of collegians who identify as trans-
gender.

|| RBU estimates that 11% of domestic students identify as people of color.
The percentages for each racial group are as follows: Black (4%), Latinx
(3%), Asian (2%), Multiracial (1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (<1%), and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (<1%). || Furthermore, the breakdown of the international student demographic (13% of total enrollment) is the following: 7% of students are from China, 3% of students are from India, 2% of students are from Latin America, and the last 1% of students are from other countries. Duran 77 •• Despite its high number of international students, RBU has a difficult time recruiting domestic students of color and those from low-income backgrounds. In the past year, RBU has started a full tuition scholarship for students whose family income is below $30,000.00, hoping to increase these demographics. •• Connected to RBU’s recruitment issues, the institution has had a history of events that have negatively impacted the campus climate pertaining to diversity and inclusion. RBU also struggles to retain faculty and staff of color. Notable to issues of campus climate, 2 years prior to the time of the case study, a group of students pelted food at a first-year Chinese international student participating in RBU’s orientation program. The students who committed the action were never identified. Moreover, RBU recently made the decision to move the Office of Multicultural Affairs to the third floor of the Student Center (previously on the first floor) to make room for a larger Leadership and Student Activities Office. This change was met with noticeable student resistance, but the administration has yet to respond. Case Narrative The following case study tracks the events in Shane Hall from the time that the two professional staff members were preparing to open the building until the occurrence of the anti-immigrant vandalism. Readers should consider this entire timeline and the events within it when formulating their response to the situation. Preparation for the Shane Hall Opening Residence Hall Director Jane Carter and Assistant Residence Hall Director Gloria De La Rosa were eager to start off their year at Shane Hall. Although Gloria originally had concerns in working with Jane, a White woman, they quickly learn that they are both passionate about integrating social justice work into their practice. Jane discloses to Gloria that she has a lot to learn about her own privileged identities and asks that Gloria is patient with her since Jane recognizes that she might make mistakes along the way. Gloria responds to Jane by stating that she is happy to help her along in her jour- ney and that she would communicate any discomfort that may arise. After their initial conversations, Jane and Gloria begin to plan out their Resident Assistant (RA) training schedule, starting to brainstorm ideas that relate to diversity and inclusion. Jane and Gloria both agree that their RAs should participate in several activities that allow them to reflect upon their own social identities and how they will work with students from various identity backgrounds. In addition, Jane and Gloria hope to execute a voluntary hall-wide program series that highlights diversity issues when the year begins. Jane and Gloria draft the follow- ing plan: 1. First Week of the Semester—RAs are required to hold a mandatory welcome meeting with their floor members. During this floor meeting, they will do an 78 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 20(4) activity with their residents to discuss the social identities that each of them holds. RAs will then report back to their supervisors (Jane and Gloria) about how the students receive the activity. 2. Second Week through the Sixth Week of the Semester—RAs and the profes- sional staff members will hold “Identity Weeks,” which will include both active and passive programming that is voluntary in nature. RAs will run a table in the lobby throughout the week, engaging with students on the ways that systemic oppression affects individual identity groups. Moreover, at the end of each week, the hall staff will organize a large-scale event on the topic (examples include screening a documentary, inviting a guest speaker, etc.). The weeks are listed below: a. Second Week—Race b. Third Week—LGBTQ+ Identities c. Fourth Week—Socioeconomic Status d. Fifth Week—National Origin e. Sixth Week—Gender 3. Seventh Week of the Semester—The culminating experience of the “Identity Weeks” will be a week centered on intersectionality (see Collins, 1991; Crenshaw, 1989) and being an ally. A flurry of programming will be offered to help students understand the importance of being an ally to various communi- ties and individuals. 4. By the end of the first half of the semester, RAs will be required to have a one-on-one conversation with each of their residents. These discussions will serve as a mandatory check-in meeting, but will also include asking students whether they have been attending the voluntary programming happening in the hall. Jane and Gloria are excited to proceed with their plans and to welcome their RAs who will be arriving for training soon. The First Five Weeks After receiving positive feedback from their RAs about the diversity and inclusion plans for the semester, Jane and Gloria decide to move forward with their initial ideas. Following the mandatory floor meetings in the first week of the semester, Jane and Gloria hear that the students have responded favorably to the social identity activity overall. However, one of the resident assistants—Ellen Chang—mentions to Jane and Gloria that they have one student in particular who seemed resistant to the activity. Ellen stated that Fred Bruns, a resident in Shane Hall, started to get angry about the exercise. According to Ellen, Fred got particularly angry about being asked about his national origin. Fred responded to the question by stating, “I’m an American! Of course I am. Why else would I be here? I’m going to college in AMERICA!” Ellen reacted by attempting to explain that RBU has a large number of students from various Duran 79 cultural backgrounds who provide a wide array of interests to the campus community. However, Fred continued to get irate and mentioned the following: Why the heck do they have to come over here for? They got schools in their own countries. It’s just like my dad has always said, illegal immigrants have absolutely no place here. They’re stealing our jobs and now they’re stealing our schools apparently! Fred then looks at Alejandra Fernandez, who had previously revealed that she was a naturalized citizen originally born in Mexico, across the hallway and snarls. After hearing this story, Jane and Gloria recommend that Ellen meet with both students soon to check in and see how they are doing after the activity. Two weeks later, Ellen sets up a meeting with Jane and Gloria to update them on their one-on-one conversations, focusing specifically on the ones they have had with Alejandra and Fred. Ellen begins by informing Jane and Gloria that there is a small group of students on their floor that have been taking advantage of the weekly pro- gramming. Ellen has noticed that these students are individuals who have communi- cated that they belong to a marginalized community. Other students say that they do not feel as though the events are important to them and some even say that the pro- grams are too “in their face.” However, Ellen notes that two of their one-on-one meetings have been particu- larly difficult. On one hand, Ellen explains that Alejandra is having a difficult time adjusting to the institution as she feels that no one else is similar to her. Ellen learned that Alejandra is from a working class background and also felt extremely isolated by Fred’s comments considering she emigrated from Mexico when she was younger. Alejandra has decided to spend most of her time in her room to avoid run- ning into Fred. On the other hand, Ellen had a negative interaction with Fred. Fred went as far as to ask Ellen, “Are you from China?” and “Why do you dress like a boy?” Ellen tried to circumvent the question by inquiring into Fred’s involvement on campus. Fred responded by saying, “I’m in the College Republicans. Are we done here?” Feeling uncomfortable, Ellen let Fred go and has only seen him around the hallway one more time since then. Jane and Gloria thank Ellen for their efforts. Jane and Gloria also tell Ellen that they will try to reach out to Fred via email to discuss his actions. Jane and Gloria never receive an email response from Fred, but they decide that they will try to catch him in person. Meanwhile, Jane and Gloria start to notice vandal- ism around the hall, especially on the “Identity Weeks” flyers. These flyers have had the “Race” and “National Origin” dates crossed out and someone has written “Go Home to Mexico!” over them in red marker. Jane and Gloria construct a building-wide email to send out in response to these incidents. The email goes out on the Friday before Alumni weekend and reads: “Hello Shane Hall, We have greatly enjoyed getting to know all of you over the past five weeks. 80 Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership 20(4) However, we are disappointed by the recent acts of vandalism that have been happening in the hall. In particular, the Identity Weeks flyers that have been hung have been defaced. We would like to remind you all that this community is one of respect for people of all backgrounds. Red Brick University values different perspectives in order to enrich each other’s learning, but we will not tolerate these harmful remarks. We recognize that only one person may have committed these acts, but we wanted to send this message in order to show our strong desire for a peaceful and educational community. We are currently investigating who is to blame for these events, as we are taking this matter very seriously. Please let us know if any of you would like to discuss further. Best, Jane Carter, Shane Hall Residence Director Gloria De La Rosa, Shane Hall Assistant Residence Hall Director” Soon after the email is distributed, both Jane and Gloria receive a few responses from students thanking them for sending out the message. These individuals stated that they felt uncomfortable with what had happened in the hall. One of the students who responded to Gloria was Alejandra. As a fellow Latina, she asks Gloria whether they could sit down and meet to talk about some of the troubles that she has been having so far at the institution. Gloria and Alejandra make the decision to meet the following Wednesday. The Wall Is Built On the Saturday morning of Alumni Weekend at 7:30 a.m., Jane Carter receives a phone call from one of her RAs, stating that there was an issue that needed her atten- tion in front of Shane Hall. Jane Carter leaves her apartment and finds Alejandra Fernandez, Shane Hall resident, in the lobby of the residence hall. Jane Carter approaches Alejandra and asks her how she is doing. Alejandra simply looks at her and mutters, “I knew this would happen. I should not have come here. No one wants me here.” Jane Carter immediately knows something is wrong, and asks Alejandra to tell her what happened. Alejandra simply responds, “It’s outside!” Jane Carter walks outside of the residence hall and notices the issue. In front of Shane Hall, Jane discovers that someone has placed large sandbags to form a wall at the entrance of the residence hall. Jane also observes that someone has spray painted “Build the Wall Next to MEXICO” on the sandbags, alluding to an infa- mous phrase describing the need for stronger immigration policies. Jane decides to take pictures of the incident and return to Shane Hall, as she hopes to check back in with Alejandra. However, as soon as she enters, she recognizes that Alejandra is no longer there. Duran 81 Jane then proceeds to enter her office to consult with her supervisor on how to move forward with this event. As she gets to her desk, Jane notices that she has a missed call from RBU’s Dean of Students, Dr. James Franklin. Jane listens to the voicemail left by Dr. Franklin stating, “We’ve received complaints about disparaging comments outside of your hall. Please call me ASAP to figure out how to solve this.” Jane moves to return Dr. Franklin’s phone call, but Gloria De La Rosa—Shane Hall’s Assistant Resident Director—enters Jane’s office. Gloria explained that her fellow grad school cohort members had texted her about the incident that occurred outside of the hall. In particular, her cohort members sent screenshots of tweets posted by alumni depicting pictures of the wall. Jane sees that some tweets are disappointed at the events, but others show alumni saying phrases such as “about time someone spoke the truth at RBU.” Jane and Gloria are concerned that a portion of the alumni seem to support the wall despite the university’s value of inclusion. Moreover, they both recognize the possibility for news outlets to pick up on the incident; as a result, they understand their solution must be carefully calculated. As Jane and Gloria discuss a plan to move forward, Gloria receives another text from a cohort member with another tweet that they saw. The tweet is from Fred Bruns, a resident in Shane Hall, with a picture of the wall and a caption that states, “Dad would be proud.” Gloria shows this to Jane and says, “We need to do something about this soon.” Both Jane and Gloria recognize that they need to respond quickly without the media learning about the event at Shane Hall. Discussion Questions 1. What are the primary issues and problems in the case? How does the history and culture of the institution influence your response to these problems? 2. How will Jane and Gloria work with each other and other campus departments to compose a plan of action? 3. How can understanding xenophobia and racist nativism help frame your response? 4. How should Jane and Gloria approach this situation with the two students fea- tured in the case, Alejandra Fernandez and Fred Bruns? 5. Would you have done anything different prior to the wall incident? If so, describe your approach and the intentions behind it. 6. Would you recommend mandatory diversity training/programming to the resi- dence hall? If so, what would the training/programming entail? How would you work with any resistance that you might encounter in this situation? 7. How do alumni affect this particular situation? How would you work with internal and external constituencies to ensure that all perspectives are heard? Teaching Notes This case study was developed for leadership courses in higher education and …