1 Coping Strategies for Students of Color in a Predominantly White College: Voices from the Alumni

Abstract: University students in general experience stressful situations once they leave home and begin to adjust to the new life on a college campus with its related academic and social demands. However, students of color often have the additional burden of coping with race-related stress. Data from a focus group interview with 18 alumni of color, found students being stereotyped, feeling overwhelmingly invisible, being singled out in the classroom and often witnessing racism and racially related incidents. This paper describes the coping strategies they employed and which helped them complete their program successfully. They reported using a strong net work of social support, became resilient and self-sufficient, and sometimes used detachment and self-selected isolation. While this study is limited to self-report it nevertheless provides significant information to the institution as it attempts to address race-related tension and conflict