Amberly Dziesinski, Phame Camarena, and Caitlin Homrich-Knieling
Central Michigan University
introduction
P
rofessionals in the greater honors community have already established a healthy dialogue about the significance of diver- sity and inequality within honors as reflected in the Journal of the National Collegiate Honors Council (JNCHC) special forum on social class (Long & Mullins, 2009) and the National Collegiate Honors Council monograph Setting the Table for Diversity (Coleman & Kotinek, 2010). A central theme emerging from these perspectives highlights the responsibility of honors programs to take an active stand against the kind of elitism that reinforces social inequalities and, instead, challenges honors to become a stronger force for social change. Much of this discussion addresses the importance of ensur- ing that a more diverse group of students from underrepresentedand marginalized backgrounds is able to find a home within hon- ors. To further these ideas, this work directly challenges the honors community to use its resources and relative position of power to make honors a force for progressive social change both in the cam- pus community and society at large.
Building from previous work in honors and drawing from con- cepts developed in feminist and sociological literature by Grzanka (2014), this chapter explores how honors culture and student iden- tity can be shaped by an explicit attempt to reframe honors efforts in the context of diversity, inequality, and social responsibility rather than elitism and entitlement. Beginning with the argument that honors is in a position of privilege and has a responsibility to be an active agent for social justice, this chapter provides an honest reflection on the challenges of building a programmatic commit- ment to equity and social justice in the honors community within a public university. It also uses case studies to illustrate how this com- mitment has special significance for students from marginalized groups who are navigating a potentially uncomfortable intersection between experiences of inequality and honors privilege.
anintentionalhonorsculture—namingprivilege
Reframing honors as a force for social justice and equality begins with a call for enlightenment: to recognize that honors is almost always a place of privilege. This privilege is best exempli- fied in two interdependent processes. First, students are most often recruited into honors programs with the promise that they will receive extra opportunities for learning and enrichment. These privileges, available to a select few, may include priority registra- tion, special housing options, smaller classes, select faculty, and extra scholarship options. Second, although criteria vary widely across programs, previous course grades, scores on standardized tests, and past records of academic-related achievement in and out of the classroom are all criteria often included in reviews for honors admission. Social science research, such as that done by Lipman (2004), has consistently documented that these factors are also shaped by more than personal work habits and intellectual potential.
Instead, background experiences made available in resource-rich families and schools give some students an advantage over com- petitors from families and schools unable to offer the same level of support and preparation for achievement. This disparity means that at least some portion of student achievement prior to entering hon- ors is “unearned,” according to Johnson (2006), because the same level of effort will not lead to the same level of achievement and preparation for honors admission on the part of all students (p. 23). Similarly, these class differences will most often mean that students enrolled in honors are more likely to come from backgrounds that are more privileged compared to students who were not admitted or who never considered applying within the same institution— even if those accepted to honors might be less privileged than peers who attended a more prestigious institution in the first place.
In that vein, part of what makes this process of recogniz- ing and naming privilege in honors so difficult is that few honors programs are found in the most elite institutions. Most honors administrators and educators intentionally use their programs to reach out to students of high academic ability who might otherwise attend more prestigious and expensive institutions. As explained by Weiner (2009) in his essay on social class and elitism, honors programs attract top students to campuses with less elite reputa- tions that these students might not otherwise attend and then help them “climb the class ladder” while fighting the assumption that “the more something costs the better it must be” (p. 23). In other words, because honors programs recruit students who come from relatively less privileged backgrounds compared to students who attend more elite schools, it is easy to forget that within the same institution, the honors students are still more likely to come from backgrounds of relative privilege compared to their non-honors peers. In his assessment of privilege and power, Johnson (2006) notes that “privilege is always in relation to others” (p. 8). In any given situation, who is privileged and who has power is relative. Naming this tendency toward privilege within honors is an essen- tial first step in minimizing the negative impacts and increasing the opportunity for honors to be a force for positive social change
rather than one that reproduces the social inequalities in our edu- cational systems.
In contrast to the more traditional selective models focused on achievement indicators that are more likely to be shaped by early privilege, according to Mullins (2005), increasing numbers of honors programs are changing admissions procedures to enhance the recruitment of underrepresented students who demonstrate ambition, even if they have lower test scores or grades than other applicants (p. 22). (See also David M. Jones in this volume pp. 33–79.) This commitment to diversity is even explicitly addressed by some programs with a specific statement affirming the impor- tance of diversity for their honors communities. (See Coleman & Kotinek, 2010, p. 253.) Similarly, as Klos, Eskine, & Pashkevich (2015) maintain, more programs are willing to make an explicit commitment to social justice as a valued goal and explicit learning outcome in order to take the emphasis off of individual achieve- ment for the sake of self (p. 54).
Promoting these intertwined themes of diversity and social jus- tice is important to honors in at least two key ways. First, it ensures that all students coming to the honors community will develop new tools to understand their identities and their place in society. This understanding prepares honors students to be advocates for social change and allies for their peers from more marginalized backgrounds. Second, students from underrepresented and mar- ginalized groups would see honors as a welcoming community for them—a place where the intersection of honors privilege and other identities can be navigated in positive ways.
Programs that explicitly address privilege and power challenge hegemonic notions of society and the honors students’ positions within it; these programs recognize that students are not “climbing the social ladder” apolitically but are instead embedded in broader dynamics of inequality, oppression, and privilege. Honors programs have an obligation to take a stand regarding social inequalities and are doing so whether they realize it or not. Programs that attempt to remain neutral, insisting that their curriculum and objectives are focused on helping all students achieve their highest academic
potentials independent of any social bias or judgment, are missing the point. To the degree that programs do not actively challenge the social norms of privilege tied to honors, they are tacitly supporting the status quo that makes honors a privilege for the privileged.
Because of the challenges of recognizing embedded social inequality, intentional planning and strategic effort are necessary for honors programs to occupy the institution as a force for social change. Although the Central Michigan University (CMU) Honors Program does not claim to be a model of diversity or champion of social justice, we are able to offer practical examples that demon- strate how our commitment to social responsibility is strategically reflected in practical steps that reframe the meaning of honors priv- ilege within the honors community.
missionandvisionmatter
Although this commitment to enlightenment and empower- ment is an ongoing process, the effort of the honors program to formally redefine the program mission beyond traditional aca- demic achievement and educational enrichment was an essential step. Like most honors programs and colleges, the previous honors vision and mission were focused on opportunities for enrichment that promised students unique learning experiences and advantages to entice them to apply and enroll. A revision to these statements placed a greater explicit emphasis on diversity and social responsi- bility as priorities over individual achievement. This sentiment is summarized with the program vision to “serve the University by fostering a diverse community of scholars committed to academic excellence, intellectual engagement, and social responsibility” (“Mission and Core Values”). In this model, academic achievement remains a priority, but it is in the context, as our mission states, of a commitment to using critical thought and scholarly inquiry to ensure that efforts are “for the greater good of our disciplines, our society, and our world” (“Mission and Core Values”). The impor- tance of diversity initiatives specifically is reinforced by including “respect and appreciation for diverse peoples and ideas in a global society” as one of the four primary core program values (“Mission
and Core Values”). Finally, to keep the emphasis on social change rather than personal achievement alone, the final two core program values juxtapose a call to high standards for personal achievement with an explicit expectation for “active citizenship and service for the greater good” (“Mission and Core Values”). As the formally approved mission of the program, both the specific wording of each core value and the spirit of these statements provide an institution- ally approved guide for translating this mission into intentional action. (See Appendix A to read the full CMU Honors Program statements of vision, mission, and values.)
recruitment
Building off of the revised mission statement, recruitment messages highlight that the CMU Honors Program is not for all high academic ability students. Those who cannot see the signifi- cance of our core values will be more content in other campus programs. Our major recruitment programs include materials that explicitly target first-generation college students and address ste- reotypes about the students honors serves. Although our program has a competitive process and currently admits a limited number of students who are scholarship recipients, the evaluation process considers the degree to which students have overcome challenges in order to achieve. It is important to note that Michigan law lim- its the use of race and minority status as an admissions criterion. Our use of first-generation college status, however, as one indica- tor of educational resilience is not precluded by the law, and we are careful to examine high school backgrounds and the limits on opportunities for students from rural, urban, and low-income com- munities. Similarly, recognizing that institutional structures limit the degree to which we can recruit from underrepresented groups for our first-year class, our program has also developed a second track for honors admission that gives priority to students with high academic goals who are overcoming challenges to achievement once on campus. Referrals from both our faculty and our multicul- tural program office are useful tools for identifying students from diverse backgrounds who would specifically benefit from extra
support and increased academic challenge. Admission to honors through this track has, in fact, increased student participation from underrepresented groups on campus, including students of color, first-generation college students, and international students.
curriculum
Consistent with the honors program core values, the hon- ors protocol requires six credits of diversity and global, culturally themed coursework along with 120 hours of documented service toward the greater good. The rationale for these requirements is introduced in recruitment, but it is then immediately reinforced in our required Orientation to Honors Seminar for new honors students. To reinforce diversity and social justice themes, this class includes:
1. a first-day discussion about honors privilege and responsi- bility;
2. an introduction to diversity in the campus community with an emphasis on the role of privilege, especially the difference between earned and unearned privilege, and inequality; 3. a discussion of active citizenship with a call to identify issues
of personal passion; and
4. a requirement for students to participate in campus activi- ties linked to both diversity and service, with a challenge to choose activities that stretch personal comfort zones (e.g., LGBTQ safe zone workshops, a field trip to a local Native American cultural center, serving as a conversation partner for an international student, participating in an alternative weekend service trip, etc.).
The opportunities listed above are not provided to suggest that students will be enlightened and empowered at the end of their first term; however, if our students clearly understand that diver- sity and service are priorities of the program, and if they are given the language of privilege and social justice theory, they are better
prepared to engage in discourse around these issues and to reflect on how these concepts relate to their personal experiences. We con- ceptualize the educational process through which students come to recognize inequality in their daily lives as the development of critical consciousness—a central aspect of the critical pedagogy advocated by Freire (1970) that encourages action for progressive social change (p. 35).
As a follow-up to this introduction, various honors courses emphasize both diversity and social responsibility themes. Recent examples include a first-year seminar on inequality in American healthcare; a junior-level seminar on Latinos in the U.S., which included a spring break trip serving in a Miami cultural center; and a faculty-led international program focused on apartheid and the literature of South Africa. Additionally, the honors program has developed a service-learning designated course that brings faculty and students together to work on real-world service projects in the community while reinforcing active citizenship lessons.
advisingandmentoring
Although the honors program staff tries to develop personal relationships with all of our students, we are more intentional with students from underrepresented groups including students of color, first-generation college students, international students, students with disabilities, and others who have been identified as being at greater educational risk. These activities include annual targeted advising outreach from our Honors Academic Advisor and iden- tification of informal staff mentors assigned to provide additional tracking and support. The honors program offers students both individual and group activities. For example, first-generation col- lege students are invited to attend a dinner and movie night at the director’s house to watch and discuss a film about educational achievement. Other students are encouraged to apply for the McNair Scholars Program, which promotes PhD achievement for under- represented students, and are assigned an honors staff member who serves as a social mentor to support the scholar and promote col- laboration across the two sets of program requirements.
programming
Both directly through our office and indirectly through supervi- sion of our honors student organizations, we support programming that provides students with additional extracurricular opportuni- ties to engage with diversity and social responsibility issues. For example, topics addressed by faculty at the monthly fireside chats in the honors residence hall include discussions of gender, religion, and the power of oppression. All honors students are also invited to join the honors program staff for our annual participation in the Martin Luther King, Jr., March. And first-generation college stu- dents enrolled in honors are invited to participate in a weekend retreat featuring first-generation mentors from the honors student body, faculty, and administration.
partnerships
Our success with these diversity and social justice efforts is significantly impacted by campus partnerships with the academic and student affairs programs that share similar goals. Academically, this process includes working with department chairs of general education programs with diversity-themed courses to offer honors sections for our students. In student affairs, we include a represen- tative from the Office for Institutional Diversity on our advisory council and work with the Multicultural Office on programming and recruitment opportunities. Although the results of these part- nerships are not equally successful, some, like our collaboration with the McNair Scholars Program, are a more natural fit and enable both units to fulfill their mission.
assessment
Recognizing that our social responsibility to advocate for diversity and equity will never be complete, the honors program is committed to an ongoing assessment of our efforts to continually adjust and improve. (See also F. Coleman in this volume, p. 342.) The end-of-course evaluations for the first-year honors seminar
(HON 100) directly ask students to rate and comment on the degree to which experiences with this class impacted their appreciation for diversity and active citizenship. Similarly, while we recognize that not all honors coursework can or should have the same empha- sis, the course evaluations used in all honors sections ask students to evaluate whether the course addressed honors diversity and citizenship themes. These evaluations remind both students and faculty of this important honors goal. Finally, as part of their senior exit surveys, graduating seniors are asked to review their honors experiences and to critique the effectiveness of our diversity and social responsibility efforts both in and out of the classroom.
challenges
Even with a clear set of initiatives and efforts, challenges to this mission are significant; they include policy decisions made by units outside of honors control, instability of staffing across partner offices, the strength of stereotypes about what honors is and the students it should serve, competing pressures from the academic and student service units of the university, and a general misun- derstanding about the factual nature of inequality in U.S. higher education today. Although the opportunities and challenges the honors program faces are contextualized in the nature of our insti- tution, some of these challenges are likely generalizable to other campuses.
By facilitating opportunities for students to wrestle with the meaning of their identities as they relate to power, privilege, and justice, the honors program seeks to enlighten students concerning their position within the social hierarchy. This strategy attempts to positively empower students to navigate their own identities and to share ownership for ensuring that honors is a force for positive social change. This emphasis has significance for all students within the program, but it has a special meaning for those coming into the program with backgrounds that might otherwise intersect nega-