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Recent Publications
Examining campus support systems for LGBQ+ college students’ mental
health and wellbeing
Steven Feldman and Allison BrckaLorenz
Journal of LGBT Youth, 21(2), pages 306-322 (2024)
In this study, we explore LGBQ+ college students’ experiences related to mental health and wellbeing, using the Proud & Thriving Framework. Our research utilizes a large-scale, multi-institutional, quantitative and qualitative data set that includes a variety of institutional types and geographic locations across the United States. We use a series of OLS regression analyses and descriptive analyses to explore LGBQ+ students’ difficulties, support networks, knowledge about institution-provided supports, and student-suggested ways that their institution has supported their mental health and well-being. We find that large portions of LGBQ+ students do not know how to get help with various difficulties and that students within the LGBQ+ community had differing relationships with risks and supports depending on their specific LGBQ+ identity such as asexual students struggling less with workload-related issues and pansexual students struggling more with health-related issues than their LGBQ+ peers. We conclude with suggestions for campus staff, faculty, and higher education researchers on tangible ways that they can work to improve campus environments and experiences for LGBQ+ college students.
A Critical Discourse Analysis of University Responses to the Shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue
Steven Feldman
The Journal of Higher Education, advance online publication (2024)
The attack on the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, PA on October 27, 2018, prompted many institutions of higher education to respond to the attack as a show of support for Jewish community members at their institution. This study engages in a Critical Discourse Analysis to determine how university leaders utilized language to discuss the shooting and how they framed Jewish identity and antisemitism in the process. Drawing on two conceptual frameworks, HebCrit and institutional speech acts as non-performatives, analysis from 26 universities revealed seven discursive practices: naming Jewish identity and antisemitism; categorizing Jewish identity; “All Lives Matter”ing the Tree of Life shooting; grieving, mourning, thoughts & prayers; offering support; employing institutional values statements; and finally, defining institutional leadership’s role. The article concludes with implications for future research as well as implications for university leaders seeking to write institutional statements and create a more inclusive environment for Jewish people.
I’m not part of your cis-tem: Administrative violence and genderism in university record systems
Olivia Copeland and Steven Feldman
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, advance online publication (2023)
University record systems (URSs) have become a core feature of university life, tracking student and staff information as they pass through the institution. Though the modernization of URSs has streamlined the operation of the university, few scholars have considered the implications of how names and pronouns are documented in these systems for trans and nonbinary students. We conducted a critical descriptive analysis of Big 10 Alliance university webpages to examine trends within URS policies regarding name and pronoun changes. Our findings suggest both linguistic and structural means through which genderism and administrative violence are perpetuated.
An autoethnographic exploration of the realities of engaging in TQ center(ed) diversity work
Kristopher Oliveira, Vanessa González-Siegel, Steven Feldman, Kalyani Kannan, Chris Woods, Jonathan Pryor, Antonio Duran, Chase Catalano, T.J. Jourian
Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, advance online publication (2023)
Although research on trans and queer (TQ) center(ed) diversity work is on the rise, there is still a need to isolate how campus structures inform the experiences practitioners have and to what extent they can transform climates in ways they desire to. To address this gap, this article presents the results of a collaborative autoethnographic study featuring nine scholars and practitioners passionate about TQ center(ed) diversity work. Namely, the group formed and explored our past and present experiences with TQ center(ed) diversity work in higher education and how institutional structures inhibit/ed our advocacy for TQ communities. This study’s attention to individual experiences of producing diversity work on campus revealed dynamics of hegemony and oppression. Findings illustrated how we found our way to TQ center(ed) diversity work and discovered the challenges and barriers present in doing so. We also speak to how institutional environments disenfranchise TQ center(ed) diversity work, affecting the practitioners who engage in these roles in the process. We conclude with implications for practice, highlighting how institutional leaders can create better conditions for those involved in TQ center(ed) diversity work.
College aspirations, gender sexuality alliances, and teacher support among diverse LGBTQ youth
Steven Feldman, Ryan J. Watson, & Connor Gallik
Educational Review, 74(2), pages 281-297 (2022)
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth report hostile school climates and sexuality-based harassment, but scholarship has not clearly documented how these climates might be associated with college aspirations among this population. Given college has become a common aspiration for many high school youths, we sought to explore subgroup differences in college aspirations among LGBTQ youth, and whether or not LGBTQ-specific community factors, such as Gender Sexuality Alliances (GSA) presence and teacher support, were related to college aspirations. To do this, we analysed a large sample (N = 11,327, Mage = 15.57) of LGBTQ youth from across the United States. We compared college aspirations across subgroups of youth via bivariate and multivariable logistic regression models to explore how school factors (i.e., presence of GSAs and LGBTQ-specific teacher supportiveness) were associated with college aspirations among LGBTQ youth. We found that transgender youth were less likely to aspire to go to college compared to cisgender counterparts. Additionally, more common sexual minority subgroups (e.g., gay/lesbian) were less likely to aspire to go to college compared to their counterparts with more emergent identity labels (e.g., asexual, queer). The presence of GSAs and higher reports of LGBTQ-supportive teachers were associated with increased odds of aspiring to go to college across all LGBTQ youth in our sample. These findings have implications for how schools and teachers prepare sexual and gender minorities for college. The findings imply that LGBTQ populations should not be treated as monolithic in their college readiness, preparation, and aspirations.
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