Twentieth International Conference on Diversity in Organizations, Communities & Nations

Abstract

The negative attributes ascribed by the media’s representation of historically defined core ethnic groups challenges minority young adults’ identity formation limiting their sense of belonging in higher educational settings. Survey results published in 2014 showed that 78% of participants believed that the way media portrays minorities is negative and promotes racism. The same survey revealed that 95% of Pakistani, 89% of Eastern European, 68% of Indians, and 67% of Blacks who participated concurred with the overall results. (diversity.uk.org) Researchers have designed a new study to investigate how these negative portrayals and stereotyping can interfere with the identify formation of minority students and challenges their sense of belonging on college campuses. Media’s lack of positive representation of minority ethnic groups is not only is exclusionary, but challenges the efforts of inclusive remedies and social integration among minority college students.