We query the role that sorority involvement serves in the college experiences of Latinas in ethnic sororities. We find that Latina sorority members at first experience culture shock and marginalization at a selective, predominantly White university in the Southwest. Our respondents were incorporated into Latina sororities, which provided them with academic capital, that is, the skills, knowledge, and emotional support that resulted in their educational persistence.
Bordes-EdgarV.ArredondoP.KurpiusR. S.RundJ. (2011). A longitudinal analysis of Latina/o students’ academic persistence. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 10, 358-368.
2.
EstradaF.MejiaA.HufanaA. M. (2017). Brotherhood and college Latinos: A phenomenological study. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 16, 314-337.
3.
FajardoO. (2015). A brief history of Latin American international fraternities: A movement that lasted 86 years (1889-1975). Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 14, 69-81. doi:10.1177/1538192714548928
4.
FryR.LopezM. H. (2012). Hispanic student enrollments reach new highs in 2011: Now largest minority on four-year college campuses. Washington, DC: Hispanic Trends, Pew Research Center.
5.
GarciaG. A. (2012). Does percentage of Latinas/os affect graduation rates at 4-year Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), emerging HSIs, and non-HSIs?Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 12, 256-268.
6.
Garcia-McMillianD. (2009). Latina sorority involvement and the college experience: Social and academic impact (Master’s thesis, Department of Communications, University of Texas at El Paso). Available from http://libraryweb.utep.edu
7.
GlaserB.StraussA. (1967). The discover of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research. Routledge.
8.
GuardiaJ.EvansN. (2008). Factors influencing the ethnic identity development of Latino fraternity members at a Hispanic Serving Institution. Journal of College Student Development, 49, 163-181.
9.
KrogstadJ. M.LopezM. H. (2015). Hispanic population reaches record 55 million, but growth has cooled. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
10.
MayoJ. R.MurguiaE.PadillaR. V. (1995). Social integration and academic performance among minority university students. Journal of College Student Development, 36, 542-552.
11.
MorenoD. R. (2012). The influence of a Latina-based sorority on the academic experiences of Latina college students (Master’s thesis, Department of Education, University of Southern California). Available from http://digitallibrary.usc.edu
12.
MuñozS. M.GuardiaJ. R. (2009). Nuestra historia y future (Our history and future): Latino/a fraternities and sororities. In ParksG. S.TorbensonC. (Eds.), Brothers and sisters: Diversity in college fraternities and sororities (pp. 104-132). Madison, NJ: Farleigh Dickinson Press.
13.
MurguiaE.PadillaR. V.PavelM. (1991). Ethnicity and the concept of social integration in Tinto’s model of institutional departure. Journal of College Student Development, 32, 433-439.
NuñezJ. G. (2004). The empowerment of Latina university students: A phenomenological study of ethnic identity development through involvement in a Latina-based sorority (Master’s thesis). Available from http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/
16.
OgunwoleS. U.DreweryM. P.Jr.Rios-VargasM. (2012). The population with a bachelor’s degree or higher by race and Hispanic origin: 2006-2010 (American Community Survey Briefs). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved from https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acsbr10-19.pdf
17.
PattersonM. M. (1998). Latina sisterhood: Does it promote or inhibit campus integration? (Doctoral dissertation, Department of Education, University of Southern California). Available from http://digitallibrary.usc.edu
18.
SaenzV. B.PonjuanL. (2009). The vanishing Latino male in higher education. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, 8, 54-89. doi:10.1177/1538192708326995