Bring Barbershop Sessions to Campus
How three universities leverage the barbershop as a space for Black and Latino men to connect
Students who feel a sense of belonging on campus are more likely to persist in college. However, some student groups feel more at home on campus than others. EAB analyzed sense of belonging data from the 2020 National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and found Black and Latino students, particularly men, struggle to find a sense of community compared to their white counterparts at R1 institutions.
Percent of students who disagree with the statement: “I feel comfortable being myself at this institution”
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8%
White students
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11%
Latino male students
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14%
Black male students
One explanation for this belonging gap is that traditional student affairs programming doesn’t go far enough to reach Black and Latino men. Institutions rely on identity-based student organizations (e.g., Black Student Union) and multicultural centers which often collapse the experiences of men of color with their larger Black and Latine student populations.
As a result, Black and Latino men are left with limited campus spaces made specifically for them. On top of any financial and academic challenges, these conditions can result in Black and Latino male students feeling isolated and at risk of stopping out of college.
Barbershops improve belonging for men of color
Institutions design spaces with Black and Latino men in mind
A few leading institutions have taken steps to intentionally design a space on campus with Black and Latino men in mind to improve sense of belonging. That space is a campus barbershop, a safe haven for Black and Latino men to connect with each other and gain a better sense of self during their college years and beyond. Below is a snapshot of what these campus barbershop sessions can look like.
EAB has developed this mini case study highlighting three institutions—Virginia Tech, University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, and Furman University—that use barbershops to help Black and brown male students feel a stronger sense of belonging.
Three locations to create spaces exclusively for Black and Latino men
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Identity-based cohort program
Virginia Tech developed the Black Male Excellence Network (BMEN) to improve retention and graduations rates for Black male students with academic success coaching and an annual Black Men Conference. BMEN emphasizes not just a student’s academic life but also his social life. BMEN’s Barbershop Talk Series is a forum held on campus that unites Black male students with peers, Black barbers, and community members to explore Black masculinity, dating, cultural production (e.g., visual arts, music, etc.), and more.
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Academic unit
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor’s School of Education houses Men of Color Leading in the Classroom (M-CLIC), a program dedicated to serving Black, Latino, Asian, and Native male students interested in entering the teaching profession. M-CLIC hosts a monthly barbershop series connecting M-CLIC students with male teachers of color in the K-12 profession. While they receive free haircuts and food, students and teachers discuss challenges and best practices for male teachers of color.
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Multicultural center
At Furman University, the Center for Inclusive Communities (CIC) piloted a barbershop series program, particularly for first-year black male students. The barbershop series connects Black male students with Black alumni who introduce them to local barbers. Students also get to know alumni mentors and explore topics like race and identity which is especially relevant as Black male students navigate a predominantly white institution.
Three key roles in Virginia Tech's barbershop model
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Provide opportunities to connect with community members
Virginia Tech’s Barbershop Talk series brings together Black male students and community members at the Black Cultural Center on campus. Before these monthly gatherings, barbers and other community members receive email invitations, while students receive word via email or social media. When community members and students attend events together, the conversations mirror barbershop experiences pre-college where boys and men across generations connect and impart knowledge.
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Connect prospective high school students with college students
In addition to sessions for current students, the Black Male Excellence Network (BMEN) also hosts a pre-college Barbershop Talk for high school students planning to apply to the institution. Active BMEN members take on a leadership and mentorship role and share their academic and campus life experiences at Virginia Tech. Black male high school students learn that they won’t be alone at a predominately white institution.
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Embed mental health counselors in barbershop sessions
At Barbershop Talks, students and community members occasionally engage in discussions on challenging topics like absentee parents, trauma, and conflict resolution. For these topics, a licensed counselor attends as an active participant and/or a facilitator to set guardrails for the discussion. These mental health experts encourage Black men to overcome the taboo of talking about difficult subject matter and raise awareness of the campus mental health resources available to them.
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