Muslim Students in the South - Document Analysis Examining the Experiences of Muslim College Students at a Public University in the U.S. South

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore

Immigration concerns and Islamophobia have intensified in the U.S., especially after nationalist populism and the 2017 refugee crisis. This qualitative document analysis examines Muslim college students’ collegiate experiences in the U.S. South as reported by a student newspaper, focusing on changes after Executive Order No. 13769. Four themes emerge: hostile climates, varying institutional support, counterstories and resistance, and the executive order’s specific impact. Implications address supporting Muslim students and guiding further research.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryExam

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Background and Executive Order Context

Review of the Literature

U.S. Policy and Institutional Practice

Religious Identity and Campus Climate

Research Questions and Method

A DOCUMENT ANALYSIS EXAMINING THE EXPERIENCES OF MUSLIM COLLEGE STUDENTS AT A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN THE U.S. SOUTH Melvin A. Whitehead University of Georgia Matthew J. Smith University of Georgia Brittany M. Williams St. Cloud State University Brittany N. McDaniel University of Georgia Immigration, Islamophobia, and xenophobia have been subjects of much public discourse for decades. However, the recent re-emergence of nationalist populism in the U.S. and western Europe and the refugee crises in Syria have arguably brought a more intense focus on Muslim individuals and immigrants, particularly in light of President Trump’s issuance of Executive Order No. 13769 in January 2017. Although the original travel ban has since been struck down in courts, the travel ban signaled to many a move to further stigmatize Muslim individuals. The authors conducted a document analysis to understand the collegiate experiences of Muslim college students in the U.S. South, as reported by a student newspaper, and how these experiences have changed since the issuance of Executive Order No. 13769. Findings revealed four themes: hostile climates for students with minoritized identities; support and lack of support from institutional agents; the utilization of counterstories, acts of resistance, and solidarity; and the specific impact of the executive order. We conclude with implications for practice for supporting Muslim students and areas for further study. Please direct inquires about this manuscript to: Melvin A. Whitehead, [melvin.whitehead@uga.edu](melvin.whitehead@uga.edu) [College Student Affairs Journal](College Student Affairs Journal), Volume 37(2), pp. 199-213 ISSN 2381-2338 Copyright 2019 Southern Association for College Student Affairs All rights of reproduction in any form reserved. 200 College Student Affairs Journal Vol. 37, No. 2, 2019 D uring the 2016 U.S. Presidential campaign, Islamophobia took center stage as Republican front-runner Donald Trump (re)ignited fear against Muslim people (Bridge Initiative Team, 2015; Foran, 2016) . Shortly after securing the presidency in January 2017, Trump issued Executive Order No. 13769, Protecting the Nation from Foreign Terrorist Entry into the United States, in an attempt to ban individuals from seven countries, where the majority identifies as Muslim (Braaten, 2017) . Executive Order No. 13769 was designed to limit U.S. entry for individuals the current White House administration deemed as a potential terrorist or having potential terrorist ties (Executive Order No. 13769, 2017) . The basis for this decision was the 2001 September 11th terror attacks, as the Trump administration purports the current visa and entry process is too lax. Seven nations were impacted by this order. The seven countries bound by Executive Order No. 13769 included: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. In the days following the ban announcement, several professional associations in higher education (such as the American Association of Universities, College Student Educators International, and the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators), students, campus leaders, and others sought to minimize the impact of the ban on students studying in the U.S. (Braatan, 2017) . There are many think pieces and conceptual articles detailing the events leading to the executive order and its subsequent ramifications. However, few peer-reviewed publications describing the experiences of Muslim college students navigating the executive order exist despite agreement that the order has specific implications for this population (Ayoub & Beydoun, 2017; Chacón, 2017; Stegmeir, 2017) . Accordingly, two research questions drove this qualitative research study: 1) What are the collegiate experiences of Muslim students attending an institution in the U.S. South as reported in the student-run newspaper at that institu- tion?; and 2) How, if at all, have Muslim students’ report

FAQs

What is the purpose of the document analysis in this study?

The study analyzes Muslim college students’ experiences in the U.S. South as reported by a student newspaper, with attention to how these experiences changed after Executive Order No. 13769.

Which executive order is central to the study, and what did it aim to do?

Executive Order No. 13769 sought to restrict U.S. entry for individuals from seven countries where the majority identifies as Muslim, based on perceived potential terrorist risk.

What four themes did the findings reveal?

The findings show hostile climates for students with minoritized identities; support and lack of support from institutional agents; use of counterstories, resistance, and solidarity; and the specific impact of the executive order.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by kopisore