IS “She Saint Mary’s?”: Student Identity Construction Based on

Institutional Stereotypes

By Cristen DalessandroSenior Comprehensive

December 3, 2009

Introduction

Saint Mary’s institutional identity is contested in modern times.There are certain ideas and stereotypes that define the “Saint Mary’s woman.”How do the students use these ideas and stereotypes to make sense of their own identities as students of Saint Mary’s College?

Thesis

Saint Mary’s students spend time living and interacting within their college environment. This close proximity to the college environment leads them to use their perceptions of Saint Mary’s student stereotypes and Saint Mary’s institutional identity to formulate their own ideas about what it means to be a “Saint Mary’s student,” and to use those ideas to actively construct their own identities as students.

Literature ReviewAppearance Norms and Role Expectations

Peril (2006)Aries and Seider (2005)Lannegrand-Willems and Bosma (2006)

The Effects of the All-Women’s Environment on StudentsSmith (1990)Riordan (1994)Hesse-Biber and Leckenby, eds. (2003)Aleman and Salkever (2003)

Literature Review

The Questioning of Institutional and Student IdentityEllis (2006)O’Leary (2003)Baskin (2004)

(left) Mary Lyon Hall, Mount Holyoke College; (right) Le Mans Hall, Saint Mary’s College, IN

Theory

The Social Construction of RealityPeter Berger and Thomas Luckmann (1966)

Human interaction produces a social environment, including institutions. Over time, objective reality becomes accepted as “truth.”

Social relations of people in a social institution, as well as the identity of the institution itself, influences those who participate in the institution.

Judith Lorber applies theory to gender constructionScanlon, Rowling, and Weber apply the theory to the process of identity construction for college students.

Methodology12 participants- all Saint Mary’s undergraduates

Traditional (entered college at age 18)3 participants each from classes of 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013Obtained through the snowball method, contacted by email.45% response rate through emails.Face-to-face interviews lasting from 30-50 minutes in a location of the participant’s choosing.

FindingsAppearance Norms and Expectations

The longer the students attend Saint Mary’s, the more specific their ideas about Saint Mary’s stereotypes become.The older students believed the Saint Mary’s woman was “branded.”The seniors most angered by negative stereotypesOlder students largely disapproved of the “She’s Saint Mary’s” campaign, citing it as not inclusive enough.

FindingsPatriarchal Relations in the College

CommunitySaint Mary’s historic relationship with Notre Dame. “Us versus them” mentalityDifferences between upperclassmen (junior and senior women) and underclassmen (freshmen and sophomore women)The perceived personal nature of attacks for upperclassmen

FindingsThe Merging of Institutional and Student

IdentitySeniors most strongly identified themselves as “Saint Mary’s women”Simultaneously, seniors were the most critical overall of Saint Mary’s College’s shortcomingsWhile the students believed that living in the Saint Mary’s environment had “changed” them in some way, they acknowledged these changes as positive overall- or a “natural” part of “growing up”

DiscussionThere is evidence that the institutional identity of Saint Mary’s had an impact on the identities of individual studentsBy the time the students reach senior status, their identities as “Saint Mary’s women” become an important and natural component of their overall larger identityJuniors and seniors have the most clear-cut definitions of Saint Mary’s and the norms of the student bodyThe theories of Berger and Luckmann may be affirmed by the results

Thank You!

Questions?