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Katelyn QuigleyEnglish 3210: Advanced CompositionDr. Godbee

Marquette: Be the Difference (But Read the Fine Print)

There are some moments in life that one will simply never forget. Birthday parties,

graduation ceremonies, weddings…the types of life events that serve as significant turning

points, after which things never seem to be quite the same. Although I cannot claim to have

accumulated a great number of these in merely twenty years of life, I can name a handful of

these moments, the most recent being my decision as a high school senior to choose Marquette

University. Details surrounding my selection of Marquette continue to stand out vividly in my

mind, particularly those of the final months leading up to my Marquette journey and the first few

weeks of my life as a college student.

I toured campus on a beautiful July day, and I was sold from the get-go. The beautiful

campus, a wide assortment of academic programs and extracurricular activities to choose from…

everything about Marquette appealed to me, and I knew in my heart that this was where I was

meant to be. The tour showcased Marquette at its finest, and my lively tour guide was more than

eager to throw in his two cents whenever the opportunity presented itself: “You should definitely

buy basketball tickets, Joan of Arc masses are great, don’t ever go past the Rave, and that

concludes the tour, have a great summer!” Wait. Don’t go past the Rave? I remember being

perplexed at this comment, and did not understand the rationale behind it until my arrival as an

official Marquette student in August of 2011. It was at that time that I first became aware of a

phenomenon referred to as the “Marquette Bubble,” essentially a clearly defined area

surrounding the Marquette campus that seemed to be the distinguishing line between safety

within the confines of the Bubble and the risk of danger outside. When I informed people of

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service activities I planned to endeavor on in those first few days and weeks, which were well

beyond the Bubble lines, I was repeatedly warned to be vigilant of my safety at all times, to

speak to and make eye contact with no one. I was told my status as a white woman made me

instantly vulnerable and labeled me as not belonging and out of place, and on more than one

occasion I was advised to reconsider my sites. These warnings left me feeling more confused

than frightened, and against all advising I proceeded forward with all the plans I had made.

A decent amount of my time in the past two years has been spent outside of the exclusive

Bubble in a city that offers so much to be learned about. Some of my most meaningful

experiences and interactions have taken place in the “sketchiest” areas of Milwaukee, spending

time with those stuck outside the boundaries of the Marquette Bubble peering in. What I find to

be most ironic is that Marquette dedicates a substantial amount of effort to driving home the

point that the university is not only Catholic but Jesuit as well, a feature of the school identified

by its urban location to enable and encourage volunteer activity and personal student interaction

with the urban life. But at the same time, a message of fear is instilled in students, warning

future Golden Eagles from the time of their very first tours to be mindful not to overstep their

Marquette boundaries.

In examining both the photographic and informational content of the Marquette website,

or any means of advertisement utilized by the university for that matter, I found that all portray

the college in a very particular manner. Among the most emphasized subjects are academic

excellence, diversity in terms of gender and race, and Marquette’s status as both a Catholic and

Jesuit institution. In other words, the advertisements are carefully crafted; the audience is shown

what Marquette wants them to see. What Marquette fails to highlight in these exhibitions are

some not-so-appealing attributes of the university that become known to students almost

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instantly upon arrival to the university, specifically the enclosed, bubble-like nature of the

campus and the racial tensions that exist and are perpetuated by Marquette’s location being in

one of the most racially diverse yet most racially segregated cities in the nation.

This selectivity in terms of what information is shared with students and the method by

which it is delivered has become a topic of particular interest to me in the past two years. After

nearly two years of refusing to contain myself to a campus that represents but a small portion of

the greater city of Milwaukee, the contradiction between the Jesuit education that Marquette uses

as a selling point and what Marquette actually promotes in practice has only become more

apparent. This sending of mixed messages and the effect that this has on Marquette students and

their perception of the university and the city of Milwaukee is a topic that demands and deserves

further research, as I can see now that it is something that directly impacts the student experience

at Marquette University.

I decided, therefore, to focus my semester-long research efforts on both these Jesuit

education values and the concept of race/ism on the Marquette campus and in the greater city of

Milwaukee, as I think that race plays a significant role in both the formation and maintenance of

the Marquette Bubble. I wanted to examine how Marquette as a Jesuit institution directly

contradicts the value of urban education in the mixed messages conveyed to students, resulting in

the creation of the Marquette Bubble phenomenon. In addition, I wanted to examine how the

lack of racial diversity on a campus in the heart of a diverse and segregated city contributes to

the formation of the Bubble, and how Marquette compares to other Jesuit institutions throughout

the country.

I begin this paper with a Methods section detailing the various sources I utilized in my

collecting of data and information and the way in which each individual source was incorporated

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into my project in its entirety. I then proceed to several sections of findings and results that

describe what I discovered in my collection and analysis of data and include direct references

that support my research motivations and overall project goals. I then proceed to sections of

scholarly sources that discuss the value of Jesuit education and align with both my research

motivations and proposals for change. I conclude this paper with suggested next steps to

implement at the university in order to achieve the change that I envision and areas where

additional research is still necessary.

Methods

This project is a mixed-method qualitative study utilizing rhetorical analyses of websites,

a qualitative coding of a semi-structured interview conducted with a Marquette student, and

careful review of observation fieldnotes in addition to the reading of scholarly literature. My

data sources included the Marquette University website and other university resources, such as

housing tenant guides, locally-based online articles, online evaluations of Marquette independent

of the university, a transcript and coded notes from an interview conducted with a fellow

Marquette student, and personal notes acquired from several weeks of ongoing observations at

campus bus stops.

Marquette-produced materials such as informative webpages for current and potential

students, a tenant guide for students looking into off-campus housing options, and the official

university mission statement were incredibly useful primary resources in that they offered

firsthand thoughts and insights directly from the university. They definitively conveyed the

viewpoints and values of the university in a clear and coherent manner. The external websites,

which included information from a Milwaukee pop culture review web page and websites

critiquing life on college campuses nationwide, proved to be useful in their provision of

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perceptions of Marquette from sources independent of the university. The unbiased information

was critical to provide a more balanced view of Marquette and another vantage point of the

university. The student interview played a key role in bringing my project full-circle, as it

provided a balancing point between the spectrums of the particular aspects of Marquette I was

examining and the critical view with which I was examining them. The student was chosen in

order to obtain a perspective that was unbiased and independent from my project and to get an

opinion from someone whom I knew to have experienced off-campus activities. The thoughts of

the student reiterated the need for change that I am proposing both at Marquette and in

Milwaukee (reference Appendix A for a sample of the interview transcript that has been coded

for main themes that emerged). The observation fieldnotes proved to be especially insightful and

are what led to expanding my research to examine the roles of race and diversity in relation to

the Marquette Bubble. The instances I noted primarily at the city bus stop located on 9th Street

and Wisconsin Avenue as well as additional isolated events at other stops and aboard the buses

themselves demonstrated the need for addressing and eradicating the racial barriers that exist

both on campus and in the city (reference Appendix B for complete set of notes). Finally, I

analyzed two articles that addressed the overall concept of a Jesuit education that I obtained from

both the Marquette University Raynor Memorial Libraries databases and from general online

searches. The first discussed the vital need for racial diversity on Jesuit campuses, and the

second provided a broad overview of several values attributed to a Jesuit education. Both

sources gave ample support to my call for change and aligned with some of my initial proposals

for the implementation of such transformation.

In their entirety, all resources gathered and data collected were used to examine the

adherence to the value of an urban education at Marquette and the underlying roles of race and

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diversity. Juxtaposing the content of the Marquette website and that of websites independent of

Marquette produced very different images of the university, which subsequently led to the

production of additional research questions and areas of inquiry to be examined in order to reach

some sort of conclusion. The student interview and scholarly literature contributed to my

analysis of the differing portrayals of Marquette and supported the need for change, and the

fieldnotes served to tie things together with firsthand accounts and observations.

The university online materials were analyzed in regard to their portrayal of Marquette

and its Jesuit qualities and values and messages conveyed that directly contradicted these

expressed ideals. In particular, the materials were analyzed based upon how much or how little

their information contributed to the formation of the Marquette Bubble in their contradicting of

professed Jesuit values. The online sources independent of the university were analyzed in terms

of how the university was portrayed by unbiased authors not concerned with depicting Marquette

in a specific manner. The interview transcript was analyzed and coded for overlying themes and

subsequent topics related to the primary ideas. These included subjects such as the Marquette

Bubble, the value of urban schooling, race and the Marquette Bubble, miscommunication

between students and the university, and race at Marquette and in Milwaukee. The observation

fieldnotes were analyzed in terms of what was observed and noted and the relationship to the

research questions at hand. Parallel themes emerged as well as additional research questions and

topics. The scholarly literature was analyzed to identify overlapping themes between my

research findings and the information presented in the content of the documents. These themes

were then incorporated as support for my proposals for change at the university. The analyses of

the aforementioned materials were also supplemented with reflection on various personal

experiences. Events that I witnessed and encountered prior to officially beginning this project

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greatly influenced my motivations for pursuing the research questions that I chose to, and

additionally gave me a unique perspective with which I approached the topic and my research.

Findings

My analyses of the various sources discussed above yielded fascinating results pertaining

to urban education at Marquette and the extent to which it is encouraged by the university that

the urban setting is taken advantage of by students. My early research led to the emergence of

the significant role played by race/ism in the campus-community relationship, resulting in my

making it an additional area to explore in further research. I first discuss the results of my

various website analyses of information belonging both to the university and to sources

independent of Marquette. In the discussion of race, I refer to information obtained from a

student interview, my observation fieldnotes, and again from online sources independent of the

university. I conclude the Findings section with data from scholarly sources.

Website Analysis: We Are Marquette…But Are We?

In my analysis of the Marquette website, it was not difficult to find several instances of

the promotion of a Jesuit education and involvement in service at Marquette; it seemed to be

mentioned at least once no matter what specific aspect of the university I was reading about. The

site informs its readers that “Marquette strives to develop men and women who will dedicate

their lives to the service of others, actively entering into the struggle for a more just society,” and

that these same men and women choose Marquette because they are “seeking the educational,

professional, and cultural advantages of a university located in the heart of the city” (Our

Mission). The structure of the website, particularly the components pertaining to community

service, is one that promotes and encourages student involvement in service activities; I doubt

that I would be going too far out on a limb if I said that it may inadvertently guilt students into

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doing so. Under the subtitle “Attention, Do-Gooders” it is stated that “Marquette is well-known

for its commitment to the community- whether it’s in Milwaukee or around the world” (Rankings

and Recognition) and then continues on to list awards and recognitions the university has

received in acknowledgement of their dedication to service. The site page dedicated specifically

to service sums it up nicely: “The promotion of justice and faith through service is an ideal at the

center of Marquette’s mission as a Catholic, Jesuit university. Sure, a university can teach

philosophy and theology courses, hoping to cultivate in students the seeds of ethical and moral

thought- but those seeds won’t grow without action. And action is at the heart of the Marquette

experience” (Get Involved in Service).

The same Marquette website that strongly promotes a Jesuit education and active student

participation and involvement in service activities that strive for justice also features on the

Office of Residence Life page a link to a tenant guide PDF document. In this guide under the

subheading of “Safety,” it is stated that “Safety is one of the most important factors to consider

when considering a place to rent” (Tenant Guide 3). It seems logical enough. However, it goes

on to state the following: “While looking at off campus housing, there are some questions to ask

both the landlord and the tenants that currently live there” (Tenant Guide 3) along with a list of

six questions concerning crimes such as robberies and attacks, building security, and Public

Safety. It seems that Marquette has safety concerns exclusively for students who choose to live

in housing that is off of the main Marquette campus, as there is no mention of safety precautions

for students who opt to reside at on-campus locations. This would seem to indicate that once one

exits the invisible confines of the Marquette campus, the risk of danger rises significantly and

one must be sure to be hyper-vigilant (but remember also, as Jesuit students, we are also

supposed to take advantage of Marquette’s urban and culturally diverse location). The same

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PDF document also has a section titled “Marquette Neighborhood Expectations,” under which

the first statement is simple but bold: “This is our neighborhood” (Tenant Guide 5). Translation:

this is Marquette’s neighborhood. All sentiments about being a Jesuit institution committed to

service to our Milwaukee neighbors are absent and replaced with stern advising to students to

stick to what they know on Marquette’s campus or risk danger in non-Marquette-affiliated areas.

The Result: How Others See Us

The conveying of these contradictory messages results in the creation of a phenomenon

well known to Marquette students and Milwaukee residents unaffiliated with the university alike:

the “Marquette Bubble.” An article from A.V. Club Milwaukee titled “The Milwaukee Public

what? Popping the Marquette Bubble” says the following regarding the Marquette Bubble

sensation:

Approximately 11,000 Milwaukee residents are living in an invisible bubble.

Okay, so it’s apparent from the stone pillars marking the ends of the Marquette

University campus that the community is a bit separated from the rest of the city,

but that doesn’t mean the students have to be. It’s no secret that students at

Marquette don’t often branch out into the city- so much so that the area between

State, Clybourn, Eighth, and 22nd Streets (otherwise known as Marquette’s

campus) has come to be called the “Marquette Bubble” by many folks both inside

and outside its boundaries (Elms).

The article reiterates that as an institution, Marquette appears to deliberately shut itself off from

the surrounding city, creating for students an invisible yet very distinct enclosure in which they

should go about all of their activities within. The result is apparent in student perceptions of a

sharp contrast that exists between the university and the city of Milwaukee. A review of

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Marquette University on unigo.com features direct student quotes such as “The area around

Marquette is really bad…There are a lot of robberies, and a lot of streetwalkers and crackheads

who walk around the same areas that the students do” (www.unigo.com) and “I will miss the

overall Marquette bubble and the cushion I had while there” (www.unigo.com) The significance

of quotes such as these is great; here are students conveying the message to potential incoming

students that Milwaukee is an unsafe city, that Marquette is the only area where one is truly safe,

before these students even set foot on campus. The perpetuation of the Marquette Bubble

phenomenon is seemingly uncontrollable, and though the desirable and safe “cushion” described

by the alumnus above directly contradicts the Jesuit value of urban immersion, an imminent

bursting of the Bubble is simultaneously necessary and unlikely.

Figure 1: Marquette University Student Safety LIMO Boundaries. This image, displayed at numerous locations across campus, illustrates a clearly defined (and also expanded) image of the Bubble, with boundaries indicated on W. State, N. 26th, N. 22nd, W. Clybourn, Tory Hill, N. James Lowell/N. 7th, N. 11th, and W. Kilbourn.

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Student Perspective on the Bubble: Interview with Francesca Adeleman

In an interview conducted with a female Marquette student, who for confidentiality

purposes will be referred to by the pseudonym Francesca Adeleman, the topic of the Marquette

Bubble was discussed in order to obtain another student perspective on the phenomenon.

Francesca, a current sophomore, is part of a Marquette minority that regularly ventures off the

main Marquette campus for both recreational and service activities. We discussed the way in

which the university deters students from participating in activities outside the Marquette

campus, her reaction to this sentiment, and her personal perception of the Marquette Bubble.

When asked the question, “What is your personal understanding of the Marquette

Bubble?” Francesca gave the following answer, an honest summation of both the physical and

psychological implications of the Bubble:

I think it’s just one way of life that you’re stuck in and it spans a couple of

blocks…it really is a physical place. You really have no need to get outside of

that bubble…it’s not necessary. You have to put forth your own effort to leave if

you want to do something else, otherwise there is no reason that you would

actually HAVE to leave campus, other than for grocery shopping or something. I

think a lot of people get stuck in that routine…their friends are here, you have a

food plan, your classes are here, you study here, and so you kind of get stuck here.

And people say, “oh, it’s unsafe in that direction and that direction…don’t go

North, don’t go West, don’t go South,” and people get this idea that you should

stay in this little bubble. I understand the need for safety, but…I mean our

campus is so condensed. Right side of Wisconsin is residence and left side is

classrooms, that’s it…you don’t get much diversity beyond what is the student

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population at Marquette, and the faculty at Marquette, and everything that belongs

to Marquette.

Francesca acknowledged the encouragement by the university for students to get involved in

service extracurriculars and the way in which the urban environment of Milwaukee provides

students with a perfect opportunity to adhere to the school’s Jesuit values. She also

acknowledged that such encouragement is accompanied with disclaimers, saying “I think there

are more students that get involved in things INSIDE the Marquette campus than outside, and I

think we are almost dissuaded…I think they only encourage it to a certain point.”

Francesca is genuinely grateful for her opportunity to attend college in an urban setting

that allows her to fulfill her current hobbies and interests and explore new ones at the same time,

as being in the heart of the city “gives you a lot of perspective that [you] wouldn’t have seen

otherwise” and “puts things into perspective so much, like what real problems are and what real

perseverance is, and a human connection.” She has no regrets over her decision to make an

effort to burst the bubble for herself, and she offered these thoughts as to what results when other

students are hesitant to do the same: “If you left Marquette only in this little bubble, not really

experiencing anything outside of it, I think you would miss out on a lot…like what the Marquette

Experience is supposed to be…I think college is for learning about other people and learning

about what’s out there, and I don’t think you’d be doing yourself any service to stay on campus

all the time.” Francesca’s thoughts reiterate the dismaying reality that is the Marquette Bubble:

when students buy into this assumption that what lies outside of the Marquette campus is all

dangerous and risky, they are ultimately missing out on the opportunity to get to know a city rich

in culture and diversity that has a lot to offer and teach to those willing to learn and explore.

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Color Blind: Race and Diversity at Marquette

In relation to the Marquette Bubble and the character the university establishes for itself

that is unique and distinct from the urban city in which it is located, another topic needs to be

addressed and analyzed, that being the distinct differences in racial composition that exist

between Marquette and the city of Milwaukee. Though the photographs displayed on the

university website and in informational pamphlets showcase male and female students equally

and, more often than not, attempt to have a balance between the number of white students and

students of color in order to convey an impression of a racially diverse campus, that is far from

reality. A review of Marquette on collegeprowler.com sums up a more accurate portrayal of the

university that echoes the sentiments held by the majority of Marquette students: “Marquette is a

very middle class, white school with the majority of student body coming from the suburbs of

Chicago. Racial diversity is few and far between” (College Prowler). The grade awarded to the

university from the website for diversity? A mediocre C+.

While this is less than ideal in terms of students having the opportunity to meet and

befriend members of a racial group that is different from their own, this would be less of a

significant problem if it were not for Marquette’s location being in the heart of one of the most

diverse and segregated cities in the nation (in April of 2011, Milwaukee occupied second place

on the list of America’s ten most segregated cities with a 79.6 dissimilarity index rating between

blacks and whites) (Bradford). The primarily white composition of Marquette far from mirrors

the racial composition of Milwaukee, which has large numbers of whites, blacks, and Latinos

alike. While this is a clear distinction, Marquette’s status as “a very middle class, white school”

when considered along with its location in the heart of Milwaukee mirrors the racial distributions

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of the city as highlighted on milwaukeemag.com: an explicit concentration of races in particular

areas, with little to no comingling (Jones).

Figure 2: Concentration of Working Family Homes by RaceThese images from milwaukeemag.com illustrate the concentration of races throughout the Milwaukee area. The image on the left shows homes of white workers, with a fairly even distribution. The middle image shows homes of black workers, where there is a clear and distinctive concentration of black homes. The image on the right shows homes of Hispanic workers, again showing a single distinct area.

Race on Campus: a Student View

In my interview with Francesca Adeleman, I asked her questions regarding race at

Marquette, race in Milwaukee, and the connection (or lack thereof) between the two. At several

points throughout the course of the interview, she acknowledged the hypocrisy of Marquette in

its self-portrayal as a racially diverse university and the reality of the lack of racial and cultural

variance on campus. Overall, Francesca reflected upon attending school in a city plagued by

countless racial problems that could very likely be perpetuated by the presence and attitudes of a

predominantly white, upper/middle class university in the middle of it all.

When asked to describe the diversity on the Marquette campus, Francesca replied with a

blunt but honest “There’s not much.” Though she was quick to jump in with a personal and

critical anecdote about the particular college to which she belongs and their portrayal of racial

diversity at Marquette and within the program in their advertisements:

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…they do all these pictures and whatnot, I think it’s hilarious, because half the

people are minorities, a quarter of them are men, and the other quarter are white

females, when the majority of people in the class are white females. I think they

like to pretend that we’re this super diverse school. It’s like when you see the

pamphlets or stuff in the website, and I just always laugh because they’re trying to

put out this message of us being a diverse school and we’re really not…that’s the

honest truth.

She also acknowledged that while there are undoubtedly racial tensions in the greater city of

Milwaukee, there are also racial tensions that exist right on Marquette’s campus. She spoke of a

campus that creates special groups and organizations for minorities, no doubt with only positive

intentions in mind, and how this seems to backfire and further perpetuate issues of race and

notions of separateness. Instead of achieving solidarity, Francesca argues that Marquette

promotes an atmosphere in which students are more likely to throw accusations back and forth

than reach out to form connections and relationships, and that this applies to all races:

I have never felt guilty about my race until coming to Marquette, and having classes

where they teach that the white guy is the bad guy. I have never been told so many

times that “you’re the privileged one,” and privileged is spat out like some dirty

word…you’re privileged because you’re white and you have enough money to go

to Marquette…race is a huge thing with that…an assumption that if you’re one

race, this is you, and if you’re another this is you. I never saw that before coming

here, and I suppose it’s because there wasn’t a lot of diversity back home. But

when there was, I never knew that we all were supposed to be against each other…

here it feels like we are.

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Here, Francesca acknowledges just how large-scale the issue of race and diversity is at

Marquette and in Milwaukee. She addresses an interesting point in that the racial tensions that

exist on campus are by no means one directional; there are feelings of bitterness and animosity

toward members of all races, not just toward members of particular ethnic groups that are

perceived as minority or less advantaged. This universal perception of tension results in students

feeling separate from each other at best, and, in the worst case scenario, pitted against one

another because of racial differences.

Disparity in Action: Fieldnotes

I had my assumptions and hunches about the relationship between Marquette students

and members of different races, and I decided to put these to the test by making weekly

observations of race and interactions at the bus stop located on 9th Street and Wisconsin Avenue,

a stop located more on the east end of campus but nonetheless utilized frequently by Marquette

students and Milwaukee residents alike. My process of obtaining observations was

straightforward, as I simply made notes each time I frequented the bus stop as to how many

people were standing there, what race they were, and how they acted in relation to one another.

My findings, while not entirely unexpected, still came as a bit of a shock when I observed on

several occasions active attempts made by a member of one race to separate and distinguish

themselves from members of another. Wednesday, January 30 was a particularly cold day with

snow and high winds, a day that I was extra thankful for the three-sided enclosure at the bus stop

that provided some level of shelter and protection from the elements. As I stood beneath the

pavilion with two other white Marquette students, a black man approached, clearly as eager to be

protected from the miserable weather as we were. However, after what appeared to be a second

thought, he chose instead to remain standing outside of the enclosure, completely exposed to the

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snow and the wind. A similar occurrence happened the following week on Monday, February 4,

this time with the racial roles reversed. I was again standing beneath the enclosure with a white

woman who was smoking a cigarette while carrying on a loud conversation on her cell phone.

We were soon joined by a black woman, and within seconds the white woman had moved from

her spot beneath the enclosure to the outside several feet away. I felt that this could not be

ignored or considered to be merely coincidental, as clearly the woman was not concerned about

the privacy of her phone call or courtesy for others when she was smoking or she would have

moved upon my arrival. These distinct efforts by members of different races to physically

separate and distance themselves left me questioning their motives and rationales for their

actions; is racial tension truly that high that people feel the need to make clear their separateness?

There has been much research and study of racism and segregation as it pertains to institutions

and the greater social context and structure. Is it possible that this institutional racism has

become so commonplace that it is now a part of daily small-scale activities such as waiting at

bus stops?

My fieldnote observations included events that occurred only once but still carried

significance that warranted further analysis. There was an instance again on January 30 of a

white Marquette student choosing to remain standing on a crowded and bumpy bus as opposed to

taking an open aisle seat next to an African American man. There was also the time on February

4 that I observed a white woman standing several feet away from two black men and myself at

the bus stop on 35th Street and Wisconsin Avenue, moving to stand in front of the enclosure (and

hence, near to us) only when the bus arrived, and then turning around and boldly stating to the

men that she would be the first one to get on the bus despite the fact she had been the last to

arrive to the stop and just moments ago had been the furthest away from the open doors of the

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bus. There was also the consistent observation of advertisements plastered on both the interiors

and exteriors of city buses for colleges such as MATC, Alverno, and Bryant & Stratton College,

though I have yet to see one for Marquette. These isolated experiences generated still further

questions about the role of race in the formation of the Marquette Bubble. Are white students

fearful of interacting with members of different races? Does the Caucasian status come with an

assumed status of superiority as well? Marquette is just as much located in Milwaukee as these

other colleges…why is it not advertised as such?

So What Does it Mean: The Campus-City Connection

When asked to describe how the racial composition of Marquette compares to that of the

greater city of Milwaukee, Francesca made no effort to restrain her honesty that reflected exactly

why Marquette was awarded that C+ grade for diversity on campus:

It’s interesting, because the racial composition of Marquette does not reflect the

city at all…this is a very expensive school, and a lot of kids are from the suburbs,

and many are white. Some of the areas surrounding campus are very low-income

areas, and I know the North side is predominantly African-American and the

South side is predominantly Latino, and I know there is a large Hmong

community. Milwaukee as a whole is very diverse, but I have also heard that it is

one of the most segregated in the nation as well. But Marquette does not reflect

the city at all. There is very little diversity…we’re just kind of plopped into this

very diverse area. Again, if people don’t choose to go off campus, then they’re

not really immersed in that at all. They’re just in the culture they’re in right there.

This sharp contrast in racial distribution on and off campus further sets Marquette apart from the

city and creates a sentiment of isolation and not belonging, a sentiment that is easily detected and

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adopted by university students. By attending a school where the student population is primarily

composed of middle class whites and where there are confusing and mixed messages conveyed

in regards to student involvement in a racially diverse urban city, it becomes far too easy for

Marquette students to buy into the Marquette Bubble phenomenon; there are so many

contributing factors to Marquette’s separation from the city that the formation of an impermeable

bubble is just short of inevitable. Francesca summed this up in her concluding statements:

I don’t think Marquette represents the city. They put in an effort to get people to

immerse themselves, but with such caution that it almost creates the opposite

effect. It’s like “only go there for a few hours and this and that…” it’s almost like

it’s off-limits unless you’re doing service and you’re in a safe van. Otherwise

there’s this stupid idea of making sure everyone is separated from each other. I

don’t know. It’s a segregated city, and I think Marquette is part of that

segregation.

Stand Up Marquette: “A Call to Action”

The lack of diversity in the Jesuit education experience is not in itself unique to

Marquette. On January 27, 2005, Dr. Jeffrey P. Von Arx, president of Fairfield University in

Massachusetts, delivered a speech at the Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Convocation discussing

the Jesuit education and the reflection of Jesuit values in racial diversity on college campuses.

He posed to his audience the following questions: “In what ways do our assumptions about the

world blind us to realities that exist beyond our own habits of thinking, relating, and making

decisions? What in our peripheral vision needs to move front and center if we are to see, know,

and understand those around us? What do we need to do to ensure that those around us are not

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just people like ourselves?” (Von Arx). These inquiries, as well as the claims made throughout

his discourse, align with the issue of a lack of racial diversity on Marquette’s own campus.

In a survey conducted by the Advancement Division of Fairfield University, alumni from

the 1970s and 1980s were asked what aspect of the Jesuit education they had most appreciated

during their years of schooling. Common responses included the Jesuit core curriculum, the

positive impact of personal relationships formed with individual Jesuits, and the comprehensive

tradition of striving for competence, character, and compassion. Another survey commonality

was the answer given when asked what aspect of their Jesuit education had been lacking, and

that was consistently reported as the absence of racial diversity on campus (Von Arx). These

responses of thirty and forty-year alumni demonstrate that this gaping disparity in the Jesuit

education experience has endured for decades, and any efforts that have been implemented to

this point to address the issue have been unsuccessful.

Von Arx’s message is one of simplicity and clarity: “We can – and must – do better…

Addressing racial diversity in higher education…will also build bridges across the economic

divide that keeps the racially and economically marginalized from participating in the benefits

this society has long offered to those born into opportunity” (Von Arx). It is not an issue that can

be resolved overnight by any means. But acknowledging its existence instead of pretending that

it is a topic without consequence that can continue to be ignored would be a step in the right

direction without a doubt. In responding to the needs of a campus and a city plagued by racial

barriers, we must begin to ask ourselves as Von Arx does: “Are there ways, today, that we could

be more welcoming, more caring, more intentional about who we see, how we interact, and how

we respond?” (Von Arx)

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What We Should Strive For: “The Characteristics of Jesuit Education”

Marquette has particular responsibilities as a Jesuit institution, and evidence of the

necessity of fulfilling such responsibilities can be found in looking to the values of Jesuit

education for support. In a 1993 letter from the twenty-ninth Superior General of the Society of

Jesus to his Major Superiors, Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, S.J. wrote to discuss “a renewal of

the teaching-learning process in the actual classroom situation” (Kolvenbach 3) and the

development of programs for Jesuit institutions that reiterate the overall values of the Jesuit

education. The extensively detailed document names and elaborates upon several values to

strive for in the Jesuit curriculum and in the overall Jesuit educational experience. These values

address several aspects of a balanced Jesuit course of study, among these being the themes of

justice, service to others, and dedication to the poor and disadvantaged. The value of “Jesuit

Education serves the faith that does justice” states that “The goal of the faith that does justice and

works for peace is a new type of person in a new kind of society, in which each individual has

the opportunity to be fully human and each one accepts the responsibility of promoting the

human development of others (Kolvenbach 18).” Beyond that, while the human race is plagued

by discrimination and misunderstanding, the notions of dignity and justice are not. As stated by

Kolvenbach, “All members of the educational community, including those who do not share

Christian faith, can collaborate in this work. A genuine sense of the dignity of the human person

can be the starting point for working together in the promotion of justice and can become the

beginning of an ecumenical dialogue which sees justice as intimately tied to faith (Kolvenbach

18).” The promotion of a campus community where a commitment to the pursuit of justice is a

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part of the everyday dialogue and philosophy is certainly something to strive for, and the

introduction of this concept at Marquette would set the wheels in motion to begin the process of

change.

Kolvenbach also states that “In preparation for life commitment, there are opportunities

in Jesuit education for actual contact with the world of injustice. The analysis of society within

the curriculum thus becomes reflection based on actual contact with the structural dimensions of

injustice (Kolvenbach 19).” This too demands that a university does not exist solely on its own

all the while being surrounded by a city with countless issues of injustice and marginalization of

particular populations. The only way to combat injustice is to acknowledge its existence and

recognize the need for change that can be met with a university’s ability to begin implementing

such refinement: “Members of the educational community are aware of and involved in the

serious issues of our day. The educational community, and each individual in it, are conscious of

the influence they can have on others; school policies are made with an awareness of possible

effects on the larger community and on its social structures (Kolvenbach 19).” That recognition

of the ability to administer change, that sense of belonging to both a campus community and to a

greater city community, that is truly “being the difference.”

The cognizance of the need to pursue justice and a personal ability and responsibility to

do so raises the questions, to whom are we responsible, and for whom are we to promote justice?

In the context of urban Jesuit schools, the answer seems all too apparent. As privileged students

receiving Jesuit educations, we are responsible for paying our blessings forward to those who

have not been the recipients of such advantages. The values made apparent in Marquette

programs and policies are the values that are going to be reflected through Marquette students in

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the greater Milwaukee area. If students are to become involved in the community in an effective

manner, they must do so prepared with values applicable to those they are reaching out to.

Moving Forward: So What Now?

There are several areas to which change can be implemented at Marquette across

curricular and extracurricular experiences and students and faculty alike in order for the

university to better adhere to the values of urban, Jesuit, and racially just education and to begin

breaking down racial barriers. Specifically, I address four areas in which I feel the university

could introduce change.

1. In general, it is necessary that Marquette students are provided early on with another

perspective of the city of Milwaukee. My awareness of the Marquette Bubble and sense

of Marquette as having an identity distinct from the rest of Milwaukee began before I was

even officially a member of the student body. Prior to even setting foot on campus as

Marquette students, people are given an image of the university and of the city that

Marquette wants for them to see instead of what it actually is. There needs to be another

view of Marquette given that is different from those given by university-trained tour

guides and on the official Marquette website. Alterations made to the training program

for tour guides that incorporated information not only about Marquette but about

Milwaukee as well would be particularly beneficial in increasing student awareness. The

provision of this alternate perspective must be followed up with action. Revealing to

students that there is far more to Milwaukee than the miniscule piece that is Marquette is

one thing, but actually getting students off of campus and into the greater urban

environment of which they are a part of is another. There is a way for the university to

encourage student safety and conscientiousness without doing so at the cost of students

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restricting themselves to campus boundaries; there needs to be some sort of middle

ground to be achieved. Providing services such as student panels encouraging off-

campus involvement would allow other students to hear firsthand the benefits of taking a

break from the campus life and exploring the city.

2. There additionally needs to be a revamping of the student curriculum so that all students

complete courses that incorporate the understanding of social justice themes such as

racism, sexism, and classism, and seeing these in the context of a Jesuit education.

Kolvenbach states that “Justice issues are treated in the curriculum. This may call for the

addition of new courses; of greater importance is the examination of the justice

dimension always present in every course taught (Kolvenbach 18).” As the pursuit of

justice is foundational to a Jesuit education, it must be made to be foundational in the

classroom as well. The addition of new courses to the curriculum, or even a simple

revising of the current offered classes, are small prices to pay in the greater context of

truly giving students a well-rounded Jesuit education rooted in faith and justice.

3. As a Social Welfare and Justice major, I have completed several courses concentrated on

justice and human dignity, many of which have been supplemented with out of classroom

experience through the university’s Service Learning Program. I would propose also a

revitalization of this program, particularly when discussing the reflection component.

Again, Kolvenbach states that “The Jesuit school provides students with opportunities for

contact with the poor and for service to them, both in the school and in outside service

projects, to enable these students to learn to love all as brothers and sisters in the human

community, and also in order to come to a better understanding of the causes of poverty.

To be educational, this contact is joined to reflection (Kolvenbach 20).” While the

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Service Learning Program provides ample opportunity for students to become engaged in

service at various locations throughout Milwaukee, there is very little emphasis placed on

the reflection aspect of the experience. What results is the completion of Service

Learning hours becoming more of a burden than an enrichment opportunity for students.

To be more effective and meaningful, the program needs to take the focus away from the

completion of hours, which carries a mandated, assignment-like attitude toward service,

and focus more on the importance of reflecting upon and truly understanding and

appreciating the community in which the service was completed. Restructuring the

reflection component of Service Learning could include the incorporation of mandatory

reflection sessions in addition to those that are optional where students would reflect

upon what was truly learned in their service experience. What did they learn about

themselves? What did they learn about Milwaukee? Have they received as much from

the community as the community has received from them?

4. Finally, students need to simply begin utilizing the resources they are given to take the

initiative to push themselves beyond the boundaries of the Marquette campus, and the

university needs to encourage students doing so. Each Marquette student is provided

with semester-long bus passes for the Milwaukee County Transit System, a valuable

resource that becomes meaningless if its use is not encouraged. Marquette needs to not

only encourage better use of these passes, but also better teach students as to how to

navigate the transit system. As has been discussed with my colleague Michele Furman,

this teaching could be done through implementing changes to the structure of the

orientation program for incoming freshmen. If specific time was reserved specifically for

bringing these new students into the city and for teaching them how to navigate the

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bussing system, perhaps they would be more comfortable and willing to do the same on

their own. Once one has vague mastery of the system and routes, venturing into the city

becomes a simple and rewarding task.

Future Research: Is There More to Learn?

Upon completion of this project, I feel that I have only come to additional questions and

areas that are in need of further attention and research. One of the most shocking results of my

studies came from my analysis of student responses to perceived feelings of safety at Jesuit

institutions throughout the country. Not only did Marquette yield the smallest percentage of

students reporting the feeling of being “Extremely Safe and Secure,” but the average number of

students feeling “Extremely Safe and Secure” on campus at Marquette (6.2%) falls far below the

overall average of 20.14% (College Prowler), a statistic which in itself seems surprisingly low. I

find this disparity to be alarming, and further research is needed to reach an explanation as to

why this disparity exists.

Figure 3: Percentages of Students Reported as Having the Feeling of “Extremely Safe and Secure” on Campus.According to safety surveys conducted by collegeprowler.com, the above results were obtained when students were asked how safe they perceived themselves to be on their respective college campuses. The overall average is far from impressive, and Marquette falls nearly 14% of that when it comes to students who feel “Extremely Safe and Secure.” Reference Appendix B for complete survey results.

After reflection on personal experience and extensive examination of the Marquette

website, I came to the realization that the way in which Marquette is portrayed in relation to the

city of Milwaukee both through word of mouth and through information conveyed on the

university website presents an extremely skewed view. On the surface to the uninformed

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individual, Marquette represents a fairly prestigious beacon in the heart of a city suffering from

multiple barriers, one of the most prominent being race/ism. There is the world of Marquette and

the world that is not Marquette, and there is little room left for healthy intermixing of the two.

This raises the question, how can the provision of information regarding the university and the

city to students be altered in order to give a more balanced and dynamic view of Milwaukee?

Finally, the issue of race that emerged as a dominant theme throughout the course of my

research is one that demands further research. The city of Milwaukee suffers from numerous

issues related to racial tensions, and the presence of a predominantly white, middle-class

university in the heart of it all does little to relieve the situation. The problems surrounding

racism are many, and it is difficult to determine where is best to begin combatting them. For

now, broad but nonetheless critical questions still stand: Is it possible to break down the campus-

community barriers between Marquette and Milwaukee? How can Marquette work to be more

genuinely attuned to their Jesuit identity? How can the “fine print” issues be made into central

concerns? The time is now for Marquette to truly “Be the Difference.”

Works Cited

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Bradford, Harry. "America's 10 Most Segregated Cities." The Huffington Post. N.p., 7 Apr.

2011. Web. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/04/07/americas-10-most-segregated-

cities_n_845092.html#s261065&title=2_Milwaukee_Wisconsin>.

College Prowler. N.p., n.d. Web.

<http://collegeprowler.com/marquette-university/discuss/100900342-marquette-is-a-

very-middle-class-white-school-with-the-majority-of-student/>.

Elms, Sarah. "The Milwaukee Public What?: Popping the Marquette Bubble." A.V. Club

Milwaukee. N.p., 5 May 2011. Web. <http://www.avclub.com/milwaukee/articles/the-

milwaukee-public-what-popping-the-marquette-bu,55061/>.

Get Involved in Service. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.marquette.edu/about/service.shtml>.

Jones, Veronica. "The Most Segregated City in America?" MilwaukeeMag.com. N.p., 28 Nov.

2012. Web. <http://www.milwaukeemag.com/article/11282012-

TheMostSegregatedCityinAmerica>.

Kolvenbach, Peter-Hans. “The Characteristics of Jesuit Education.” 31 July 1993. Web. <

http://www.jesuitalumni.org/est/doc/chara-en.pdf>.

Our Mission. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.marquette.edu/about/mission.shtml>.

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Rankings and Recognition. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.marquette.edu/about/rankings.shtml>.

Tenant Guide. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://marquette.edu/images/orl/tenantguide.pdf>.

N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.unigo.com/marquette_university/summary>.

Von Arx, Jeffrey P. "Diversity and the Jesuit Tradition." Academic Search Complete, 27 Jan.

2005. Web. <http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?sid=0ccaff03-4014-42cc-8bed-

a56a83909ffd

%40sessionmgr104&vid=1&hid=123&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d

%3d#db=a9h&AN=16462716>.

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Appendix A: Coded Interview Transcript Sample

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Appendix B: Observation Fieldnotes

Field Notes: Weekly Bus Observations

Unless indicated otherwise, each of the descriptions below were observed at the bus stop located on 9 th Street and Wisconsin Avenue between 1:15 and 1:30 P.M. In each instance, I took up the role of simply another bus patron, perhaps the only difference between myself and the others at the stop being that I paid close attention to the details of the surroundings. These observations included things such as how many people were waiting at the stop, the race or ethnicity of each person, and the behavior of each individual in relation to the others. The goal of performing these observations was to examine the nature of interactions between members of different races and how members of different races behave toward one another. I began this project with a suspicion of racial tension both on the Marquette campus and in the city of Milwaukee, and I wanted to see if this was really the case.

Wednesday, January 30, 2013 Bus Stop: 9th and Wisconsin

o Description: Wednesday was a particularly cold day with nasty wind and snow. This bus stop is one that has a semi-protective shelter, enclosed on 3 sides to block wind, snow, rain, etc. I was especially thankful for such a structure today. I was the first person to the bus stop, and I took full advantage of the enclosure. I was soon joined by two other Marquette students, one male and one female, both white. They too stood in the enclosure. We were then joined by an African-American male, who seemed just as eager as we were to get out of the elements. He made a movement as though to join us under the structure, but on second thought decided to stand separate from us, about four or five feet away and out in the open in the snow and wind. There was plenty of room beneath the structure for all of us to stand, and I was perplexed as to why he didn’t join us.

Question: What was this man’s reasoning for not taking some shelter from the weather when there was clearly plenty of room for him under the structure? Was it due to the fact that there were three white Marquette students already standing there, or is that just circumstantial?

o Conversation: neither the African-American man nor I spoke in the duration of time all four of us were waiting for the bus to arrive. However the two other Marquette students were engaged in conversation, the content of which I found to be interesting. They were playfully arguing about taking the bus to their destination as opposed to just walking to get there. From what I gathered, they did not have far to go…the girl was in favor of walking as opposed to wasting time waiting for a bus but her male friend was adamant that he did not want to walk to their destination in the snow and wind.

Thoughts: this got me thinking a little bit about the bus/Public Transit system. Because MU students get free access to the bus each semester, I think it is more often viewed as a convenience than anything. If one is tired or lazy or the weather is cold, they can simply hop on the bus for a couple blocks without a second thought; the usage of the bus is a right/an entitlement. This is not the story for many Milwaukee residents whose primary means of transportation is the city bus, which they most definitely do not have the luxury of using free of cost. For many, riding the bus is a privilege of sorts, and choosing to ride it is making a conscious decision to spend money for the convenience. This entitlement vs. privilege, free vs. costly notion is interesting to me.

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Question: Is there an air of entitlement and superiority that MU students carry that contributes to the rigidity of the Marquette Bubble?

Return Bus Ride: approximately 17th/18th and Wisconsin, 4:15 P.M.o Observation: When returning back from Big Brothers, Big Sisters, I was sitting on the bus

next to another Caucasian male. In the row in front of us, there was an African-American sitting next to the window with an open seat on his left. A white female Marquette student got on the bus around 17th or 18th and walked down the aisle until she was standing beside the vacant seat next to the African-American man. Instead of taking the open seat, she chose instead to stand next to the seat and remain standing for the duration of her ride.

Question: this is not the first time I have observed something of this nature. There have been several times when I have observed Marquette students looking visibly uncomfortable while riding on the city bus. In this specific instance, what was the Marquette student’s rationality in regards to her choice to remain sitting instead of taking the very open seat? I wonder if this is observable often? If it is, does it occur more often when the open seat is next to a person of a different ethnicity than when the person is white or the same ethnicity as the student?

Monday, February 4, 2013 Bus Stop: 9th and Wisconsin

o Description: It was another snowy day today, and I was grateful once again for the presence of the enclosure to keep me relatively dry and out of the cold and wind. When I initially walked up, there was only one other person also under the enclosure, a white woman smoking a cigarette and talking on her cell phone. After a few minutes, we were joined by an African-American woman, who also stood under the enclosure next to the white woman. I looked down Wisconsin Avenue in search of the 30 bus, and when I looked back the white woman had disappeared. I saw that she had moved outside of

African-American Man Me White Marquette Students

Aprox. 4-5 feet

Key: Each blue circle indicates a person standing at the stop and is labeled accordingly. The orange box represents the enclosure.

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the enclosure once the African-American woman had walked up next to her. I found it to be quite interesting that she chose to move immediately after the other woman showed up, and I questioned her motives for making the move. Clearly it was neither out of privacy nor out of respect for potential non-smokers under the pavilion, as she had been smoking and talking loudly on the phone without a care when it was just the two of us standing there. There was also a white man who chose to stand outside of the enclosure out in the snow rather than joining myself and the African-American woman under the enclosure. After a few moments of small talk, I had learned that she was a student like myself, though she attended MATC downtown. Our conversation was friendly and light-hearted, despite an obvious difference in race.

The question stands again this week as to why the white man did not join us under the enclosure when there was clearly space and the weather was less than ideal? What were the motives of the white woman who decided to move outside of the enclosure once the African-American woman joined us? Coincidence or something more?

o Observation: I think it is interesting to observe the advertisements that are displayed on the city buses, both on the exterior and the interior on the walls. In particular, I have been taking notice of the educational advertisements for local colleges. Today, I saw ads for MATC, Alverno, and Bryant & Stratton College. I have never seen one for Marquette. I find this interesting as Marquette is just as much in the heart of the city as these other colleges, yet they are distinctly absent from these public forms of advertisement. Why is this?

Bus Stop: 35th & Wisconsin, 4:00 P.M.o Description: I was standing with two African-American men beneath the pavilion. A

white woman stood very separate from us to the left of the enclosure. It was not until the bus pulled up that the white woman walked over to the enclosure, standing in front of it (and thus, in front of myself and the two African-American men) rather than beneath it. As the bus came to a stop, the woman turned to one of the men and informed him that she would be getting on the bus first, which I found to be very blunt and pretty rude as well.

Monday, February 11 Bus Stop: 9th and Wisconsin

o Description: as I was crossing Wisconsin, the 30 bus pulled up to the stop, a few minutes ahead of schedule. Because the light was red and I knew I had ample time to cross before it changed, I did not rush to cross the street or flag down the driver to make him aware that I needed to get on. I stood in front of the doors as they opened, smiling and ready to thank the African-American driver, and he immediately scolded me with an

MeWhite Man

African-American Woman

White Woman

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irritated tone in his voice that he was not a mind-reader and that I was lucky he had not driven off before I got on. I apologized and took my seat, growing more embarrassed as the driver continued to complain and gripe to other African-American passengers about me.

o Observation: I have been riding the city buses frequently for almost two years now, and I have witnessed on several occasions people doing the exact same thing I did…crossing the street toward a waiting bus without any particular sense of urgency and without making it explicit to the driver that they were intending to board the bus. I have even observed this when the bus is not stopped at a red light but at one that is green, and still people will make their way over without being in any sort of hurry. Because I am usually traveling to an area of the city that is primarily African-American, it just so happens that the people I have observed doing this have more often than not been African-American. Never once has a bus driver reacted the way the driver did on this particular day.

Question: Why did the bus driver react the way he did? I was apologetic and sincerely grateful that he had not just driven off. Why did he continue to give me the third degree long after the moment had passed, criticizing my actions with other riders who, frankly, had no business in the matter whatsoever? I have watched white Marquette students on the buses before, and I acknowledge that more often than not they do seem out of place, uncomfortable, and confused…was the driver assuming that because I was white and/or a Marquette student that I was naïve and ignorant?

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Appendix C: College Prowler Student Safety Survey Results

Generally Safe and Comfortable Walking Alone

More Comfortable in a Group, Relatively Safe

Extremely Safe and Secure

Relatively Unsafe and Uneasy About Security

Georgetown 54.2% 37.5% 8.3% 0%Loyola-Chicago 50% 23.3% 23.3% 3.3%Marquette 43.8% 46.9% 6.2% 3.1%SLU 47.8% 26.1% 23.9% 2.2%San Francisco 58.5% 2.4% 39% 0%Average: 50.92% 27.24% 20.14% 1.72%

Overall, San Francisco has the best all-around ratings, with the highest percentage of students feeling both “Extremely safe and secure” and “Generally safe and comfortable walking alone”

Marquette, overall, is the worst:o Lowest percentage both for “Extremely safe and secure” and “Generally safe and

comfortable walking alone”o Highest for “More comfortable in a group, relatively safe”o Second highest in “Relatively unsafe and uneasy about security”o Incredibly above the average when it comes to the percentage of students that feel

more comfortable when they are in a group as opposed to being on their owno Incredibly below the average when it comes to percentage of students that feel

extremely safe and secure on campus

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