18. Key Rack
Simi Kolajo, PhD Researcher
The geographies of home, represented by this ‘welcome’ key rack, are a vibrant area of study. Where and with whom students live is critical to the unfolding of their everyday lives and overall experiences of higher education.
My dissertation explored students’ racialised living experiences, drawing on interview data with university students and supplemented by my reflections. The experiences of multiple and temporary homes are mediated by processes of (dis)comfort and the desire for autonomy. The research suggests that students’ first year experiences of racial (dis)comfort and mutual experiences of control within campus halls are woven into subsequent accommodation choices.
Through the search for autonomous and comfortable living arrangements, the study finds that students are often led to accommodation off campus, where home is made, unmade and remade with familiar friends. By demonstrating the importance of differentiating within and between racialised student groups, this dissertation highlighted the need for further research to grasp the plurality of student experiences.
