How do seemingly nonracial organizational processes reproduce racial inequality? In a new study published in Socius, Alanna Gillis and I examine this question through the lens of “the Pact,” a COVID-19 behavioral policy implemented at a predominantly White U.S. liberal arts college during the 2020-2021 academic year. Drawing on three waves of yearly interviews with 30 undergraduates, we reveal how this ostensibly race-neutral policy inadvertently undermined social connection and belonging among the school’s small population of students of color.

In a new study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family, I leverage the case of COVID-19 campus closings to examine social class differences in young adults’ understandings and experiences of parental support—as well as the implications for inequality.