UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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UCLA UCLA Electronic Theses and Dissertations Title Deadly Gun Violence on American College Campuses: UCLA International Student Perspectives Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/0k59r6vj Author Gelzhiser, Justin Adam Publication Date 2018 Peer reviewed|Thesis/dissertation eScholarship.org Powered by the California Digital Library University of California UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Deadly Gun Violence on American College Campuses: UCLA International Student Perspectives A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Education by Justin Adam Gelzhiser 2018 © Copyright by Justin Adam Gelzhiser 2018 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Deadly Gun Violence on American College Campuses: UCLA International Student Perspectives by Justin Adam Gelzhiser Doctor of Philosophy in Education University of California, Los Angeles, 2018 Professor Robert T. Teranishi, Chair American colleges and universities attract nearly one million international students each year to their higher education institutions. Reasons for the high demand of American degree and certificate programs include a major boost in one’s social, cultural, and economic capital. Expansive alumni connections, world-class skills training, and enhanced job prospects and opportunities, both domestically and internationally, are made accessible to graduates from American institutions of higher education (IHE). At the same time, choosing to enter a new foreign environment in the United States involves major social and cultural changes as well as financial demands. Universities are at the nexus of marketing to, accepting, welcoming, and providing education to this invaluable part of American campus communities. ii International students who choose to make the trek to the United States enter a new foreign landscape that includes concerns of safety, and more specifically, fears and concerns of America’s prevalent “gun culture.” Utilizing Dewey’s theory of experiential learning and a Freirean critical approach, I will use a communication studies approach to examine the lived experiences of Indian and Chinese international students at The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Mass media, social media, and face-to-face intercultural interactions will be examined to construct a clearer picture of international student educational experiences. While examining general perceptions of safety in America and its college campuses, special emphasis is placed on international student perspectives of the June 1st, 2016 murder-suicide that took place on UCLA’s campus. As false rumors of a coordinated terrorist attack and reports of mass casualties were spread on campus, an already tragic event was amplified into a global one. In-depth interviews and focus groups are used to gain insight into the world’s two largest overall global and American higher education populations. Detailed qualitative analyses reveal international students’ day-to-day interactions with mass media, social media, and face-to-face intercultural interactions as well as the part these modes of communication play in international students’ visceral thoughts and concerns on gun violence, a prevalent gun culture, and their experiences within American IHE. Findings show that international students at UCLA see their campus as a “protective bubble” which appears to temporarily assuage safety concerns. On the other hand, they often display contradictory actions and feelings which point to their local environments on and off campus as places that are sometimes safe and predictable and at other times filled with danger iii and uncertainty. A discussion of salient themes related to their perceptions of safety demonstrate a direct impact on their educational experiences and daily lives on and off campus. It is my hope that by documenting and exploring the day-to-day thoughts and feelings of these international students in regard to their perceived safety while studying at UCLA, university and governmental leaders alike can better understand and support the needs and concerns of the United States’ vital international student populations. Policy, practice, and future research recommendations are offered. Keywords: admissions, colleges and universities, firearms, foreign students, guns, international students, student affairs, student support services, violence iv The dissertation of Justin Adam Gelzhiser is approved. Douglas M. Kellner Justin Poole Robert A. Rhoads Robert T. Teranishi, Committee Chair University of California, Los Angeles 2018 v In memory: Professor William S. Klug, UCLA’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department Mrs. Jennifer Parks, Anaverde Hills Elementary School, Kindergarten Teacher To all the victims of gun violence in America & the educational spaces they impact. In gratitude: To the UCLA Police Department (UCPD) and all the brave first-responders around the country. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES.....…………………………………………………………………………... X LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………... XII ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………………………………………………… XIII VITA…………………………………………………………………………………………… XV INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………. 1 UCLA Shooting…………………………………………………………………………... 6 Purpose Statement……………………………………………………………………….. 12 Research goals & questions……………………………………………………………... 14 BACKGROUND LITERATURE……………………………………………………………... 15 Higher Education (HE) & Admissions…………………………………………………... 16 Admissions research and international perceptions…………………………………….. 16 Neoliberal branding strategies…………………………………………………………... 18 International students as degree consumers……………………………………………... 23 HE & Student Affairs……………………………………………………………………... 26 Student affairs research and international student support services……………………. 26 Neoliberal patterns continue…………………………………………………………….. 28 International students not getting the support they need………………………………... 30 HE & Violence……………………………………………………………………………... 33 Local campus violence, global interpretations…………………………………………...33 Violence as a theme in higher education (HE) research………………………………… 35 Gun laws & American schools...........................................................................................37 Campus safety is an important concern for international applicants & students………...40 The cost & prestige of American Institutes of Higher Education (IHE)………………... 41 HE & Deadly Gun Violence………………………………………………………………. 42 Deadly gun violence & American schools: What’s going on?………………………….. 42 Deadly gun violence & American colleges: Research in HE............................................ 44 Deadly gun violence & American colleges: Vulnerable “soft targets”…………………. 49 Deadly gun violence & American colleges: UCLA responds…………………………... 53 Implications of UCLA’s internal review........................................................................... 56 METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK…………………………………………………….. 61 Methods Overview………………………………………………………………………… 64 A qualitative research emphasis………………………………………………………….. 66 Deadly gun violence and American Institutes of Higher Education (IHE): An educational philosophical approach…………………………………………………..67 Deweyan experiential learning………………………………………………………….. 67 A Freirian critical approach……………………………………………………………... 70 Deadly gun violence and American IHE: A communication studies approach……….. 74 vii A mass media approach……………………………………………………………….. 75 What is mass media?……………………………………………………………..75 Mass media filtration: news media, gatekeepers, & regulators…………………. 77 Mass media and perceptions of American IHE..................................................... 79 American IHE & international branding: what’s at stake?.................................... 81 Mass media as a contested terrain……………………………………………….. 84 Mass media & persuasion: numbers don’t matter, ideological dominance does... 86 News sharing & perceptions of foreign countries………………………………..88 A social media approach..................................................................................................91 Westwood Village investigation………………………………………………... 92 Triple Revolution………………………………………………………………... 96 Neoliberal globalization’s effect on the Internet and Smart Phones……………..98 Gatekeepers in a digital age……………………………………………………. 100 The glocal netizen orchestrates the formation of their constructed realities…... 102 A new glocal interpretive process: news and information……………………... 103 Digital networks document and define our lives………………………………. 105 A face-to-face intercultural communication approach…………………………….. 110 The need for face-to-face interactions continues..……………………………... 111 Face-to-face interactions at UCLA lead to greater hybridity of thought………. 114 What is intercultural communication?…………………………………………. 116 A repertoire approach………………………………………………………….. 118 Diversity principle………………………………………………………........... 119 Interplay of mass media, social media, & face-to-face intercultural communication………………………………………………………………... 120 In 10 years . Facebook’s augmented reality……………………………………… 122 METHODOLOGICAL DESIGN & RESULTS …………………………………………… 125 Participant introductions: Indian & Chinese students ……………………………. 128 Deadly Gun Violence on American College Campuses: Critical perspectives of UCLA international students:……………………………………………….. 132 In-depth interviews…………………………………………………………………… 132 “Karen”………………………………………………………………………… 132 “Eve”…………………………………………………………………………… 138 “Sneha”………………………………………………………………………… 144 “Raj”…………………………………………………………………………… 149 Focus groups: Indian & Chinese student perspectives.…………………………….