Overview

A bold and timely reexamination of how white students understand and engage with race on college campuses In Disrupting White Noise, Zak Foste and Lauren N. Irwin challenge the prevailing belief that white students come to college as ""empty vessels,"" revealing how these students are already deeply shaped by their pre-college environments—bringing powerful attitudes and beliefs about race that can impede efforts toward inclusion. Drawing from years of interviews and research at a variety of institutions, Foste and Irwin demonstrate how campus environments often reinforce white racial comfort, reproduce segregation, and limit effective cross-racial engagement. Vivid narratives highlight how institutional policies, leadership programs, and daily campus life can inadvertently maintain barriers for students of color—while failing to address the real foundations of white students' understanding of race. The book goes beyond critique, offering actionable recommendations and concrete strategies that campus leaders can implement to disrupt harmful patterns and foster authentic learning. With clarity, urgency, and insight, this work equips higher education professionals to critically examine their own practices and to intentionally create more just, equitable environments. Essential reading for anyone who works with college students, this book provides the knowledge and tools to move beyond surface-level solutions towards genuine, lasting change.

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Reviews

""Disrupting White Noise meets the present moment in higher education and society. Foste and Irwin bring together their experiences in student affairs with original research, connect it with essential scholarship on race and racism in higher education, and offer a fresh approach to advancing research and practice."" - Kristen A. Renn, University Distinguished Professor, Michigan State University ""In Disrupting White Noise, Foste and Irwin show that white college students are far from 'empty vessels' when it comes to thinking about race. Having been socialized in America's broader racial system—with its highly segregated schools and neighborhoods—students bring the implicit messages they've learned about racial difference with them to campus. All too often what they learn in coursework, in campus housing, and through a racially stratified opportunity structure reinforces lessons about who belongs. This provocative, timely, and captivating book will make researchers and students rethink how learning about race takes place."" - Victor Ray, F. Wendell Miller Associate Professor, The University of Iowa

Author Information

Zak Foste is associate professor and chair of educational leadership and policy studies at the University of Kansas. Lauren N. Irwin is an assistant professor in the higher education administration and college student personnel programs at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

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