IS “She Saint Mary’s?”: Student Identity
Construction Based on Institutional
Stereotypes
By Cristen Dalessandro
Senior Comprehensive
December 3, 2009
Introduction
Saint Mary’s institutional identity is contested
in modern times.
There are certain ideas and stereotypes that
define the “Saint Mary’s woman.”
How do the students use these ideas and
stereotypes to make sense of their own
identities as students of Saint Mary’s College?
Thesis
Saint Mary’s students spend time living and
interacting within their college environment. This
close proximity to the college environment leads them
to use their perceptions of Saint Mary’s student
stereotypes and Saint Mary’s institutional identity to
formulate their own ideas about what it means to be a
“Saint Mary’s student,” and to use those ideas to
actively construct their own identities as students.
Literature Review
Appearance Norms and Role Expectations
Peril (2006)
Aries and Seider (2005)
Lannegrand-Willems and Bosma (2006)
The Effects of the All-Women’s Environment on Students
Smith (1990)
Riordan (1994)
Hesse-Biber and Leckenby, eds. (2003)
Aleman and Salkever (2003)
Literature Review
The Questioning of Institutional and Student Identity
Ellis (2006)
O’Leary (2003)
Baskin (2004)
(left) Mary Lyon Hall, Mount Holyoke College; (right) Le Mans Hall, Saint Mary’s College, IN
Theory
The Social Construction of Reality
Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann (1966)
Human interaction produces a social environment, including
institutions. Over time, objective reality becomes accepted as
“truth.”
Social relations of people in a social institution, as well as the
identity of the institution itself, influences those who participate
in the institution.
Judith Lorber applies theory to gender construction
Scanlon, Rowling, and Weber apply the theory to the
process of identity construction for college students.
Methodology
12 participants- all Saint Mary’s undergraduates
Traditional (entered college at age 18)
3 participants each from classes of 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
Obtained through the snowball method, contacted by email.
45% response rate through emails.
Face-to-face interviews lasting from 30-50 minutes in a
location of the participant’s choosing.
Findings
Appearance Norms and Expectations
The longer the students attend Saint Mary’s, the more specific
their ideas about Saint Mary’s stereotypes become.
The older students believed the Saint Mary’s woman was
“branded.”
The seniors most angered by negative stereotypes
Older students largely disapproved of the “She’s Saint Mary’s”
campaign, citing it as not inclusive enough.
Findings
Patriarchal Relations in the College Community
Saint Mary’s historic relationship with Notre Dame.
“Us versus them” mentality
Differences between upperclassmen (junior and senior women)
and underclassmen (freshmen and sophomore women)
The perceived personal nature of attacks for upperclassmen
Findings
The Merging of Institutional and Student Identity
Seniors most strongly identified themselves as “Saint Mary’s
women”
Simultaneously, seniors were the most critical overall of Saint
Mary’s College’s shortcomings
While the students believed that living in the Saint Mary’s
environment had “changed” them in some way, they
acknowledged these changes as positive overall- or a “natural”
part of “growing up”
Discussion
There is evidence that the institutional identity of Saint
Mary’s had an impact on the identities of individual
students
By the time the students reach senior status, their
identities as “Saint Mary’s women” become an important
and natural component of their overall larger identity
Juniors and seniors have the most clear-cut definitions of
Saint Mary’s and the norms of the student body
The theories of Berger and Luckmann may be affirmed by
the results
Thank You!
Questions?