Presenters: Alena Walker, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Applied Sociology
Authors: Alena Walker
Faculty Advisor: Robert Oxley, College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Applied Sociology
Institution: Dixie State University
Historically, outdoor recreation programs have only examined the experiences of heterosexual, Caucasian and limited levels of African American people throughout excursions. Furthermore, higher education institutions have identified disproportionate levels of representation and participation for all genders and sexual orientations. Whilst involvement is beneficial, the exclusion of these groups and their unique backgrounds has affected their wellbeing, inhibited their capabilities and deprived them of leadership opportunities. In addition to underrepresentation, participation of Lesbian, Gay Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual (LGBTQIA+) community members and women are inferior to heterosexual, male-identifying people as a result of scarce knowledge prior to activities, preconceived notions of treatment or deficient access to public amenities. Accordingly, The Institute for Social Research (ISR) at Dixie State University aims to collaborate with the Outdoor Leadership Academy (OLA), an organization dedicated to providing underrepresented groups with access to public lands and recreation, for the 2020-2021 Quality of Life Initiative study to examine outdoor leisure practices. An analysis of OLA participants’ experiences will be compared to organizations who are engaged in the inclusivity and after reviewing, will demonstrate the importance of representation and its effects on their participation. Due to COVID-19, there were limits to studying current OLA operations, but as an alternative, their documents from the 2017-2019 academic year were assessed as well as observation, surveys, interviews, and data from OLA’s past participants’ experiences. Additionally, information will be analyzed through secondary research analysis of others’ practices which will provide insight into understanding the impact of underrepresentation in these programs.