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Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) advance servingness (i.e., racially-affirming support for Latin* students through campus programs and services) to promote academic success. However, the role of mathematics instruction in servingness is underexamined. Given how gateway mathematics courses filter out racial diversity in STEM majors, insights about Latin* students’ experiences of instruction in these courses can enhance servingness. This study analyzed 27 undergraduate Latin* students’ experiences of servingness through classroom participation in gateway mathematics courses at an HSI. We focused on classroom participation due to its well-documented influence on Latin* students’ mathematics identities and STEM persistence. Latin* students largely reported supportive instruction that reduced risks of participation. However, cultivating a racially-affirming community (a key aspect of servingness on the broader HSI campus) was also necessary to disrupt racialized influences and ensure Latin* students’ equitable access to participation. We conclude with implications for research and practice to advance servingness through STEM education across HSIs. 

Undergraduate mathematics classrooms are racialized spaces for Latin* students, even at Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) with educational missions of cultural affirmation. Instruction plays an important role in reinforcing and disrupting racial oppression in mathematics, which has significant implications for gateway courses (e.g., calculus) that impact STEM persistence. Groupwork is a widely-adopted practice in gateway mathematics courses with intentions to promote equitable access to content and participation; however, research has shown that groupwork can perpetuate inequitable experiences for historically marginalized groups in STEM, including Latin* students attending HSIs. The present study addresses these concerns of racial equity in undergraduate mathematics by exploring Latin* students’ groupwork experiences in gateway courses at a HSI. Our findings capture how groupwork facilitated or removed access to a sense of racially-affirming community, which was central in Latin* students’ visions of equitable support as mathematics learners at a HSI.