Current Grinnell student answering questions

NemesisNyx
Mon, 02 Dec 2013 17:30:02 +0000

I’m a current first-year as well, and I’d be happy to answer questions too. I certainly had plenty of questions to ask this time last year. (Also, SgtDonut, I think I’ve figured out who you are. Possibly. Maybe.)

Hezekiel, there definitely is some “groupism,” as you call it, but no more than anywhere else I’ve seen. Students are often friends with others of the same race, and international students are often close with other international students, but there’s plenty of mixing of races or national backgrounds within some groups. A big thing I noticed (and disliked) at some other schools I visited last year was students who seemed to only interact with students of the same race or background, and while this does happen at Grinnell, it’s not nearly as pronounced or common as at other places that come to mind. In general, compared to similar institutions, I’d say the minority and international populations at Grinnell are pretty well-integrated into the student body as a whole, rather than standing out as distinct groups. There is a pre-orientation program specifically for international students, and a similar one that caters to minority or first-generation students, so those can lead to some early friendships among those groups, but there’s also no problem making other friends after pre-orientation. In general, I would say that “all students interact freely with each other,” yes, even if there are groups that aren’t so diverse.

Take all of that with a grain of salt, though, because I’m speaking as a white, non-international student whose close friends here are also all white, non-international students – not through any effort on my part to specifically make friends with others like me or to avoid those of other backgrounds, but simply because those are the people I wound up hanging out with the most. I’m certainly friendly with international students and minority students, but none of them are among my closest friends with whom I spend the majority of my time. Make of that what you will. (Also, I don’t know anything about table tennis, sorry!)