I heard this from a friend...

nefariousyank
Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:31:37 +0000

First off, thanks FLVADAD. It is a huge PR problem and I think they’re still trying to work out how to address it to prospective, if at all. Admissions tries incredibly hard to have multicultural students meet and hang out with multicultural upperclassmen but it doesn’t always work. Not everyone wants to come visit a school and only hang out with kids of color. Some students are turned off by multiculturalism being thrown in their face. Also, some of the upperclassmen that enjoy hosting multicultural prospectives are students that may not even really like W&L. Being in charge of admissions and PR at W&L is not an easy job at all!



“I said that there is prejudice everywhere if you look for it - even at a racially diverse school, I would bet. But if a racially diverse school is important to a student, why would he or she look at W&L? Indeed, most small LACs are predominantly white - at least based on the many that I have seen.”

dobiesk8r, you’re absolutely right. i mentioned that in my post as well. If you go to W&L looking for a fight, you will definitely get one. And, being excited about Obama is great, no one is faulting you for that. I was a little offended by your “in the age of obama” sentence. I felt like you were shaming the poster for being concerned about something completely legitimate. You may have meant differently. The original poster could have worded the question better so that it didn’t come to a huge shock to people who rarely discuss race. But, then again, that’s how these forums work. It always seems to be about people arguing over misunderstandings.

My real concern was to make sure that the original poster received an accurate idea of what the campus is like culturally. Kudos to your daughter for having a few friends of color. But that does not give the poster a good understanding of what the entire campus is like.

"But if a racially diverse school is important to a student, why would he or she look at W&L? "

That is a good question. I think many students have an idea of themselves that they will thrive anywhere. I was one of those students. But, if you are not familiar with southern or “old south” culture. If you did not grow up in an 80% and up white neighborhood, etc. It can be an adjustment. But, I would hope that strong and determined multicultural students continue to come to W&L. Diversity is a part of education and I think the campus is starting to realize that. I cannot tell you how much I’ve learned about some of my friend’s southern culture and in turn they have learned (and have had stereotypes corrected) about my background and culture. Talking about it in class, in social settings, and on boards like this is important for W&L. This is a conversation that never would have happened ten years ago. To be honest, I cannot see what would be better training for a young liberal than to defend themselves for four years on an overwhelmingly conservative campus.

Also, thanks FLVADAD.