Four students reflect on college stereotypes
How has attending a college that is viewed as primarily white, heterosexual, liberal and northeastern affected you?
Genevieve Cheng
Issue date: 12/8/05 Section: Focus
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From the outside, Muhlenberg seems like every other New Jersey suburban neighborhood or liberal arts college: a community of people who act the same, dress the same, think the same and are exactly the same in every other respect. However, when finely examining the culture within the College Community, it strikes me that we are much more diverse than we are given credit for.
I would be lying if I said that Muhlenberg didn't suffer from a diversity problem because it is evident that there is a lack of cultural, regional and political diversity within the college. Muhlenberg definitely needs a dose of more ethnic minorities, students from states outside the tri-state and New England regions (perhaps from the west coast), and students from other countries.
As a conservative Asian-American, I would love to have been able to meet and converse with more racial minorities at Muhlenberg and dare I say, more conservatives, but I also believe that we are a diverse community full of artists, scientists, musicians, future lawyers, thespians and so forth, making us the quintessential successful liberal arts school.
I sometimes wish that there were more people with whom I could identify, but there are also many times when I am glad that I go to a school where the vast majority of students is different from me.
Although I feel that we need a good splash of color and a dose of accents to improve the image and the diversity of our school, I am essentially not affected in a personal way by the perceptions that Muhlenberg is a Stepford-like community because I feel we achieve a delicate balance of diversity within the student body despite the stereotype that is imprinted upon us.
I would be lying if I said that Muhlenberg didn't suffer from a diversity problem because it is evident that there is a lack of cultural, regional and political diversity within the college. Muhlenberg definitely needs a dose of more ethnic minorities, students from states outside the tri-state and New England regions (perhaps from the west coast), and students from other countries.
As a conservative Asian-American, I would love to have been able to meet and converse with more racial minorities at Muhlenberg and dare I say, more conservatives, but I also believe that we are a diverse community full of artists, scientists, musicians, future lawyers, thespians and so forth, making us the quintessential successful liberal arts school.
I sometimes wish that there were more people with whom I could identify, but there are also many times when I am glad that I go to a school where the vast majority of students is different from me.
Although I feel that we need a good splash of color and a dose of accents to improve the image and the diversity of our school, I am essentially not affected in a personal way by the perceptions that Muhlenberg is a Stepford-like community because I feel we achieve a delicate balance of diversity within the student body despite the stereotype that is imprinted upon us.