College is a unique opportunity to get to know people who are different from you.

BY JULIA ESTRELA, GRADUATE, CONNECTICUT COLLEGE

For Abigail Smith, diversity is an important aspect of college life that students should appreciate and explore. “I think diversity makes a great community of students,” says the junior at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. “Coming from a town where there was little diversity, I felt the need to interact with other cultures.”

Three years into college, Smith has definitely achieved this goal. One spring, she accepted an invite from a Cuban schoolmate to spend her break at her friend’s family home in Miami. Smith, who comes from a small New England town, recalls the experience as eye-opening. She found herself in a neighborhood where everyone spoke Spanish. Her friend’s grandmother and grandfather lived with her immediate family, and other relatives all lived on the same road.

“On a couple of nights, the entire family got together and ate a ton of Cuban food,” says Smith. “This trip was one of the first times I had the chance to both observe and be a small part of a culture very different from mine.”

According to a Student Health 101 survey of 816 students, 82% shared Smith’s belief that college is an opportunity to meet people from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Furthermore, 71% of those surveyed said that they also saw college as a chance to meet people with different sexual orientations. This enthusiasm for meeting a diverse group of peers is especially encouraging in light of the recent tragedy at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey, when a student committed suicide after an intimate encounter between him and another man was posted online by another student.

The Rutgers incident and others like it speak to the difficulties that can arise from student differences. However, Dr. Elizabeth Garcia, dean of multicultural affairs at Connecticut College in New London, points out that “the difficulties that come from diversity are not really from diversity in and of itself, but more so from the fear of diversity [and] our lack of information about those differences. That’s why it is incredibly important to not just increase diversity on campus numerically, but to simultaneously increase the amount of education and information about diverse groups on campus.”

“You have to view college as an opportunity to meet new people and try new things,” says Roman, a student at the University of Wisconsin–Baraboo/Sauk County.

What Schools Are Doing
Many colleges have multicultural groups and organizations, which grant campus community members access to a variety of heritages through performances, lectures, and other events. According to Garcia, one way of spreading diversity awareness at college is through programs like Connecticut College’s Diversity Peer Educators Program, which she explains “consists of students who are trained to conduct workshops and program events for the entire campus on various diversity issues.”

Central Lakes College in Brainerd, Minnesota, promotes diversity with an “international week,” during which students learn about the countries where their classmates are from through games, conversation, and trivia quizzes. At Oakton Community College in Des Plaines, Illinois, the Honor Student Organization holds a bake sale where students of different ethnicities bring food and explain the ingredients and cultural significance of the food. Green River Community College in Auburn, Washington, has a department of diversity and multicultural affairs dedicated to promoting acceptance and respect among students from all backgrounds. The Friendly Colors organization at St. Louis Community College–Florissant Valley Campus promotes awareness, acceptance, and understanding of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender issues.

What You Can Do
• Lose the blinds. “We try to act like we’re color- and culture-blind,” says Heidi Schillinger, an independent consultant who works with educators to promote cultural competence and equity. “We pretend like our differences don’t matter, which means we don’t address some of the very real underlying issues in our society about our views on differences—race, class, religion, sexual identity, and orientation.”

In order to build a unified campus community in which diversity is understood and accepted, the first step is acknowledging that it exists. However, while it is okay to recognize a person’s differences, it is also necessary to move beyond them. “We all look at each other and say, ‘We’re different,’” says Schillinger. “But if we stop there, we still don’t know how to work effectively within our differences.”

• Ditch your comfort zone. It might sound obvious, but breaking out of your comfort zone is often easier said than done. In the midst of all the academic demands of college, it may be tempting to seek out a social group identical to the one you left back home—but fight the urge.

Even if you feel uncomfortable at first, the benefits of cultivating a diverse group of peers are “endless,” according to Kate Ross, a freshman at Kent State University at Stark in Ohio. She also points out that when you get to know people from a variety of backgrounds, you become aware of more than just the differences. Resolve to introduce yourself to someone who doesn’t look like you!

• Get involved with your campus community. The nice thing about college is that when looking to diversify your experiences, you do not have to travel far. In fact, by simply taking part in clubs, sports, or social events on campus, you are likely to meet a diverse group of people who also share your interests. Use that common ground as a starting point to get to know different types of people. Smith adds, “At first, it was difficult to approach students from different backgrounds. But once the clubs and Greek life started up, I felt as if it was a melting pot, and the different backgrounds didn’t interfere at all.”

To find campus activities that interest you, check out community boards, ask around the residence hall, or talk to other students. You can also try contacting the admissions office. The staff there is often well versed in fielding questions about the college’s diversity initiatives and policies and the resources available to students.

• Be open to new experiences and people. “Open up your mind,” advises Stephen Luehrs, a recent graduate of St. Louis University in Missouri. Luehrs is Korean American, but says that prior to college, all of his friends were white and middle class—representative of the environment in which he grew up.

“My experience while living on campus really changed my perspective of culture, race, and ethnicity,” says Luehrs. “I made friends with people from backgrounds I never even dreamed existed.”

Ross seconds Luehrs’s advice, adding, “I think that as long as people are open-minded, they can learn a lot about others. [By] having a diverse campus, you can learn to look at the world through another person’s eyes. It helps you appreciate the things you have and the people in your life.”

Julia Estrela is a graduate of Connecticut College and is currently working as a freelance writer in Boston.