“All they do is party.”
“They didn’t get accepted into Virginia Tech.
“They have the hottest girls.”
“Looking for minorities? They don’t have them.”
JMU has many stereotypes labeled across campus. While some of these may be true for some people, they definitely do not represent the entire student body. Focusing solely on the minority aspect, JMU generally upholds a reputation of housing mostly white girls and guys. While this may be true, I personally have to say I see a lot of diversity when I walk through campus.
I am not going to lie; I judged the school a bit too when I was applying to colleges, especially when I arrived at my Springboard Orientation. All the girls looked the same and I hardly saw any other ethnicities besides my own: Caucasian. Now as I walk to classes, I notice many people that do not look the same as everyone else. Not only are their exteriors diverse, but peoples’ beliefs are as well. I have talked to students who have different religious backgrounds, sexualities, political views, and cultures. It has really opened up my eyes to see how much diversity there is at JMU, even though it’s not always seen.
I joined the LSA (Latino Student Alliance) because I wanted to meet different people. By joining clubs such as the LSA, Madison Equality (for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender students), Vietnamese Student Association, or College Democrats or Republicans, one can see how many people here are diverse. Face it; these clubs would not exist if we had no or little diversity at JMU!
For the 2011-2012 school year, out of the entire undergraduate student body, the minority rate is around 13%, the overall male to female ratio is 60:40 and the in-state versus out-of-state ratio is 70:30. These numbers may seem vastly small, but they seem much greater walking around campus.
“At JMU, we embrace the uniqueness in the individual and provide the resources and support to celebrate the distinctiveness of all people,” saidDr. Linwood Rose, President for Diversity.
Diversity does not stop at beliefs and appearances, as students may have heard during the “We Are JMU!” presentation at 1787 orientation. Everyone is diverse; we all come from different places and have different stories. We are unique individuals who share at least one thing in common: we love JMU!
I now eat the words that I spoke at Springboard; there is a lot of diversity at JMU. Do not be afraid to ask about different cultures or beliefs; it is great to be interested about a unique background. Join a cultural club and learn a lot more. Embrace the diversity we have!
Sources
http://www.jmu.edu/admissions/facts
http://www.jmu.edu/diversity