College is often the first time in anyone’s life when you see what the “outside world” is really like. This can be and often is the first time in people’s lives when they see other cultures This is when opinions aren’t muddled by hometown classmates who all think alike or parents with age-old stereotypes still embedded. This is, in my opinion, the best part of college.
I currently take an anthropology class where our professor spent a great deal of time asking us about the concept that is culture and ethnicity. I come from a small town where at least 90% of the population is white and Catholic, so diversity wasn’t relevant. When I came to college was when I was truly introduced to different types of people. I thought that it would be interesting to hear different stories about other peoples experiences.
I asked friends and classmates a simple request: talk about diversity and things you noticed at school that was never apparent at home. It’s a vague question leaving for plenty of stories. As someone who comes from a very different background, I could make lists and lists of stories about differences. Montclair is about 90% in state students so what’s the difference between the towns in New Jersey? I read over all the stories I acquired and chose four.
The students I chose reflect what life in Montclair is kind of like, but also what college life is like in general. All of them reflected on their hometowns but on minimal differences.
One student, Tina, was from central New Jersey. She commented on the lack of diversity at Montclair compared to her hometown, saying, “I come from a town in New Jersey that is highly diverse. I went to other college campuses and just didn’t feel at home. Montclair was very diverse compared to the other schools I’ve seen. However, I miss having friends of all different nationalities. In my tight friend group, all seven of us were from different parts of the world. I miss that…”
On the flip side of that, one student, Jayne, compared the lack of diversity in her hometown to the extreme difference of Montclair. She stated, “My town had very little diversity and coming to school here it was really cool to see and learn about all of these new cultures that I had never experienced before”. Jayne lives about 20 minutes away from our campus, so it was neat to see how despite being so close, there is such a difference in cultures.
When I asked my rather vague question to a close friend from South Jersey, she compared her previous university to her current one. She stated, “There was one particular difference that I noticed and that made me feel more welcomed was the diversity on campus. Stockton University lacked diversity and it was very noticeable where, compared to Montclair, where everyone feels more welcoming. However, never did I have to experience those questioning because the diversity on campus made me feel like I fit in right away.”
The final person, a girl named Brooke from north Jersey, didn’t really even focus on visual diversity, rather a type of culture. She noticed how easily people could nap. She stated her jealousy for those who were able to nap after class and then sleep through the night.
As a native Pennsylvanian, I noticed within my first few weeks in New Jersey that the “section” of New Jersey that you were from determined alot about who you were. So I figured why not choose one from each region and one from a local area? This way, it could be shown what New Jersey had to offer when all regions are placed in the same circumstance?
All in all, I think diversity is amazing. Of course, you can’t assume the culture of an entire campus from only four stories, but it opens the door to possibility. I love going to a university where everyone is different. College campuses are perhaps one of the few places where hundreds of individual cultures mingle relatively peacefully. My anthropology class has really opened up my eyes to what it means to be unique and to fit to your own culture. College to me has been a place where who you are is often more important that what you are. It’s a place where people can truly be themselves and fit into their grove and not just the one laid down by the confines of their hometowns. And in my opinion, that’s why college is so great.