Diversity at Wellesley

Wellesley Alumnae Magazine ^ | Winter 2003 | Withheld

[AZLiberty]

From Letters to the Editor:

Diversity at Wellesley

I was pleased when my daughter chose to matriculate at Wellesley last fall, and I read with interest the articles in the fall '02 alumnae magazine about the class of '06. My daughter's experience has been completely the opposite of the rosy picture painted in the magazine, and I feel that much of the blame rests squarely on the welcome, or lack thereof, that she received upon arrival.

My daugher is white, straight, and hails from Maine, one of the least diverse states in the union. At Wellesley, many of the minority students had attended pre-orientation sessions, where they had already made friends. My daughter's roommate was fortunate in being able to attend the Pathways program profiled in the magazine ("Building a Bridge for First-Year Students"). While the program is an excellent way to help less-advantaged students prepare for the rigors of Wellesley, there is a flip side to giving certain groups advantages. This roomate had made many friends and felt right at home the day we arrived. She didn't need my daughter to go to dinner with her or find some obscure building on campus. Other minority students on the floor had also already formed friendships. My daughter was miserable and friendless.

Wellesley also showed poor judgment in holding "cultural open houses" the first night of orientation. There were gatherings for Asian students, Latina students, lesbian students, and everything one could imagine -- but no place for straight white girls. They got to sit by themselves in the dorms unless they happened to have a white roommate.

Diversity is a wonderful thing, because we can all learn so much from each other. But Wellesley needs to find a balance so that all students feel welcomed.

Wellesley's approach to diversity seems to me to encourage segregation. In addition to the special pre-orientations, many of the campus organizations have to do with racial background. As my daughter points out, one only has to look at the dining rooms and see how students seat themselves to see segregation.

There are no easy answers, but Wellesley must do something to make all students feel at home. The alternative is to see more daughters of alumnae doing what my daughter is thinking of doing -- transferring.

[AZLiberty]

Though this is something of a whine, it reflects a real issue. Reverse discrimination is still discrimination.

The name of the author appeared in the original letter, but I decided not to include it here. I guess there's the possibility that pointing out the problem will signal the university to pay more attention to her daughter's problem, but suspect her daughter is now going to feel very conspicuous.

[smokeyjon]

The brand of "diversity" most favored by universities these days is segregation. The only historical difference is, as the author notes, that the discriminated-against group is straight whites.

[longtermmemmory]

When the time comes, POLITICAL diversity (or lack thereof) will be a major factor in where I pay to send my children.

[Interesting Times]

Wellesley's approach to diversity seems to me to encourage segregation.

Of course it does. That's what it's for... to divide people into antagonistic tribes.

Naturally, they don't advertise it in quite those terms in the student brochure.

[longtermmemmory]

Welsley is a women only college right? Why does the letter make such a point about "straight"? Is it so flooded with lesbians? Why would parents send children to a lesbian college?

[Robert DeLong]

Ah, so the white girls are now starting to experience what the white males have been subjected to for a good number of years now which was readily aided and abetted by, yes - white girls.

[Interesting Times]

Welsley is a women only college right? Why does the letter make such a point about "straight"? Is it so flooded with lesbians? Why would parents send children to a lesbian college?

If she was a lesbian, Wellesley would consider her 'diverse' and deserving of special privilege and status.

[zerosix]

This mother needn't worry about her daughter not fitting in long as I'm sure her daughter will be introduced to the lesbian outreach program very soon.

I understand that there are a number of young women who dabble with lesbian-sex to fit in while at school only to return to their former hetrosexual lives post graduation.

[xm177e2]

"Waaah I can't make friends, and it's the fault of the college!"

[Sam Cree]

When it came time for my kids to go to college, any of the ivy leagues or their clones just weren't allowed. 'Course most all mainstream universities are pretty leftist, or PC, but the most prestigious seem to be the farthest to the left.

[First_Salute]

Tell me about it.

At around $25,000 per year, it is one of the top fascist socialist indoctrination camps in the country.

According to the professors, the Civil War era's Frederick Douglass, learned everything he ever knew, from the apron strings of the self-actualizational momentalized women of greater Massachusetts.

The Civil War was a manifestation of the what then we would call N.O.W.

I'm betting that this bit of re-interpretation by academy would be news to Fred.

[rochester]

Sounds like another naive parent, sending their child to the most "prestigious" college possible, without a clue as to what the reality of the experience might be.

It's time for conservative parents to totally reject mainstream academia in America and support the smaller, lesser known conservative and Christian colleges.

[longtermmemmory]

Each university needs to have an assigned conservative index number.

[thunders]

Yes, Wellesley is flooded with lesbians. This also is not stated in the brochures, but I have learned this through my interactions with MIT and Wellesley students. It is a women's only college, which tends to attract lesbians. My college, in Boston, used to be a women's only college (my freshman year was the first co-ed year), and we have many older students who are lesbian. The number of lesbian females attending has decreased, from what I have seen of the newer students.

Wellesley is not diverse anyway, simply because of the fact that it is a women's only college. From my experience, most Wellesley girls have similar personalities. Most colleges, though, have a majority of clubs and organizations that target so called minority groups. There are no groups that target white straight females, anywhere, that I know of; if there were, they would be targetted as rascist groups. It could be generally thought by many that the Republican Clubs would be targetted towards these groups, but in reality, this is a very diverse group. Although, I have seen cases in which minority students that are involved in a Republican's Club have been targetted by others of their minority group (i.e., being told they are "traitors", called names, etc.).

My best advice for this girl is to get involved in a club advocating a certain activity. A great example is the Chemistry Club at my school. Of course, transfer is another option, but she is going to run into the same problems at any other school. It sounds like she just needs to get out and make friends. I was lucky, because my fiance was already a student at MIT and I met many friends through him. But the only friends I have made at my school was through my classes. Every one of my friends are either chemistry or biology majors (I am a chem./bio. double major). This girl is whining; but she has a valid point.

[jocon307]

"I'm betting that this bit of re-interpretation by academy would be news to Fred."

LOL, Fred Douglas, your post is too, too funny. But seriously folks, I'm the mother of a straight, white girl from the great state of New Jersey, who's going to need to go to college very soon. Wellsley and the Ivies are obviously out, as are other hot-beds of communism,such as Antioch, Duke, etc. She's pretty smart, athletic, needs to improve the Board Scores for sure, but she's in Honors, and I think we're poor, but I know by gov't stats we're loaded. Any suggestions? She wants to go "away" to "a big city". I'm thinking University of Chicago myself, tho' she may be too lazy for there. And Hillsborough, etc. isn't for her. Any helpful hints will be much appreciated.

[John H K]

The degree of "leftness" of some of the Ivies is a bit exagerrated.

Take Cornell, for example. The TOWN is a People's Republic, of course, because all the Republicans that go to Cornell leave and get real jobs elsewhere, and the lefties all hang around forever.

Most of the liberal arts faculty is left-wing, of course.

The student body really isn't, however. There's a large engineering school, most of the students of which will grow up to be Republicans.

Cornell also (and this is little-known) is 50% a New York State "State" school, with a big college of Agriculture, Veterinary school, etc. (even has barns with cows...it's like grafting Iowa State on to a Northeastern Ivy League School). Almost everyone who attends this part of the school is from NY State, and of the ones not from Long Island or New York City, those from upstate New York, there are quite a few conservatives.)

[Sam Cree]

Well, that is nice to know, I figured Cornell was one of the worst. Actually, my daughter is at nearby Syracuse U. I don't know how they vote there, but I like the town.

[Charles Henrickson]

See the story of Hillary's days at college in the classic FR interactive novel:

A Wellesly Wench

[John H K]

Really need to make a distinction between faculties and student bodies, and also high degrees of publicity about a small number of real left-wing fanatics.

Duke has a famously left-of-left-of-left whacky English department but the STUDENT BODY, if anything, on average is to the right of the average top 20 school student body.

On the other hand, schools like Macalester, Swarthmore, etc. DO have a uniformly leftist student body AND faculty and are to be completely avoided (except by Conservative masochists).

You're not going to really find a top school where one could characterize the English Department, etc. as centrist or to the right. Just doesn't exist. Or Poli Sci really, either.

However, the main issue is whether a student isn't overwhelmed in the student BODY; there are plenty of good schools (that AREN'T tiny Evangelical Christian schools) where much of student body isn't comprised of radical leftists. Keep in mind radical leftists students constantly do things to get themselves in the news, while conservative students, except for the small number that start a "Review" newspaper at their school or something, mainly worry about studying and getting a job.

People are probably a little too paranoid about a lot of schools because of certain departments or the well-publicized activities of the leftist students there.

[jacquej]

Take a look at Grove City College near Pittsburgh, Pa... my daughter went there and received an excellent education.

She did chafe a bit toward the end of her years there at the restrictive rules, and resented "being treated like a child", but we reminded her that she didn't have tp put up with alcohol, drugs, her roomate sleeping with guys making her go to the library at night, etc...

Presbyterian school, by the way, and they are required to study the classics, and go to chapel.