Carleton College
- Diversity

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A school that is 80 percent white cannot be considered diverse. To put things in perspective, Carleton doesn’t have drawing power to attract minorities to the school. Located in rural Minnesota, it’s not surrounded by any cultural diversity—unless you count pig and cow farms as separate diverse institutions. Carls are pretty non-judgmental, open-minded people. If you wear a gay pride pin around campus you’ll never feel unwelcome. Similarly, you’ll probably never hear derogatory racial remarks. Carls are aware of the lack of diversity, but students attempt to inject cultural awareness into their lives.

Carleton does an excellent job of setting up support groups for minorities, underprivileged students, and the gay and lesbian community. Critics claim that they’re so involved that they created a social divide on campus. Those that have group outings and activities might stick to these groups, creating segregated cliques. While there may be cliques on campus, there’s a comfortable lack of racial tension. There may be a small amount of minorities at Carleton, but as a minority you’ll never be made to feel out of place or unwelcome. It’s difficult enough keeping up with the Carleton workload to even think about making it harder on someone for being from a diverse background.

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Diversity at Carleton College

Lizziefish08

Latin and Ancient Greek Studies '12

3.8

B+

We're Trying to Improve, and It's Working!

Carleton has gotten a lot of flack in recent years for a lack of diversity, both racial and socioeconomic. The administration took that concern very seriously and used a lot of student input to come up with some ways to address the situation. On a statistical level, we now have more racial and cultural diversity, socioeconomic diversity, and a larger number of first generation college students. We've also done a lot to improve the academic and social support for these groups. We know we're not perfect, but we're genuinely concerned with how to get better, not just in paying lip service to the principle.

Oct 12, 2011

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Diversity at Carleton College

kfrance714

Chemistry '12

3.5

B

Depends What You Mean by Diversity...

Carleton has tried really hard in the past few years to recruit international and multicultural students, but there still are quite a few white kids around campus. On the other hand, diversity in other aspects such as religion and socioeconomic status abounds, a lot more than a lot of people realize, in fact. Very very welcoming and supportive atmosphere for LGBT students with lots of very visible events on a campus packed with allies. In terms of political diversity, it doesn't exist. Conservatives are stamped on.

Oct 12, 2011

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Diversity at Carleton College

FallenOmnipotent

Philosophy '12

4.2

A-

Clear Attempt at Diversity

Diversity is clearly visible, but still could be better.

Oct 12, 2011

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Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

How diverse is the student body in the following areas?

How diverse is your personal circle of friends in the following areas?

How accepting is the campus community as a whole toward someone who falls into the minority (ethnic, sexual, or religious)?

How would you best describe your personal political beliefs?

How would you best describe the political beliefs of campus as a whole?

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