Colby CollegeDiversity Student Reviews

Could you develop a bit more on that subject? I've seen this comment a few times on this site and I wanted to know what is the exact problem of diversity at Colby. Do you mean that there are clearly distinctive friend groups made up of international kids who are ignored by the rest or is it plain old obvious racism? Your comment makes it seem like it's not too bad but the grade does...

As an Asian American, I have found it extremely difficult to integrate myself into the Colby community. I am a senior graduating this fall and never once have I felt at home on this campus. The Pugh center does its best to promote multiculturalism and diversity and it often is considered a safe space on campus by ethnic minorities. However, then you run into the problem of segregating yourself even more from the rest of the Colby community. Yes, there are clearly distinctive friend groups comprised of international students who largely stick together. There is even a significant divide between the Asian American community and that of the international Asians. Of course, there are certainly opportunities to make connections and a large part of it is your personality and your willingness place yourself in uncomfortable situations - joining a team or some sort of extracurricular activity helps, I think. Still, I personally have felt on edge all four years here and would suggest bracing yourself for a huge culture shock.

As a minority, I've found great friends in people of various races. I've always been an outgoing kid, and I'm not trying to say that anyone whose experiences havent been as good as mine's problems aren't legitimate, but it is totally possible to have a great and fulfilling social life as an ethnic minority.

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thank you for this post :)

Okay, so yes, I'll give you that the resources aren't always the best, but as a someone who is questioning, I have found a great friend group that is supportive and not even remotely connected to the LGBTQ community on campus. They're also not all theater people; many of them are athletes, artists, SGA people, etc.

I might be lucky because I'm the kind of guy who surprises people when I say I'm not 100% straight, but ultimately, I've found that part of the issue is that there's not a whole lot of space on the Bridge for those of us who don't represent stereotypical queerness.

Even the head of the Young Republicans Club is a big supporter/celebrator of Pride Week, so I've found that it's more about funding and faculty than the actual tone on campus. Once again, I'm less flamboyant than a lot of the straight preppy guys on campus, so maybe that plays some role, but I think this is a little unfair in terms of how students act in relation to Gender/Sexuality issues. The only place I feel more safe than at Colby is my house, so if attending the college is masochistic, I guess I'm kinkier than I thought.

Why is Colby so driven by race? Is racial purity part of the admissions process at Colby?

Nope. It's called affirmative action. The goal is to create more diversity. So basically the opposite of what you commented.