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Occidental College - Diversity - College ProwlerCollege Prowler4.62

Diversity

A
Where does this grade come from?View all Diversity rankingsReview this school to add your opinion

Comparable Schools' Diversity Grades:

Quick Stats

African American 6%
Asian American 15%
Hispanic 14%
International 2%
Native American 1%
White 57%
Unknown 3%
Historically Black College/University? No
Tribal College? No
Out-of-State Students 54%
Common States of Residence
  • Colorado
  • Foreign countries
  • New York
  • Oregon
  • Washington
Student Age Breakdown Under 18: 2%
18-19: 49%
20-21: 43%
22-24: 5%
25+: 1%
Female Faculty 48%
Male Faculty 52%
Faculty Diversity African American: 7%
Asian American: 12%
Hispanic: 11%
International: 0%
Native American: 0%
White: 67%
Unknown: 3%

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Especially after looking at other colleges, Occidental is a truly diverse school. The numbers that are given out by the admissions staff can be verified just by walking through the quad at lunch and seeing a multitude of people that one would have a very hard time finding at another school. However, many people do complain that while there are a lot of “diverse people” at Oxy, the level of multiculturalism is nowhere near what it could be. Unfortunately, as is the same at many other schools, some complain about a lack of interaction between different groups of people, that there is no real diversity because people of different minorities tend to stick with others of the same ethnic background.

Oxy does have diversity and makes serious efforts to both promote it to the students and increase it in curriculum and student life. It is not as perfect as it is made out to be, though, as many students have complained of a dropping number of minority students being admitted, and a lack of diversity in the upper levels of the administration that seriously challenges the values the school preaches. Some students are satisfied with the amount of diversity at Occidental, whereas others want to see a vast improvement.

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Occidental Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Diversity at Occidental College

sammiDee

'14

Mathematics

5.0
A+

Very Diverse

This was definitely the most diverse campus of any school I visited

Sep 12, 2011

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Diversity at Occidental College

Filmkid101

'13

Film and Video Studies

3.8
B+

Oxy Touts Its Diversity, but at Times It Seems Disingenous.

Though the campus is quite diverse for a private school, both ethnically and socioeconomically, it seems that Oxy values diversity chiefly as a selling point to prospective students. The "multicultural" dorm on campus is essentially "the hood," in the sense that it is in dire need of renovations. Apparently the school admits black students in numbers that fill their yearly quota.

More concerning is the shifting set of values held by the incoming class this year; there have been multiple instances of racial and heterosexist slurs being directed towards individual students. While it isn't perfect, it is still better than some southern state schools I guess...

Dec 21, 2010

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Diversity at Occidental College

KellyO'Leary

'12

Biological Sciences

2.3
C

Diversity

Number wise there is a lot of diversity but in reality these different groups do not mix as much as one would expect

Apr 15, 2010

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Page 1 of 5

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?

Facts

Gay Pride

There are many clubs and activities on campus that show an active and openly gay community that is a cornerstone to the rest of the school.

Political Activity

There are two main political clubs, the College Democrats and College Republicans, of which the Republicans are the most active, despite the rest of the school's very strong leaning to the left.

Economic Status

Since Oxy is a private institution, most students are upper-class or upper-middle-class, but there is a very large number of less privileged students as well.

Most Common Religions

The Oxy Office for Religious and Spiritual Life lists several popular religion-based clubs, including Hillel Jewish Campus Comminuty, the InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Progressive Christians Uniting, the Muslim Student Association, and the Buddhist Meditation Group, among many others.

Minority Clubs on Campus

There are several minority clubs that are very active on campus, in particular the Asian-Pacific Islander Alliance that hosts many large events throughout the year, the Black Students Alliance, which is well known by all students, and other smaller clubs such as the Persian Students Club, the Chinese Culture Club, and Hillel that are all very active on campus.

Did You Know?

The school has an impressive array of highly established cultural clubs that carry on the multicultural tradition year after year.

Cultural events occur throughout the year from many different clubs with a large degree of faculty support.

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Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at Oxy

Name: William Suh

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