Warren Wilson often gets a reputation for not being diverse, but that comes from an assumption that “diverse” means “racially diverse.” While we are predominantly white, and this is something that we are attempting to change, the diversity of attitudes, beliefs, backgrounds, and life experiences on campus is phenomenal. Spiritual life opportunities for Orthodox Christians, Buddhists, Jews, Protestants, Quakers, Hindus, Catholics, and everything in between abound, and the LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning) community is incredibly prominent and active.
Some students who find their way to Wilson have lived on communes and others grew up in Jersey. Some eat only locally grown organic food and some love to drive through McDonald’s. Some go to church every Sunday, fast for Yom Kippur, take walks in the meditation garden, set up shrines, light peace candles, and some don’t believe in God. Some smoke cigarettes and others take vitamins. Some girls don’t shave their armpits or only use Dr. Bronner’s, and others shower at least once a day, shave their legs, buy a box of Tampax every month, and swear by the DivaCup. We hail from 42 states and 12 countries and have travelled everywhere under the sun. We play banjo in Appalachian string band and listen to hip-hop. We carry Prada wallets and go barefoot. We spit fire, drink Coca-Cola, have dance parties, and are Big Brothers and Sisters. Regardless of our musical taste, personal hygiene, and hobbies, we are all drawn to the Swannanoa Valley in the hopes of finding our place in a community that supports and encourages us to be our true selves.
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Diversity at Warren Wilson College
B+
Diverse in a Different Way
While the majority of students are not diverse racially, there is still a great amount of diversity on campus. There are a lot of international students when compared to the size of the school's student body. Students come from around the county; only a couple of states are not represented.
Oct 31, 2010
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Diversity at Warren Wilson College
D+
Diversity?
WWC has little diversity. Most of the people here are white kids who want to not shower and aspire to work on a farm. There are some very friendly international students, but the ratio of African American students to Caucasians is about 50:1.
Oct 05, 2010
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Diversity at Warren Wilson College
AchJon
Performing Arts '14
0.0
F
None Whatsoever
This school is horrible when it comes to diversity. There are very, very few minorities. It can be a little alienating at first because there is this huge emphasis put on the fact that you are a minority here and anytime someone mentions anything dealing with your racial/ethnic group everyones head turns to stare at you.
Aug 28, 2010
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User rating for Warren Wilson College - Diversity is
2.3 out of 5
based on 13 user reviews.
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