Diversity on Campus: Race
As one of the most progressive colleges in the nation, Sarah Lawrence’s student body consists of all kinds of humans. There is a constant celebration of the fact that people are accepted regardless of class, sexuality, gender identity, and race. As a freshman on campus, I’ve become especially aware of the promotion and acceptance of the LGBTQIA+ community. Coming from a background that did not share these progressive views, I’ve been excited and pleasantly surprised by the proactive nature of the student body in this regard.
However, as a member of different minority group, I was a little shocked by what I discovered when it comes to racial diversity. According to the Sarah Lawrence College website, the student body is 75% white and 25% students of color. When I first came to this school I did not think too hard about how this statistic might affect me as a student. Having lived on campus for a semester, I now feel well aware of this information. Racially, the school is more diverse than many, above the average, but it is now clear to me that it is in fact still a PWI (predominantly white institution) where black students are also not the majority of the minority. After being on campus for a few weeks, I decided to attend a Harambee meeting, the school’s black student union, to try to get a sense of whether the black student population felt heard and accepted on campus. The fact that their organization was in existence was at the very least a great start.
I’m going to be honest, as a black girl who was raised in a mostly white community, Sarah Lawrence College is a dream come true. However, that does not mean that it is perfect. There will always be people who don’t understand your experience wherever you go, and being a minority at any institution will always come with its trials. I’m grateful that within the system of PWIs in higher education, Sarah Lawrence makes the effort to at least give their students a platform and a place to meet and discuss their concerns. Listening to those concerns is the second part of this equation. Sarah Lawrence does better than other schools to allow space and acceptance for racial diversity, but that does not mean that they cannot do better for themselves.
If you are looking at private colleges and prestigious institutions of higher learning as a young, black person or a person of color I would encourage you to consider Sarah Lawrence because the majority of schools you will be looking at will be PWIs that may have the same numbers in terms of demographics, but they will probably not value diversity or make an effort to do better to the extent that Sarah Lawrence College has done in the past and will continue to do going forward.
Racial diversity is just one small example of what diversity means. I’d love to continue to discuss these other forms and how they play out on campus.