Diversity: College Life 101
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I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have adjustments to make when I came to Stanford. Unlike many on campus, I fall victim to the three C’s, by identifying with each: conservative, Catholic, and Caucasian. Stanford presents a liberal atmosphere that challenges my beliefs daily. For that reason, I would also be lying if I said I never felt singled out. There are people who refuse to listen to me simply because they hear of my general political views before I can even open my mouth, chide me as a “Jesus-lover” when I’m asked where I’m going as I head to Memorial Church for mass, or when I’m not provided a white “big sib-little sib” group or a white-oriented pre-business group to join.
However, college life is about far more than the ability to maintain my own personal values and traditions in a vacuum. Therein lies the beauty of being pushed to the edge everyday: if we do not allow ourselves exposure to new and uncharted territory, how can we expect to grow as individuals? This is exactly why as freshmen we cannot choose our roommates; each person with whom we room exposes us to something new with which we have had little contact in the past. Each new person we meet, each new experience we have, is another footstep on the journey toward the person each of us will become.
Like many of my dormmates, I’ve done my best to try new things and step outside the box from day one. Fortunately, my freshman dorm, Otero House, has not only provided me with the opportunity to do so, but also the support necessary to follow it through. Sometimes, these are seemingly small things, like going out to my first frat party. Others still leave my friends from home in disbelief (I don’t think they ever accepted that I painted my chest for my first home football game, against Washington State). In another instance, I am thankful that the university sponsors the freshman scavenger hunt in San Francisco, as we build camaraderie with people we might not otherwise talk to in order to pull off some pretty amazing stunts. As I consciously surround myself with lifestyles different from my own, I have confidence that this process will only continue as the year progresses.
Maybe Otero’s just different. Many of my peers credit our RAs with building an especially open culture here. Their tireless energy pumps us up and their consideration for others extends to each of us. When an Oteroan sits down at a dinner table, they sit with whoever is already there, and will, regardless, carry on a conversation. They have an inclusive attitude that extends to every facet of life. Better yet, we all look out for each other anywhere we are, like when a football player pledged to protect every Otero girl from sketchy guys at parties.
That doesn’t mean everyone in Otero is a saint. Do some people in Otero drink? Yep. Do some people in Otero abstain? You betcha. But no matter how, when people in my dorm get together, they have fun together. This could be drinking on a Thursday at four in the afternoon, or playing boggle in the lounge on a Saturday at two in the morning.
Sure, that sounds great, you might say, but what if these people isolate me? I can’t speak on behalf of other dorms, but in Otero at least, everyone is ready to include others. If you feel out of place, look within yourself: sometimes your own attitude prevents you from opening up to other people. And that could be the biggest crime of all, because you miss out on interacting with awesome people who could be your best friends and discover something that you love to do.
Nonetheless, that does not directly answer the problems of my own out-of-place traits, being conservative, Catholic, and Caucasian. If these adjectives that make up part of who I am really are that great, why can I not share them with others? Even if they disagree with or challenge them, respectfully or not, I can take their criticisms and use them to either strengthen those characteristics within me or take valuable comments to improve myself. For example, while there are a few Republicans in Otero, there are many, many more Democrats. However, when I discuss politics with them, and talk issues out, they often discover we have much more in common than they thought. When many of us opened up about our religions, I found that there are ten or so churchgoing Catholics in my dorm. Every week, we go to mass together, and many of them I might not have discovered otherwise. Finally, while no Caucasian “big sib-little sib” group exists, they are equally open to adopting students not of their own ethnicities into their sib families. Many minority pre-business groups I found do the same. Perhaps these are merely other opportunities to step outside the box to experience a new culture or meet new people, another chance to grow.
In short, it is the obligation of each person in a campus community to engage with his or her peers. Contrary to popular belief, the admissions committee did not let us all in by accident. Each of us deserves to be here, because we were meant to interact with and learn from each other’s personalities and experiences. So when your psycho neighbors start shooting arrows out the window, don’t freak out. Learn from the fact that you’ve never seen anyone do that before. No one forces you to do the same, and if anything, it just reinforces your own beliefs. It’s okay to be yourself, as long as you open yourself up to learn from those around you.
