<p>Race is a complex issue. I never heard experiences as bad as this one, but I do remember being in a group where we joked around with each other about our races. Picking on each other in a playful way is an inherent part of guy culture. This never seemed like much of a problem because people often initiated the jokes themselves. In retrospect, I can see to where a person feels bad about the joke but plays along anyway. If this happens, you need to tell your friends what’s up and they should respect your wishes. If not them, an RA or whoever you can feel safe talking to. I honestly think this sort of sarcastic racist or sexist joking is common at every school and impossible to avoid. It’s become a part of America’s comedy lexicon.</p>
<p>As for racism where a person intends to be mean or generally feels superior to another person because of race - that shouldn’t ever be tolerated. This sort of racism continues to exist in some homogeneous sections of society, and some students are bringing that from home (North just as much as South). Wake’s administration and faculty will not stand for racism, and I hope that you will have the courage to report what has happened to you to the proper people.</p>
<p>This is unacceptable and I will not be applying to Wake Forest now. What is this middle school? Yes, I’m sure that it’s a minority of students but the extreme minorities are the loudest. The majority is nothing if they sit back and do nothing about it. </p>
<p>writing “gook” on someone’s board like that? I go to a Catholic prep school in NE, so I rarely very rarely go through something like that. It is amazing how a great school like WF contains a larger body of intolerable students.</p>
<p>Maybe this person is over exaggerating, but from what I’ve experienced I can kind of relate to it but not to this scale. People are supposed to mature as they grow older. I am curious to know how it is in other Southern schools.</p>
<p>That’s too bad, I know a couple Wake students and they would never do anything of the sort. Like gadad said, you should report these incidents, you shouldn’t be harassed.</p>
<p>I am not a minority or anything but this still disgusts me. Wake is (was) one of my top schools and this was my one concern about Wake. I just don’t know now…</p>
<p>To the people who said this would make them not apply to Wake now:</p>
<p>I must seriously question your logic here. As wilmingtonwave and njmom have proved with just a few links to examples of racism/intolerance at other top universities, complicated race relations is not a problem unique to Wake Forest. It’s unfortunate that you have chosen to allow one individual’s account of experiences (from a message board, no less) to distort your perception of an outstanding university.</p>
<p>How many WF students have you spoken with about their experiences on campus? Better yet, how many WF students have you spoken with about multi-cultural relations at Wake? </p>
<p>I highly recommend taking a much more responsible approach to forming opinions about entire schools. The personal experience of one individual, however disturbing, is hardly enough to discount a whole institution. </p>
<p>You might not want to apply to any colleges if you are afraid that there might be one person on campus who has had a less than positive experience. There’s a reason Utopia Univ. isn’t listed on the CollegeBoard website.</p>
<p>Well said, Alabamaguy. In addition, earlier in the discussion, I contacted Lily Proctor, the very nice president of the Wake Forest Asian Association, and she said she would be happy to answer any questions perspective students might have about Wake. (I even supplied a link) I also wonder at the readiness of going out into the real world by students who would judge an entire school by one person’s experience. While I am sure there are a handful of insensitive students at Wake, the students I have met through my son’s almost four years at Wake are open minded, welcoming, and most of all, willing to learn and grow intellectually and socially. I would think the students who have crossed Wake off their lists because of this discussion might be better off, as it might not be a good fit for them because they sound more rigid in thought. Good luck to everyone no matter where you might attend, and remember, as demonstrated by the above links, there is no perfect place. It is up to all of us to make the world around us a better place, no matter where it is.</p>
<p>Please don’t judge my decision not to apply to a school. If this person’s account is true, which I have no reason to believe it not to be…</p>
<p>I can relate to what this person says. It sucks to be always reminded that you are different and in worse scenarios, “inferior.”</p>
<p>There are degrees of racism. The racism I go through today in HS is tolerable and almost nonexistent. And this is high school.</p>
<p>I don’t know if you guys can relate, but it takes only “one jerk” to ruin it. One mean comment can put down a person for the entire day. Luckily, my sense of self image has allowed me to overcome a bad remark in few hours (humorous yet?)</p>
<p>the OP’s account is from college…People in my HS are tolerant and not ignorant enough to directly insult me. In middle school, things were different and I hated it and I lost a lot of self esteem.</p>
<p>I don’t need people writing “chink”, ■■■■■■■■■ “spic” on my dorm door. And I don’t need to be mugged for who I am. Yes, there are racism elsewhere, but I have yet to hear a personal account of one person being directly offended like this.</p>
<p>The case with WF, is that it has very little diversity which means no one is going to do anything about it. The majority that does nothing is the minority. The one racist bigot has the chance to harm, if the majority remains silent. </p>
<p>I was initially very offended with OP’s comments, but now I am reconsidering. What OP stated here is beyond acceptable.</p>
<p>Yea people will get mad when I say, “White people will not understand.” </p>
<p>When it comes to racism, yes White people might try, but they will never really know. Some might say, “my neighborhood has many black people”, but still they dont’ truly understand it. </p>
<p>Once you get out of the US, move to some African, Asian, South America country. And actually live there with no intentions of moving back anytime soon, you will not understand it.</p>
<p>I am sure many at WF are great people. But as the OP is going through all this, and now you know about it. WHAT ARE YOU “MAJORITY” GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? If all you’re going to do is post on CC, then your presence, tolerance, and intelligence is useless.</p>
<p>I have reconsidered and will be applying to WF and maybe I will be WF class of 2014. Am I ready to confront “racist hicks” at WF? Yes, but it would be so much easier if the smart majority become vocal. </p>
<p>I will be shortly writing a letter to the WF admissions and public relations about the OP’s post. I am surprised. This is college, this is WF, one of the better schools in the US. And it has more intolerant bigots than my high school. It needs to be addressed.</p>
<p>If anything I said, except saying “White people will not understand” offended you, I am sorry. But I had to say something.</p>
<p>easyabc - I haven’t had any experiences like you have had but I couldn’t agree more. I am white and I can agree that we can’t even begin to understand. </p>
<p>njmom - I am assuming you’re a mom since it says it in your username. If so, you’re only using second-hand experiences about Wake that you have taken from what your son tells you and what his friends “seem” to be like. You have no true idea of what the campus is really like during the year (And, neither do I). And how can you say that we are more “rigid in thought” when, clearly, we are trying to keep our minds open about every school and every aspect of every school and we are trying to keep our minds open about all types of people.</p>
<p>Yes, this can happen at any university. But, I think we can all agree that Wake is one of the more conservative and least diverse (College P*rowler gives Wake a C- for diversity - it won’t let me post a link.) top universities in the country.</p>
<p>I love Wake and I may end up there if I get in. But, I have specific concerns for each school that I am applying to and this is what I am concerned with about Wake.</p>
<p>raggydilo. I beg to differ. First off, I never said this could not happen. Obviously, by my many links of various racial incidents at most the MOST diverse campuses, I am agreeing that it can happen at Wake Forest. Where the “rigid” thinking comes in: not one poster who is declining to apply to Wake Forest has contacted either Lilly Proctor, or one other person- they have taken the word on an anonymously written post. I think that a person who was truly interested in a school looks a little bit further, maybe Wake Forest is not for them, after all, it is not nicknamed "Work Forest " for nothing. (Maybe “rigid” was the wrong word choice; the Wake Forest students I know “leave no stone unturned.”) Furthermore, I have met, over the last four years, so many students of every color, religion and economic status through my son, we are a close family We have met them on campus for visits, and they have stayed at our home here in NJ, (one for a short visit of 6 weeks :)) I think I have more than second hand knowledge of the MANY open minded people that attend Wake Forest. You are right, I am not a student, but that does not mean I am clueless about people. What I can tell you, is that in my 99% white, Irish Catholic town here in NJ, I have overheard more racial comments than you would believe. If something has been said in my range, I have spoken my mind. To me, if you stand and say nothing, you are in agreement with the wrongdoer. Finally, good luck to all the posters in their college search, and Happy Year, too!</p>
<p>I have no idea why the OP would lie about this, so I am going to take his word. And in doing so, you might have seen great WF students. I am not doubting the fact that WF has bright students who are open to all types of people, but there are people in WF that are intolerant. And in the case of the OP they seem to be more than intolerant. </p>
<p>If you dont like the color of my skin. Fine. Don’t talk to me, don’t bother me. But if people will go as low as to writing things on other person’s door. I think it has to be addressed.</p>
<p>njmom…no one is denying that there are plenty of open-minded individuals at wake. obviously there are.</p>
<p>but the cruel experiences that OP mentioned go well beyond the casual racist joking and teasing that are present and largely unavoidable at my high school and in society.</p>
<p>and if it happened to him, why won’t it happen to me? or to any other minority on campus? </p>
<p>One of my favorite parts about my visit to Wake Forest was the diversity of thought, cultures, and races that I observed. My tour guide (who was a minority) actually spoke very highly about the racial harmony that exists at Wake Forest.</p>
<p>Once again, the statements of this student are the reflection of one student in a group of 4000+ undergrads, hardly representative of the school as a whole. If you allow the opinion of one person to color your entire view of a school (or any other institution, group, place, or idea for that matter), then you have taken an unfortunately ignorant approach to attaining information and transforming that information into personal opinions. This rigid method of thought, as njmom put it, is not conducive to the atmosphere of open-mindedness prevalent at most top universities, including Wake Forest.</p>
<p>alabamaguy2010, as a tour guide, I can tell you the things we are trained to say during your visit definitely is biased toward Wake Forest. Therefore, I would take it as a grain-of-salt. We are trained to try to sell Wake Forest on all prospective applicants; thus, negatives experiences are not shared unless directly asked, and even then, we are suppose to spin it positively. </p>
<p>Don’t get me wrong, I love Wake Forest and I am enjoying my experience, but there is an issue of inclusion within all members of the campus, and the Administration knows about this. This problem is not unique to Wake Forest, but it can be more severe here than other peer institutions. I personally have had many experiences, both bad and good, about Wake Forest and “Diversity” – and not only racially, but socioeconomically, religiously, regionally, etc. If you feel that you want to hear more about Wake and another student’s experience, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>I have been hesitant to say anything. We had a horrible experience with the Diversity Admission counselor who interviewed by S. My S is partially diverse, but does not look as diverse as his heritage. The Diversity Admission interviewer almost accused him of lying about his diversity and harshly questioned him about his ability to relate to his diversity group. My S. has grown up by his diverse relatives which are Asians. The interview was so uncomfortable that it made the rest of the interview very tense. Needless to say, my S got deferred.</p>
<p>In another thread we have discussed someone else getting deferred by this Diversity Admission interviewer.</p>
<p>Although, my S although does not look diverse, my S. would be very helpful in bringing the diverse and non diverse groups together. The by Diversity interviewer was so rude to my S. about his diversity, it really turned us off to Wake.</p>
<p>Wake really needs to take a hard look at what is going on here. They really messed this opportunity up…and it was done by their Diversity Admissions people.</p>