Any Questions about the Black Community at UT? Just Ask!

<p>For any prospective/incoming students who have questions about the Black community here at UT, please feel free to ask, I'd love to answer them for you! I was an orientation advisor at UT this past summer and I remember a lot of AA students coming up to me and asking about the Black community here as well as adjusting to a predominantly White/Asian/Hispanic university. So post your questions here and I'll do my best to give you a helpful response :)</p>

<p>I was looking at the profile for the UT class of 2012 and I saw that it was 6% AA. I guess this isn’t all that bad since UT is a big school? Which dorm is do most AAs stay in? What organizations are they mostly involved in? Anything in particular you believe one should know? Thanks in advanced.</p>

<p>What can you say to prospective black students why they should attend UT instead of historically black colleges in Texas such as:

  • Prairie View A&M
  • Texas Southern
  • Huston-Tillotson
  • Jarvis Christian
  • Paul Quinn
  • Southwestern Christian
  • Texas College
  • Wiley</p>

<p>Also, what percentage of the black students at UT would you estimate fit the profile of the “traditional” African American, i.e.:

  • born in America
  • born to parents who were born in America
  • who are greater than 51% black
  • who spent most of their childhood in communities that were predominantly black</p>

<p>Epiclegend, there are roughly 2500 African-American students on campus. Most of the African-American students that live on campus live in Jester East and West and these AA students are primarily freshman. Many of the upperclassmen AA students live in Riverside where a lot of cheap apartments geared toward students are. To my knowledge, most African American students will be involved in organizations such as Black Student Alliance, African Students Association, African-American Culture Committee, and other black organizations geared around careers and majors.</p>

<p>If you’re worried about the small size of the black community, know this: if you are involved in the black community, then it will feel much larger than it actually is! I also advise you to go to the New Black Student Lock-In that occurs in August before school begins. That’s where I met a lot of my AA friends and we’re still friends to this day.</p>

<p>Lastly, the black community is pretty tight-knit and despite how small it is, you can find your niche somewhere :)</p>

<p>To ffhrea:</p>

<p>I feel that prospective black students should attend UT because it is, hands down, the best public school in the state, one of the best in the nation, and it’s world-renowned for having the best education public school can offer, hence it being coined a “public ivy.” Also, I feel that AA students can benefit from UT in that it is a VERY diverse school that values diversity, culture, and different backgrounds. I don’t think that you could get that from a historically black college. Don’t get me wrong, historically black colleges are wonderful, but if you’re looking to experience different cultures, backgrounds, views, and whatnot, then UT is the place to go. It has so much to offer in terms of art, education, sports, culture, history, and the city of Austin is GREAT for college students and there’s so much to do here! Lastly, it’s a pretty big deal to have a degree from UT. UT’s networking system is AMAZING and it spans the world, not to mention it can give you a leg up in terms of getting a good job.</p>

<p>To answer your second question about the percentage of black students at UT that fit the profile of the “traditional” African American:</p>

<p>There is a significant African community here on campus, but that doesn’t make them any less “black” than a regular African American student. Many of them were born and raised here and some were born in Africa but were raised here in the states as first and/or second generation American-born citizens. A LOT of the black students here are what you would say “51% black” although I don’t really think that matters. A lot of AA students here also come from big cities such as Dallas and Houston and their surrounding areas and even came from black schools. Every student is different in their own way, but I think what you’re trying to get at is if the black culture here is actually significant. Within the black community, it very much is.</p>

<p>LMAO that guy says 6% isnt that bad, sounds a lil racist lol</p>

<p>Is it hard to get into the Black Sororities such as AKA?</p>

<p>but hes not an AKA so he cant truly tell you how hard it is to get in</p>

<p>How are the African-American culture courses?</p>

<p>utgirl2010 I can’t really tell you much about how to get into the Black Sororities and/or Fraternities because I am not a part of one. You’d have to approach one of them once you got here in order to find out more.</p>

<p>caligirl23 The African-American culture courses here are pretty interesting. They have a wide variety in the African and African-American Studies department. The Black Power Movement is a very popular class among AA students here. I suggest you take a look at the course schedule when you have a chance and look up all of the different types of classes they offer. You won’t be disappointed!</p>

<p>Excellent question ffhrea. I wish the OP had just answered it and left out the PC nonsense.</p>

<p>Anywho, I know two people who attend Jarvis Christian college. It’s a terrible school. My aunt, who is now jobless and on welfare, claims that she was “forever changed” upon entering the school. She also claims that those who attend there don’t really concentrate on actually graduating.
I can’t speak about the others…</p>

<p>lol schools like JCC aren’t good to begin with, if you want to go to a good black school you should look into Spellman(or spelman) or Morehouse/Howard</p>