<p>Just want an honest answer, I attend American highschool for 3 months just to get used to American education. I dont talk perfect english and dont really understand the culture here fully yet.</p>
<p>People often mocked my accent, talked about how I dressed thinking I didnt understand in the highschool and I am just wondering will Rutgers be more accepting. I honestly just want to mind my own buisness and study.</p>
<p>Just nervous after reading about the tyler clementi case. I though college in the states is much more accepting?</p>
<p>I spent most of my life living in turkey, egypt.</p>
<p>I have never seen or heard of bullying at Rutgers. Since Rutgers is such a diverse institution, everyone is mature enough to quitely abide by cultural differences. No one will make fun of you for having an accent.</p>
<p>And the Clementi incident…it was so unexpected especially at an institution like Rutgers. We were all shocked. We have a few rotten tomatoes here and there just like all other schools, but they will be dealt accordingly, and you needn’t worry about them.</p>
<p>Even though 99% of all humans really are nice, you will find that 1% that will just make humanity look horrible. There will be times where you are going to meet these people but you should shrug them off. </p>
<p>As for accent, there are so many students that have accents epecially the indian accent. However, students get used to it because they hear it almost every day.</p>
<p>Some people may joke around and say something but its their way of having a laugh for the day. If you feel you are being bullied you should talk to the counselor or a dean who can work through special circumstances. </p>
<p>If you are really worried about making friends or adapting to american culture you should join multiple groups on campus. Seeing as you are from turkey, i am assuming you might be muslim but i can be wrong. There is an MSA group, pretty sure there is a group for turkish students as well.</p>
<p>Do not hate people or the school because of some people.</p>
<p>I have many egyptian friends on campus so im pretty sure there is also an egyption group. </p>
<p>Do talk to someone from administration if you are having problems at the school, especially after the clementi incident, Rutgers does not tolerate this behavior.</p>
<p>Rutgers takes pride in its diversity because it <em>is</em> diverse. You will literally see/ meet people of all racial backgrounds and religions. So don’t worry about fitting in with “American culture” or “American dress” since I’ve seen many people bring their cultural traditions/ dress along.
As for your accent, there is nothing to worry about. Heck, more than half my professors had thick accents. I’ve also met many students with accents.
I’ve met a few Turkish people and I definitely know many Egyptians.
I know Rutgers has a Turkish Student Association because I’ve seen/ been to a couple of their events.
And I know many of my Egyptian friends involve themselves in the Arab Cultural Club. And like shipponz said, if you’re Muslim, there’s a Muslim Student Association and a Muslims Without Borders. If you’re not, there are definitely associations/ student groups that recognize other faiths.
Definitely do not worry about fitting in because I can assure you that you won’t feel like an outcast at RU.</p>
<p>Honestly, I think that you will be fine. There are always going to be people that are just awful everywhere, but with that being said, it does not mean it is impossible to find those that are just the opposite.</p>
<p>My friend was a college student and did very well both academically and sports-wise as a runner (recieving scholarships for both academics and athletics). Unfortunately, she got bullied by wannabes on her sports team because of what she ate (she had digestive issues) and the fact that she worked very hard at practice and ran faster than others. She did not have internet communications (ie twitter/ facebook), yet when she once went to the cafeteria to eat with a supposed “friend,” they posted a picture of her eating without her knowing it and made fun of her [for THAT]. Apparently her food was too healthy and considered “gross”. It is ridiculous the amount of bullying that goes on these days, and the fact that the targets are usually people that have done little to nothing wrong. I found it absolutely disturbing, but to be honest, bullies are bullies and even though it may seem like they are causing harm to you and only hurting you, they are really causing destruction to themselves. Also, the wannabes that bullied my friend were those that could not succeed in what she did. Do not pay attention to those that try to tear you down, but rather show them that they cannot and BE THE BETTER PERSON. You will encounter idiots everywhere, but just pray, ignore them, and avoid them as much as possible. The friend that was bullied solely because she was better than those that picked on her ended up graduating from her previous college (where she got bullied) and heading on to continue to study at an Ivy League School. She excelled in both academics and athetics, and when so-called “friends” would make fun of what she ate/ how she practiced and ran, you know what she did? She ate even healthier and ran even faster. It made her that much stronger and she ended up being much more successful than those that had picked on her because they had nothing better to do and chose to target the innocent rather than focus on their own life.</p>
<p>I’m not saying that you will be bullied when you go to college, I am saying that it is not something that you should be afraid of so as far to reconsider going to a certain college. You need to prove to the bullies that they have no control over you and that they cannot change who you are. You can always succeed in college, and you will find someone/ some people that help you along the way. Do not stress too much about it, you will be fine and I wish you the best with whatever you choose to do.</p>
<p>I agree with shipponz. Most people don’t care, but there are still some jerks. The people who don’t care may resort to writing a personal in The Medium as a passive aggressive way lol. Overall, most people have some place to be and won’t go out of their way to mess with you.</p>
<p>I haven’t witnessed any bullying on campus (off campus at a party may be a different story), and the Clementi incident was a complete shock to me. I did not even hear about that until even after it was all over the news.</p>