<p>I attended all-black schools until the sixth grade. Then, I moved to a very diverse and accepting community. My parents are concerned about the lack of racial diversity at Juniata, so I'm hoping this thread will ease their worries. </p>
<p>How are African Americans treated at Juniata? Are they self-segregated? Have there been any incidences that demonstrated racism? Does race not matter at all?</p>
<p>I would suggest trying to connect with some current students at Juniata to ask that question. There is no question that Juniata is not very diverse, but in our three visits there it seemed NOT to be “self-segregated”.</p>
<p>While Juniata is a predominantly white school, it is obvious that the Juniata community values multiculturalism–not for statistical purposes, but rather, because it enriches the community.
In my personal experience, I’d say that pretty much all of the students of color feel comfortable on campus. Close to 10% of the students are students of color from the US while about 9% of the students are international. Again, while these percentages are not as large as they could be, the community is very supportive of all different types of cultures.
Juniata students do not noticeably “self segregate” (African American students included). For instance, you would find a range of students from different ethnic backgrounds in the African American Student Alliance.
I have never witnessed any instances of demonstrated racism at Juniata. They do have a Bias Response Committee on hand to handle any situations that may arise, but the committee has only had one instance over the last 2 years (not necessarily race related).
Finally, “does race matter”? That is a difficult question. Race does matter, but only because differences are appreciated at Juniata. Equality is not about sameness, but rather celebrating and learning about differences.</p>
<p>Thank you both for your responses. </p>
<p>juniata22, that’s exactly what I expected, especially after reading about other aspects of Juniata. It will definitely ease my parents’ worries hearing it from someone other than their child who is trying to convince them that Juniata is the best choice. Are you a current student?</p>
<p>Your parents have valid concern. Juniata22 has offered a very nice picture that would seem to have some validity, albeit not terribly analytical. JC does seem to have an accepting environment. It seems much more attuned to recruiting and ser vicing international students, most of whom are “of color”, than AAs. Take a careful look at this if it is of any importance to you. And give some careful thought in connoting “community” to the broader environment. I’d guess that intentional or not, Juniata might have meant “college community.” </p>
<p>H County is essentially all rural white with one major exception, Mt. Union, which has an oddly significant black population which is the result of 2 things … long-ago importing of black workers for sweat-shop laboring in the old refractories (the jobs were terrible, low pay, and unattractive to local folks). And more recently a number of very nasty section 8 housing projects that are real havens for drug activity. A 3rd aspect relative to this topic that is important to consider when looking at statistics of the region and local communities are the 2 state prisons located in Huntington. These account for the vast majority of the black census in the county. </p>
<p>Lastly, remember this … the community is not nearly so cosmopolitan as nearbye State College. And as anyone paying attention knows, State College and PSU have been monumentally criticized for its low number of black students, most of which is rightly or wrongly proclaimed a function of geography and unsupportive community environment. And State College and Huntington are worlds apart despite close proximity. You to investigate this with a careful, analytical eye.</p>