<p>Just curious if anyone has any insight on racism at the University of Alabama. While I am considering primarily academic powerhouse schools like Michigan, Illinois and Purdue, Alabama essentially makes it almost free for me to go there. The way I see it, college is a once in a lifetime thing, therefore I would hate to be excluded or marginalized because I am not white or black (I am of Indian decent). I ran a search of racism at UA's newspaper, Crimson White, and found tons of articles about racist incidents. It seems like almost every other week there is some problem. I did the same with Michigan's Michigan Daily, Illinois's Daily Illini and Purdue's Exponent and basically found none. Also why are all fraternity and sorority houses either all white or black? The houses at Michigan, Illinois and Purdue are all integrated. This is what worries me the most, why is Alabama so segregated? They keep talking about the new south, but it still looks like the old. Academically Alabama isn't the greatest but it isn't as awful as most of the nation thinks, so I am not worried about that. It is basically as good as what you make of it. The racism is what really keeps me from considering or even visiting that school. Any insights would be nice. THANKS!</p>
<p>Racism is everywhere. Statistically, the more students in a school, the worse it will be.</p>
<p>Just learn to deal with it.</p>
<p>as far as the sorority and frat houses go
people generally segregate themselves naturally
just a fact of human nature that we tend to prefer to associate with others of the same race
if you look at churches and neighborhoods all around the country you will find this is supported</p>
<p>difference is in michigan, illinois, etc integration will be more forced/promoted</p>
<p>I visited the same newspaper site (Crimson White) and searched āracismā āracistā āraceā and nothing came up but then i started searching other keywords that would surely bring a result and still nothing so I think their search function is broken/disabled at the moment</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that blacks commit racial crimes against whites at a far higher rate than vice versa. Only they donāt make the newspaper or local new channel very often.</p>
<p>
How did you come to that conclusion? I just checked out 20 fraternities at Michigan. Among those:
8 seemed predominantly white
5 were predominantly (exclusively?) African-American
2 were predominantly (exclusively?) Asian
2 were predominantly (exclusively?) Latino
1 was predominantly (exclusively?) Indian</p>
<p>Iād be surprised if you found a single college campus with a race-blind Greek scene.</p>
<p>But from a purely statistical point of view, youāll probably feel more marginalized at Alabama. At Alabama, 91% of students reported their race as either white or black. Itās 61% at Illinois, 66% at Michigan, 68% at Purdue. No surprise that Alabama features more āblack and whiteā thinking.</p>
<p>Frats hardly represent the entire campus either. I think heās referring to incidents like this though [University</a> Of Alabama Racist Incidents Brings Back Bad Memories | Breaking News for Black America](<a href=āhttp://newsone.com/1042625/university-of-alabama-racist-incidents-brings-back-bad-memories/]Universityā>University Of Alabama Racist Incidents Brings Back Bad Memories)</p>
<p>Agree with others that people tend to socialize with their own race after like, elementary school, but you wonāt see antagonistic crap like that on a midwest campus. Even being white, Iād get away from the south as quickly as possible. The whole region has a horrid, recent and ongoing problem with racism. No oneās gonna give you a hard time at UMich etc. At worst, people are busy doing their own thing.</p>
<p>I hear Alabama is pretty racist in general. I have a asian friend who moved to Alabama temporarily for work. He told me he was denied access to several clientās offices that his company works with because of his nationality.</p>
<p>Alabama =/= University of Alabama. </p>
<p>Thereās a lot of people on here who go to Bama. I donāt think theyāve ever mentioned an issue. B@r is right about Michigan. Many do tend to be segregated.</p>
<p>There are incidents of racism at almost every college. I disagree that itās a southern thing. I have lived in the midwest/great lakes most of my life and I know of racist incidents that have happened on midwest and great lakes campuses as well. If anything, you might want to consider smaller LACs with highly diverse populations.</p>
<p>if your asian friend thinks alabama is racist perhaps he should visit east asia
korea,japan, and china are all more racist and openly so
but its only wrong when whites are racist right?</p>
<p>@Mike1213: You have some really messed up thoughts going on there. You need to reevaluateā¦ pretty much everything you just typed.</p>
<p>OP, I have never been to Alabama, or the University of Alabama, but as previous posters said, the larger percentage of white students you get, generally the more racism youāre going to get. That does not mean everyone there is a racist, or that you wonāt fit in, but thatās generally how it works when it comes to PWIs (predominantly white institutions).</p>
<p>I attend Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, and I love it here. Do I wish there was more diversity? Absolutely. Have I encountered racism? Absolutely. But as I said, I really enjoy this school and have become friends with people of various racial and cultural backgrounds.</p>
<p>Honestly, I suggest you visit the schools you are considering if you can. Just walk around campus during the day, get a feel for the atmosphere. Talk to a couple non-white students and ask them what they genuinely think.</p>
<p>Is anything I said incorrect? Please tell me if I am mistaken.</p>
<p>Boiling social segregation down to āpeople just tend to prefer those of their own raceā is incredibly ignorant at best.</p>
<p>I really didnāt want to touch this topic with a 10 ft poll because any topic on CC which mentions race inevitably turns into a crapfest of ill-informed ignorant posts, but in good conscious I donāt want you to get the wrong idea since it seems you are asking a genuine question. Please completely disregard Big10Champ. </p>
<p>In reality, you are unlikely to encounter any open racism at any of those schools, and equally so. Big public universities have very very little open racism. You may very well run into someone who doesnāt want to be your friend, doesnāt want to talk to you, doesnāt want to have anything to do with you purely because of your race. Thatās not going to be any more likely at Alabama than any other school you mentioned. There is no more enmity for Indians in the South than in the North.</p>
<p>OP, there are a number of students that post on the Alabama forum. And I know that this topic has been discussed on that forum a few times. I would recommend that you go to that forum and read those threads or reask your questions there. It might help!</p>
<p>Sent from my DROID RAZR using CC</p>
<p>Big10champ how can it be ignorant if it is supported by fact time and time again?</p>
<p>Facts, Mike? Can you show me some facts that contradict what Big said?</p>
<p>As a student at the University of Alabama, I havenāt personally noticed any incidents of racism, nor have my friends - and those friends include students from Saudi Arabia, Japan and, in fact, India. </p>
<p>Also, being in the Honors College, most people youāll be around are actually rather brilliant, it has the feel of a small private college, with the resources of a major research institution.</p>
<p>I recommend visiting, itās really a great place. The people Iāve met are very friendly.</p>
<p>@romanigypsyeyes</p>
<p>heres a study</p>
<p>[Study</a> of Census Data Finds a Segregated America, Especially for Blacks - At the Edge (usnews.com)](<a href=āhttp://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2012/07/24/study-of-census-data-finds-a-segregated-america-especially-for-blacks]Studyā>http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/at-the-edge/2012/07/24/study-of-census-data-finds-a-segregated-america-especially-for-blacks)</p>
<p>humans are tribal
look all around the world<br>
people are more comfortable with others who look like and have a similar culture to themselves</p>
<p>of course there are a lot of exceptions (especially for individuals) but in general this is true</p>
<p>Student at the University of Alabama here.</p>
<p>Last year we had a total of two (2) racist incidents that I remember happening. Definitely not every other week; it was once per semester. The students who committed these actions were reprimand by the university president and punished, I believe. Never in person, though, have I seen a racist act committed. </p>
<p>The student body as a whole, is pretty accepting, in my opinion. While the campus is predominantly white (around 80%), I still feel like people of different backgrounds are accepted. I have several good friends who come from different backgrounds, including some who are Brazilian, Korean, or Indian.</p>
<p>My advice is visit the university. The people are extremely welcoming and friendly, and I have to say it was probably my favorite campus tour out of the many I visited.</p>
<p>I visited all three campuses ( my sister is also a Michigan alumni and was in a sorority, she was my main source for how integrated University of Michiganās greek system is).</p>