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</p>
<p>I’d probably feel a lot of pressure to join a fraternity of my own race. Also, the Georgetown report confirmed my suspicions that there was a lot of affirmative action butthurt at HYP safeties.</p>
<p>“I’d probably feel a lot of pressure to join a fraternity of my own race.”</p>
<p>I would prefer it, honestly.</p>
<p>Honestly, it might just be your school. From my experience with Georgetown, people there tend to be very cold and unfriendly, even uptight and snobbish. I can’t vouch for the personnel who work there, but it seemed that the attitude I described was very much prevalent among students at least. Granted, this is only my impression and I don’t go there, but it sounds like it probably isn’t about your race, or if it is, it’s only a slightly exaggerated version of what was already there.</p>
<p>I’m sorry to hear about what you’re going through.</p>
<p>Sometimes college personnel can be cold and bureaucratic. That part of your problem is probably not caused by your URM status or immigration status. College personnel tend to be busy. They don’t have time to hold people’s hands. If you can research the answer to a question on your own, they generally expect you to do so. In the incident with the dean you mentioned, it’s possible that they expected you to read the literature he mentioned first. If it still didn’t answer your question, that’s the time to ask for personal assistance. It’s important in such cases to mention that you read the available information first but still have additional questions.</p>
<p>You might want to consider documenting incidents as they happen. It’s important to note details. Names of people involved, locations, exact words, and dates and times should be noted. It’s best to take such notes in a spiral notebook to prove that you didn’t add incidents or details after the fact.</p>
<p>Then, you can discuss the specifics of anything that happened with the minority support office at your school or a counselor. They can advise you on whether the people in question were out of line based on American cultural norms. They can also advise on what the best way to react is within the constraints of American cultural norms.</p>
<p>If the other people involved were in fact out of line, this documentation will then be important when you go to the administration. Unfortunately, generalized complaints that nobody respects you are likely to be ignored, even if they are true.</p>
<p>Transferring out of Georgetown, as several posters suggested, should be a last resort. Transferring will disrupt your education. It’s also likely that any school you transfer to would be a step down from Georgetown academically. If you decide to transfer, it’s important to make sure that the school you transfer to is actually a significant improvement in atmosphere. Otherwise, you’re just going to have similar problems at your new school.</p>
<p>Standing up for yourself, as several posters also suggested, is risky if not done correctly. It’s best to confer with someone who is familiar with American cultural norms and the norms of your school as to the specific ways in which you should stand up for yourself.</p>
<p>You mentioned that there are some liberal students at your school who do accept you. Would these people be good choices as to who to spend time with?</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>…What?</p>
<p>cut this thread. done.</p>
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</p>
<p>Um. No. Just, no.</p>
<p>I think I may smell a ■■■■■…</p>
<p>
[QUOTE=Take3]
I’m sorry to hear about what you’re going through.</p>
<p>Sometimes college personnel can be cold and bureaucratic. That part of your problem is probably not caused by your URM status or immigration status. College personnel tend to be busy. They don’t have time to hold people’s hands. If you can research the answer to a question on your own, they generally expect you to do so. In the incident with the dean you mentioned, it’s possible that they expected you to read the literature he mentioned first. If it still didn’t answer your question, that’s the time to ask for personal assistance. It’s important in such cases to mention that you read the available information first but still have additional questions.</p>
<p>You might want to consider documenting incidents as they happen. It’s important to note details. Names of people involved, locations, exact words, and dates and times should be noted. It’s best to take such notes in a spiral notebook to prove that you didn’t add incidents or details after the fact.</p>
<p>Then, you can discuss the specifics of anything that happened with the minority support office at your school or a counselor. They can advise you on whether the people in question were out of line based on American cultural norms. They can also advise on what the best way to react is within the constraints of American cultural norms.</p>
<p>If the other people involved were in fact out of line, this documentation will then be important when you go to the administration. Unfortunately, generalized complaints that nobody respects you are likely to be ignored, even if they are true.</p>
<p>Transferring out of Georgetown, as several posters suggested, should be a last resort. Transferring will disrupt your education. It’s also likely that any school you transfer to would be a step down from Georgetown academically. If you decide to transfer, it’s important to make sure that the school you transfer to is actually a significant improvement in atmosphere. Otherwise, you’re just going to have similar problems at your new school.</p>
<p>Standing up for yourself, as several posters also suggested, is risky if not done correctly. It’s best to confer with someone who is familiar with American cultural norms and the norms of your school as to the specific ways in which you should stand up for yourself.</p>
<p>You mentioned that there are some liberal students at your school who do accept you. Would these people be good choices as to who to spend time with?</p>
<p>Good luck!
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Thanks for your answer.</p>
<p>
That is kind of presumptuous. FWIW I have encountered more racism in my home state of New Jersey than in North Carolina, where I have spent extensive time in two cities.</p>
<p>@legal_immi: You’re welcome. Glad I could help!</p>
<p>@diontechristmas: I’m glad your transfer from BU to Temple went smoothly. Unfortunately, it’s not always that easy, especially when one has moved beyond gen ed classes. (You transferred after one year, right?) A transfer student runs the risk of having to retake classes. They also have to find their way around a new campus and break into a social scene where many of the students already know each other.</p>
<p>The important part is that it’s better to try to resolve one’s problems at the current campus first. If one is truly unhappy there, it’s OK to transfer somewhere else even if it’s not hassle-free. Just carefully think through the decision first. The question is whether the downsides of staying put outweigh the downsides of transferring.</p>
<p>I must respond to Dbate’s assertion (#53) that “Georgetown is an easy enough school to get into that I doubt affirmative action is necessary for blacks to get in there.” If anything, I believe that the very top schools have the easiest time implementing affirmative action, and that it becomes increasingly more difficult as one goes down the rankings. This is for an obvious reason: URMs are by definition underrepresented. If the top 20 schools admit a number that is “disproportionate” relative to the applicant pool, the next 20 schools will find it even harder to admit a “disproportionate” number. Think of the analogous situation we now have with men being underrepresented in college. The Ivy League schools have no problem maintaining a 50-50 male-female balance. But as you go further down the rankings, it gets more difficult. That is why schools like William and Mary are reported to have much lower admissions standards for males than females. Put differently, it is not true that William and Mary “is an easy enough school to get into that I doubt affirmative action is necessary for [males] to get in there.”</p>
<p>Transfer. 10char</p>
<p>Heh, this thread is sort of like the jerks who accuse you of being racist because you don’t put up with their asshattery. ‘Really now? So you’re saying you’re such a wonderful, easy-going, polite, and respectful person that I could have no possible reason to dislike you but for your race? It wasn’t your crap personality, lack of manners, and constant whining that put me off, it was your skin color? Interesting…’</p>
<p>I agree with diontechristmas post #72.</p>
<p>btw I think OP should just transfer. If you’re not happy at Georgetown, stop complaining and transfer to a more accepting community. I know this might be outlandish and inappropriate, but Georgetown is a Jesuit university after all.</p>