<p>Hi, I'm thinking of applying to Lehigh's ED. A concern is its seemingly low interracial interaction from one of the posts and my own research (Omuja house incident and the Movement).
How is it really, like is it true that there is a degree of class/racial segregation? (any insider who really knows the situation).
thanks</p>
<p>It seems that many people are concerned about the problem of possible racism/segregation of student body within Lehigh. As an asian (korean) I can attest that at first you will feel "lonely" if you are a minority. This is because Lehigh is predominately a white school and has a big tradition of greek life that many attribute to whites. This is somewhat true, but I found the many of the white people were pretty receptive to other cultures and did not shun diversity.</p>
<p>It is no doubt that Lehigh has to have more diversity in the school and it soon will as Lehigh is now heavily recruiting internationals and minorities. It is also true that there is a good amount of segregation especially with the white kids coming from rich families and boarding schools who will only hang out with people like themselves. But, that is not the case for everyone and you will find opportunities to meet other more open minded people.</p>
<p>My advice is if you decide to come to Lehigh, from the beginning talk to anyone everyone that you see on campus. You will quickly make a lot of friends, even if you aren't used to an environment with predominately white kids. If you are seeking more diversity and it is really important to you, I would strongly suggest that you go to a more diverse school like NYU, Rutgers, UPenn, etc that have a more strong ethnic presence.</p>
<p>mmm, I don't really mind the lack of diversity. However, if there is a rejection from the predominantly white community towards the minority, it is a totally different story. Are there many white kids who hang around with other kids from races/ social classes in Lehigh?
For example, My friend (asian) in Germany goes to a school with white majority, but the peop make friend with her without considering her race. Is the situation really different in Lehigh? (I know that u said some will only interact with the likes of them, but is it prevalent?)</p>
<p>Basically, like your friend from Germany, there are kids who won't mind at all that you're asian, black, or hispanic. They actually think it is interesting to find people that are different. But as you may know, people of the same race like to stick together.. I guess it personifies a little bit of high school with all the little cliques. </p>
<p>Many blacks, asians (especially fobs), hispanics, internationals like to stick with people like themselves and so a lot of times when you eat at the dining hall you'll see the pockets of cliques based on race or etc.</p>
<p>This is not to say that this applies to everyone at Lehigh. Minorities who are used to hanging out with white kids or who attended predominately white schools will have a lot of white friends and others with different ethnicities. And, people who do mostly hang out with friends who are their same race will have other friends who may be white or different ethnicity.</p>
<p>However, basically what I'm trying to say that it comes down to comfort factor. If you want to make friend albeit white or other minorities, you will be able to. Most people, maybe with the exception of frat/sorority kids, obnoxious chauvanist, and upper classmen will not mind that you're asian or are different from them. </p>
<p>Once on campus, block out the facts of race, and hang out with people who you feel comfortable with. Personally, I feel more comfortable with Koreans, chinese, vietnamese because I can relate to them more.. consequently most of my friends are asian. However ,if you want white friends you will be more than able to make those friends without facing much discrimination or segregation.</p>
<p>Haha, sorry if I'm very wordy and not straight to the point. but I hope you understand the Lehigh campus feel.</p>
<p>thanks, it's ok, wordy but comprehensive.</p>
<p>So, what can u do on weekends if u don't hav a car? Are there like theatres/concert halls/opera houses there? </p>
<p>How is the housing system? Do u like ur room/hall atmosphere n physical condition?</p>
<p>Good question. most people, including myself, go out to frat parties on "the hill" or off-campus parties at "hillside" from friday to saturday. some kids are more intense and start going out to parties from monday through saturday.</p>
<p>Alternatives:
1. up (university productions) that offers comedy shows and local band concerts. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>concerts and events at stabler arena (more mainstream bands that are well known).. would need to hitch ride with upperclassmen-not walking distance</p></li>
<li><p>clubs that you're involved with might hold weekend events</p></li>
<li><p>lehigh has some places to go and eat (chinese, indian, mexican, thai, subway, wendy, dominos) that you can go and eat with friends.</p></li>
<li><p>chill and talk with friends in your dorm.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Basically, Bethlehem is no NYC or Philly. But, people are hoping as the Sands Casino comes into Bethlehem it will make it more lively and offer more retail, restaurants, nightlife that is off-campus. However, as of now the things listed above are pretty much what freshman do on weekends.</p>
<p>Oh, and as far as housing goes. I live in Lower Cents Carothers house, which is co-ed. I'm don't like my dorm too much mostly because I was placed with a room mate who is so different from me. He's the type that parties all the time, has sex in the room at night while I'm still in there, smokes you know what, and has kids over all the time. But that's just me.. I have friends who have been matched with someone who is just right for them.</p>
<p>The only ways to really ensure that you'll love your dorm is to
1. dorm with someone that you know from high school who's going to lehigh
2. get a single</p>
<p>I would recommend that you look into any other dorm but lower cents. This includes upper cents, richards, dravo, drinker, and m&m. I have more friends in these dorms and they seem to enjoy it much more.</p>
<p>that seems bad. I mean, not being considerate at all eh? mm, why didnt u get a single?
What's wrong with lower cents(as a hall, not ur room)?</p>
<p>I'm bisexual, do u think they can giv me a single room based on that?</p>
<p>o, forgot to tell u, I already applied for ED. I'm afraid of the financial aid.</p>
<p>well doesnt look good for you if you need financial aid in this article they talk about less money being handed out so good luck Lehigh</a> lost $202 million since June, Gast says - News</p>
<p>right, hahaha (wry laugh). Well, guess start crossing my fingers =)</p>
<p>pretty much financial aid is either need based, merit based or a combination of both. yes, it's true that lehigh has lost 200 million dollars in its endowment which might limit the amount of aid they provide, but lehigh has been a historically generous school in terms of the university grants that it provides students. and as for rooming, you can always request a single if you think that it might suit your needs.</p>
<p>just fyi, there have been recent racist incidents at lehigh following the victory of president elect barack obama. you should read this article. i personally attended but was one of the people out in the halls bc the auditorium filled up (it was such a stupid place to hold it bc it's pretty small) and i could really sense the building up racial tensions. not to scare you or anything but just good to know.</p>
<p>Here's a longer article about this latest series of racist incidents at Lehigh.</p>
<p>Lehigh</a> U. confronts campus racism -- themorningcall.com</p>
<p>Jobe11: How do you feel being a student at Lehigh? Truthfully, what's the deal? I don't think stuff like this happens in Mississippi and Alabama.</p>
<p>personally plainsman i don't really feel the on-campus racism most of the time. the exceptions are to when i attend frat parties with a bunch of asian buddies i feel that i am not wanted there at some frats. keep in mind that some frats are more open and accepting than others.</p>
<p>however, i don't feel that my story is the same with the other minorities that attend lehigh, especially african americans. the two reasons are that i rarely see them at frat parties (with the exceptions of registered dance parties where everyone can come into and you don't need "frat" connections) and i hear these somewhat pocketed stories of racism.</p>
<p>sometimes things get overblown with the media and that may be why you're feeling that way about lehigh. it is not that racism doesn't exist on campus but it's more "subtle" "tacit". i.e. people don't explictly make these comments but sometimes they show it with their attitude.</p>
<p>I think there are alot of good things about lehigh, the faculty, the scenery, the financial aid, but in terms of the social atmosphere it's horrible. It's not just that it's incredibly homogeneous racially, socioeconomically, even geographically the majority of the students are from one state, NJ. It seems like people really go out of their way to make minorities feel like crap. It's little things like yelling racial slurs at someone while they walk on campus to skinning an animal and leaving it in front of someone's door. This stuff has been going on for a while and I'm glad to see the administration finally doing something serious about it. It's just not right what goes on here and the school's known about it for a while and really just turned the other cheek.</p>
<p>whoa, it's kinda bad isn't it? I thought that racism is less prevalent in the north than the south, but this is really confounding me. This is the 21st century, not the fifties, only the far right nationalists (like neo-nazis) do this sort of thing. Also, doesn't pennsylvania support democrats mostly in the last few elections?
I have a friend (a middle aged white american woman fr Missouri), who said that many peop in missou r racist, but not against asians, mostly against the black peop.</p>
<p>Jobe, so u r saying that the discrimination may be less strong against asians? Btw,which school do u belong to? Do u know abt the racial interaction in the business faculty?</p>
<p>whoa, it's kinda bad isn't it? I thought that racism is less prevalent in the north than the south, but this is really confounding me. This is the 21st century, not the fifties, only the far right nationalists (like neo-nazis) do this sort of thing. Also, doesn't pennsylvania support democrats mostly in the last few elections?</p>
<p>Jobe, so u r saying that the discrimination may be less strong against asians?</p>
<p>..."The most enthusiastic applause of the night came after a statement from an international student from Ghana, who placed the onus of moving out of personal comfort zones on the students themselves.</p>
<p>“If you go to Lehigh and if everyone on your contact list on your cell phone looks like you, is that all right?” he asked. “Start making friends with people who don’t look like you. That’s the way you start to learn about people and how people learn about you.” </p>
<p>We could all take home that message...</p>
<p>Hey onefour just curious are you a minority? The reason I ask is to know where you're coming from.</p>
<p>Namaku, I am currently an undeclared major at the College of Business and Economics. I will most likely pursue a degree in Finance or a double major in Finance/Accounting. Fyi, accounting is the best program at Lehigh and is said to be number 1 in the U.S. according to U.S. News and World Report (however don't trust rankings too much).</p>
<p>Anyways, I do agree that racism is more prevalent against African Americans at Lehigh. Most of the racial issues that come up seem to be between whites and blacks. However, this is not to say that I don't really feel it to sometimes. Often times, for asian more than outright racism, it is the loneliness and unbelongness at social scenes. </p>
<p>Here's a short example of what I'm talking about. About a couple weeks back, I attended this party at one of the frats with my four Asian buddies. Now, these guys are not fobs and are really American. Two of them went to Boarding schools in America and the other two are from Public schools in New Jersey. However, as soon as we walked into the party on the 3rd floor I immediately felt like I was entering into one of the black racial movie scenes when the black people walk in and all the white people just stare at you. Now, this may be a little exaggerated, but I can certainly tell you that I wasn't feeling the love.</p>
<p>Lehigh is and still will retain a strong white presence and sentiment for a while, and so my best advice to reduce this awkwardness is to make all kinds of friends. Laxmom does have a point with the need to meet all kinds of people. Take this advice, because it will significantly reduce the awkwardness and loneliness. I hate to say this because I hate conforming, but really meet some good white friends because they will help you out significantly socially.</p>