<p>I'm African American and I've always wanted to go to school in the South and I think Vanderbilt would be a good fit for me but I've heard I'd have a hard time because the University has a racist undertone. Does that hold any validity?</p>
<p>The only thing they have is somewhat of a “southern” (and barely, the demographics have shifted a lot regionally) culture. And lots of African Americans live in the south, so I’m sure they’re okay with it. Basically that idea doesn’t make any sense as African Americans comprise 9% of Vandy, similar to other elite schools. Just saying…</p>
<p>there is probably some African American students group there.</p>
<p>I would call them and ask.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt has the reputation of being a school for rich preppy white anglo saxon protestants</p>
<p>my son is jewish, so I have similar concerns</p>
<p>But my advice to you is that if you really want to go there, do it, and kick the door down, so to speak.</p>
<p>There was a time when jews were not welcome at Harvard, Yale, and University of Pennsylvania, and when “restricted” hotels existed that did not allow jews.</p>
<p>Now jews are “over-represented”</p>
<p>No. Even the traditional all white fraternities have African American members.</p>
<p>floridadad55, I grew up in Alabama and had never really met someone Jewish until Vanderbilt. I would not be concerned.</p>
<p>I believe Jewish students have increased/ is increasing in number at Vandy as well. I remember reading a while ago back that it had increased to about 15%. This sounds like a reasonable number. I mean think of my school, where they are 33-35%, comprising most of the white population (only 40-45%) and thus rivaling the % of Asian students (30-40% normally). Also note that even more “diverse” schools are capable of “racist” elements. For example, our large population of international students (particularly Asians and Indians) tend to self-segregate. Vandy seems to strike more of an honest balance that not inspire this occurrence as much. I don’t know (hopefully someone will know) how it would work out in reality, but it seems to be an environment less prone to development of ethnic based “subcultures” and cliques. That can get annoying at times.</p>
<p>Bernie–Ah. Self-segregation. Yep. International students tend to self-segregate. Am an international student myself. And I hate that self-segregation. I introduced myself to some Korean students during orientation. They said “hi”, and proceeded to ignore me while conversing in their own language, deliberately oblivious of my presence. That’s an extreme example…but I’ve been to many schools, and this international student self-segregation thing happens everywhere. It’s freaking annoying. As for cliques–I’ve heard they exist at Vandy, but I don’t think they’re a big problem.</p>
<p>Vandy still has a few old money folks, but that doesn’t mean they’re racist. I get along with them just fine.</p>
<p>Do you have to worry about racism? Nah. My barber thought that all Asians speak the same language and that one can drive from Taiwan to China to Japan, but that’s just cute, not racist.</p>
<p>Are you asking if people who go to Vanderbilt are racist? Why would Vanderbilt attract racist students…?</p>
<p>That incident happens a lot w/koreans so I wouldn’t call it extreme lol. I have to wonder if that’s inevitably more common w/Koreans (as we have a huge number of Koreans and I’m sure others do too) than say, Chinese students. I’ve been able to make more friends w/Chinese students than Korean students and I still don’t get why. What’s the difference in socialization?</p>
<p>I have no idea how, but I’m one of the lucky ones to make friends w/ any international students (Asian/Indian), and I’m not white 
.Basically when it happens, it’s normally only white students. Also, the self-segregation looks more pervasive when you are in a class w/a lot more international students than normal. </p>
<p>Anything is possible Pancake, remember UCLA girl lol. She’s at a school w/a huge Asian population yet had the nerve and idiocy to post a rant on YouTube. Stuff happens.</p>
<p>Take a gander at the Vanderbilt blog and read backwards a year or so. The demographics both racially and economically are a point of pride–and geographical diversity has altered amazingly in recent years as well. Vanderbilt wins accolades for its very generous financial aid and need blind admissions.
At one time the Chancellor’s Scholars were somewhat geared towards affirmative action/African American students but Vanderbilt has no trouble appealing to a significant pool of strong African American students now so Chancellor’s Scholars are diverse on many scores now. Building a Jewish Center on campus made a big dent in the previous reservations Jewish families had (preference was for Duke and Emory in the past, but Vanderbilt is getting scores of Jewish students annually now…they were always well represented in grad schools but not in the undergrad school of days gone by) and quickly increased the numbers of Jewish students. </p>
<p>One point about Nashville is its historic traditionally black universities which makes Nashville somewhat more like Atlanta. Fisk has a heralded past as a liberal arts college, and Tennessee State University is very large after it subsumed the old UT Nashville in a desegregation plan decades ago. Meharry Medical College has a strong history in the USA for its former role in training African American doctors during segregation. Meharry is still very successful in landing research dollars. Vanderbilt Med and Meharry Med work on many joint medical training agendas. There is a huge Veterans Hospital near Vandy that is also part of a research and training opp on campus.
There are also some very large ethnic immigrant populations in Nashville. I am not schooled on the recent stats but I know there is a huge Kurdish community.<br>
rather than worrying about the potential for racial barriers at Vandy, you might think more about whether or not you can be graceful as a participant or non participant in Greek life, which 50% of girls still do opt for. That is a part of the Vandy culture that has changed but also remains the same. Personally, I think anyone, greek or independent should not make Greek participation a be-all and end-all in how to view a college. Who wants to eliminate great colleges with Greek systems…? Best to take a light hearted view, arrive and make a decision and live with it gracefully. There are tons of things to do in Nashville compared to many other colleges …if you are independent.</p>
<p>Bernie–haha, that’s not an extreme example, I agree. I was trying to temper my potentially insulting statement. I encountered the same self-segregation in CA, in FL, and in CMU. And it does happen less with Chinese students, who do self-segregate, but who would at least be more polite.
I’m guessing–when a person can’t find those of his own ethnicity/nationality to chill with, he’s forced to meet others. And the self-segregation abates. And I really don’t know why Koreans tend to self-segregate more than the Chinese :S</p>
<p>If you go to the Vanderbilt collegeacb and do a search on the “n-word,” you’ll find about 40+ threads revolving around African-Americans on campus. Is this where you got the idea? lol</p>
<p>collegeacb tends to have a selection/sample bias (just as CC). It draws those few w/extreme views (or those inclined to complain) that otherwise wouldn’t be vocalized in public (basically views that make it worth hiding behind anonymity). Similar patterns exist for other institutions, even those that are far more diverse than Vanderbilt. collegeacb, no matter the school, just proves that bigoted sentiments still exist, even among college students (yes even elites, most elite colleges only have a student body that is fairly homogenous in terms of quality, not ideology or viewpoint). You haven’t proved that Vanderbilt is a special case. Show evidence that they stand out among their peers for it. Again, I can use “UCLA girl” and assert that it means that: “white students at UCLA bottle up and hide their predominantly racist feelings toward minorities”. Needless to say this would be a fail on my part.</p>
<p>Since this is kind of similar, I have a really good friend who was thinking of applying to Vanderbilt, and he loved it, but then he started hearing from people that it wasn’t a very “gay friendly” school (He hasn’t officially come out, but it’s pretty safe to guess that he is, he doesn’t deny it). I wanted to see if this was true because recently he told me he was no longer applying, and maybe if someone could clarify he would change his mind.</p>
<p>LOL, “Vanderbilt isn’t gay-friendly.”</p>
<p>Look at the Office of Gays, Lesbians, and Transgenders website. There’s a whole department to that area.</p>
<p>Heck, Vanderbilt even has an unofficial gay dorm: McGill Hall.</p>
<p>[Where</a> the Freaks Are | Features | Nashville Scene](<a href=“http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/where-the-freaks-are/Content?oid=1190512]Where”>http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/where-the-freaks-are/Content?oid=1190512)</p>
<p>McGill sounds insane, and a good place for me.</p>
<p>I’ll live in Tolman this year though; anyone know what it’s like there?</p>
<p>I lived in Tolman my junior year. It’s always quiet and dead. Perfect for me, though the more outgoing people will probably hate it.</p>
<p>My D roomed with the same girl every year at Vanderbilt. Her roommate is African American, and she was very happy at Vandy. While many students do self-segregate at Vandy (as they do at many schools), D’s roommate did not … both she & my D had friends of all races/religions/nationalities. They just happened to be involved in activities where they met all kinds of students.</p>
<p>Let’s just put it this way: KA had a black kid (recently graduated).</p>
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<p>And Adolf Hitler was Jewish.</p>
<p>“And Adolf Hitler was Jewish.”</p>
<p>Great. A reductio ad hitlerum argument. Very persuasive.</p>