<p>How does it feel being an African American while attending Wheaton? Do you ever feel like an outsider or that people there treat you differently unintentionally? Do you feel unhappy attending Wheaton because of it?</p>
Hi Prepping: I held off a couple of weeks hoping a student would chime in, as I am woefully unqualified to give you a “how does it feel” answer. Although he ultimately decided to attend elsewhere, Wheaton was in the final consideration set for my son, who is Hispanic. Coming from a large ethnically and religiously diverse high school, he said the lack of both at Wheaton was immediately apparent to him during his overnight. He said the students were incredibly loving and caring, without a hint of prejudice. But he did sense what he thought might be a bit of “ethnic naivete,” which I think is what you’re referring to when you talk about being treated “differently unintentionally.” He chalked it up to many of the kids being “sheltered” by home schooling or private high schools - though he had no hard data to back that up.
Having said that, I think that Wheaton’s administration is very aware of the situation, and is making a tremendous effort to change it. (Check out the last couple of diversity FAQs from their website: http://www.wheaton.edu/Student-Life/Diversity/FAQs). They’ve even recently added a clause regarding diversity to their Community Covenant stating that followers of Jesus Christ… "pursue unity and embrace ethnic diversity as part of God’s design for humanity and practice racial reconciliation as one of his redemptive purposes in Christ " (Isa. 56:6-7; John 17:20-23; Acts 17:26; Eph. 2:11-18; Col. 3:11; Rev. 7:9-10). The number of “faculty of color” is on the rise, and the number of “students of color” has doubled in the past 10 years, although the number of African Americans has unfortunately stayed about the same. From everything I’ve read and heard, Wheaton is a remarkable place, filled with brilliant students who are taking on some of the most important issues facing Christianity, including their own preconceptions. I suspect Wheaton would not present any difficulties to you that you haven’t already conquered, and you could very likely be a significant contribution to Wheaton’s future.