<p>I know that Carleton does not have a large number of African-American or Hispanic students. Does anyone know how those students experience being on campus? In other words, is the place serious about diversity? Most of my students are Hispanic. I want to be sure that if they go to a SLAC in the upper midwest or northeast that they don't feel lost or out of place.</p>
<p>I can only speak to my observations during my time at Carleton (as a white male), but hopefully that is at least mildly useful. Carleton is nearing a population of 25% students of color, but it is true that hispanic and black students only make up 5% each. However, there does seem to be a very good support network set up at Carleton. There are a couple popular interest houses that cater to students of color and there are several campus wide events throughout the year celebrating diversity. It is also a place with a fair amount of dialogue about race issues and such, so any shortcomings in the diversity department are usually not tucked under the rug. Finally, there is a nice system in place in which incoming students of color and international students can request a multicultural peer leader, who is an upper-classman/woman who has gone through the same transition to Carleton and helps the incoming students throughout their first year.</p>
<p>Overall: its not perfect, but its not awful either. The biggest complaint I typically heard from students of color at Carleton is that the white liberal hippie-people at Carleton occasionally try to get them to "educate them" about race issues and their culture and such, which is kind of exasperating I can imagine. The biggest plus is that Carleton recognizes that these students are in a small minority, and so they really try to provide a strong support network.</p>
<p>The great thing about Carleton is that everyone still interacts wonderfully. Some other schools that boast high minority figures can be very misleading since there really isn't much interaction, everyone sticks to their own group.</p>
<p>thought i'd bring this post back up bc i'm in love with carleton, but i swore i'd never go to a college like my high-school with few other people of color and bad race relations (like racial groups in hard cliques)...so is carleton really like that? i've heard that it was..a lot..but this discussion seems it isn't. i know all u guys here must love carleton (there's a lot to love!) but plz be honest with me so i can make the best decision.</p>
<p>As you said, mcawesome, obviously I loved my years at Carleton and that's why I'm here. And I can only speak for my own experience, but I would strongly disagree with anyone who said that Carleton has "bad race relations" or "hard cliques." My high school was certainly like that, and Carleton had a very different (and much better) feel. As it is anywhere in the world, Carleton's diversity/interactions are less than perfect, but I would describe them as "better than most places."</p>
<p>One of my students, who is African American, is a freshman at Carleton this year. It was her top choice (she applied Early Decision). She has been very happy there so far, and hasn't mentioned any cliques or negative experiences. In fact, she was sort of a quiet, shy type in high school, and it has been really neat to hear how she's coming out of her shell socially and academically at Carleton. By the way, her high school was very diverse racially (only 10% white). My advice would be to try to visit if possible so you can judge your comfort level for yourself.</p>