<p>Vanderbilt is in TN, and we can all agree that Nashville is not the most diverse city. How do Vandy students treat people of color, especially Asians? How are they treated throughout the campus and Nashville?</p>
<p>Please try to answer this as objectively as possible. My guidance counselor discouraged me from applying to Vanderbilt because of just how "white" Nashville is. My being Asian, she believed that the racism I will encounter on campus and during internship searches is not worth the emotional stress.</p>
<p>OK, here's the thing. The south probably is more racist than other parts of the country...sad, but true. Vanderbilt, however, consists of smart people from all over the country...and the majority of those people I'm sure do not share the same ideals. Although the school is primarily white, Asians are probably the largest minority group on campus (from what I have observed the few times I've visited there). In other words, I think Vanderbilt's campus is no worse than any other southern university as far as racism goes, and if anything is more open-minded because of its smart student population.</p>
<p>Vandy students treat Asians just like everybody else. </p>
<p>Look at the freshmen year profile -- Vanderbilt kids are from all over the country. One of my favorite things about being a Vanderbilt student is that I have met kids from across the country:</p>
<p>suggest you visit Vandy if admitted and just ask students. In my experience, many people make assumptions about Nashville that are not accurate. Their admissions staff really impressed us with diversity and honesty in answering questions and they have gotten results in recent admission years. Nashville is a very friendly city with an affluent population that loves the arts in many forms. There are historic restored intown neighborhoods, housing projects and areas that are struggling, and grand old south neighborhoods as well as neighborhoods near Vandy itself that are quite homey..Hillsboro Village, housing off Granny White Pike, housing off West End. Nashville is also home to historic black universities..Fisk, Meharry Medical College and the large Tennesse State University. Because it is a capital city, you may be surprised at the many internships are available in many fields. Business is good. We lived there twice and also in Atlanta several times. Love both cities but Nashville is particularly liveable. Vandy has a fairly robust frat scene but more students in sororities, but it is quite easy to have a full social life without them. The undergrad school is unusual in terms of not many Teaching Assts for a school of its size. Access to full professors is good. Everyone seems to come to play or speak in Nashville, so the cultural offerings are surprisingly good. If you do an overnight, my S found the freshmen there to be quite frank and also gracious. By the way, we were both Middle Atlantic state people and quite comfy there when 21.</p>
<p>Nashville is more diverse than you might think. It's probably the most diverse of the smaller large cities in the South in terms of racial and cultural diversity. One thing it lacks is religious diversity. Nashville really lives up to its title as the Buckle of the Bible Belt. For example, in the recent flap over that NBC show "The Book of Daniel", Nashville was one of the markets that pulled the show from its lineup.</p>
<p>I guess I do have the southern stereotype .. where everyones a white supremacist. Thanks for the responses - I will be visiting Vandy if I get in and give it full consideration.</p>
<p>ah yes, I guess I am not that surprised about the Book of Daniel flap. It is a Bible Belt sort of region, but not unlike Northern Dixie where I once lived in Southern Illinois and there is a lot of interaction with Kentucky, St. Louis and Indiana and states that move toward midwestern in culture, too. There is also a beeline trip to Birmingham that is a beaten path, a tendency to favor Gulf Coast beach trips, and plenty of reasons people drive down to Atlanta from Nashville...four hours southeast. Nashville has a New South buzz for sure. Some great city parks. There are major Protestant branch publishing houses close to Vandy and downtown and their new President (from Brown) is a Mormon. There is also a pretty strong Catholic community in Nashville and read up on Vandy's efforts to make the undergrad school more inviting for Jewish students..the grad schools have long been quite diverse. (see Wall Street Journal on that one). One thing I love about Vandy frankly is the grad schools because they tend to land big speakers and add some depth of field to the scene. The Law School is really excellent and so is the Div School. Al Gore was coenrolled in both when we were there. I also like that the Hospital is near and is a huge employer so there are a zillion places to eat near Vanderbilt and lots of places for part time work. I waited tables in nearby places in Hillsboro Village. Once after some beer drinking we noticed the football field filling up and there was Billy Graham preaching. But I also met George Jones being carried out of a restaurant across the street, met Johnny Cash and family, saw Minnie Pearl visiting the sick, got my hair cut by the same woman that did the Judds, and saw Barishnikov dance, Bob Dylan and Steve Earle sing and BB King play. The music scene is really unique. You can find superb recording musicians performing many cool places as well as headliners and there is a new classical Symphony Hall being built on the River downtown that is stupendous. Really, you will never have time as a student to pay for or to get to all the cultural things that pass through town. Vandy students can use their student cards I believe to get taxis to downtown..which is really very close. I really think you can make Vanderbilt any kind of experience that suits you these days. For a fairly big school..it is a rather warm campus where people tend to speak to each other in passing.</p>
<p>I think that with each passing generation we are gradually learning that we are all Americans and human beings who have earned the respect due. The difference in 50 years is striking for those old enough to have seen first hand the cruel and stupid actions of racisim--my kids are just dumbstruck by what I can remember and describe.<br>
Racism is more subtle now than overt (for the most part)--less institutionalized -- and I think it may take one more generation of us all going to school together and socializing (at the HS I see much more intermingling of the races than ever before).
Don't let the prejudices of an older GC dissuade you from giving a hard look at Vandy, nor your own preconceived ideas about Nashville and the South. I think you'll find the school incredible.</p>
<p>No we cannot agree that Nashville is not a diverse city. It's a lot more diverse than many cities in say, MA. Or just as, if not more diverse than say, St. Louis, where Wash. U. deferred you.</p>
<p>Your premise is totally wrong. </p>
<p>Gimmeabreak, at least have the decency to visit and decide for yourself.</p>
<p>Now if you want to talk about the experience of an Asian student on campus, that seems like one where you'd actually get some good info instead of flowery posts from people who think they need to save the South from a bad rap.</p>
<p>ok not trying to save the south from a "bad rap" or anything but i grew up in the south (as an asian) and now i go to nyu. diversity is great honey but there are racists freakin everywhere. i love how northerners try to unload their pretentious bs on the south like they're high and mighty but i have had to deal with being asian here more than ever before. i have several friends of different races at vanderbilt and it is a great school. if you go in with an open mind, people will accept you with one. people will only notice your ethnicity if you make a big deal of it, and you will only be excluded if you choose to be. same as anywhere else</p>
<p>Roadrunner, you have nothing to worry about i recently visited Vandy and race, among other things, was a huge concern for me. So, while i was there i asked my friend(who is black) who goes to Vandy to be honest. She said race itsnt and hasnt been an issue for her at all. She says most ppl dont really pay much attention to skin color and are quite open minded.</p>
<p>As a vandy sophomore, I can say that although there is very little racism, interaction among the races is slim to none. I don't think there are negative thoughts about others, everyone just seems to stick to themselves.</p>
<p>My interviewer told me that the only thing he disliked about his experience is how cliquey Vandy was. He's African-American and majored in Chemical Engineering and talked about how there was little to no intermingling between the races.</p>
<p>He also talked about how in his day, the Engineering students stuck to themselves mostly.</p>
<p>So Vandy students are cliquey.. Everyone self segregates based on ethnicity, just like high school. I hate cliques, so I may not like Vandy. I'll visit and see.</p>
<p>haha roadrunner, ONE person said vandy was cliquey AND it was a comment he heard from someone else. did you hear all the other positive statements? some of my friends there notice cliques, some of them have no trouble at all. discussion boards aren't the right place to ascertain these kinds of details. go visit and good luck to you!</p>
<p>i think there are more cliques at the beginning when people tend to gravitate towards people like them out of comfort. now that we're almost a semester and a half into school, people have branched out a lot more.</p>
<p>Saying that Nashvillians are racist is like saying that people that aren't like you are inferior.</p>
<p>My experience has shown that education eradicates racism. With particular respect to Vanderbilt, I know that Vandy is more diverse than the areas surrounding Nashville and that the University faces few struggles with racism.</p>
<p>I'm not sure, but I know that most of my Asian friends report less strugles with discrimination than do African or Latino American friends. The latter two groups are still facing the most prevalent challenges because society at large still discredits many of the struggles and abilities and characters of these particular groups. </p>
<p>I don't think that you will face persecution. I do think that you'll learn from every experience you encounter (and that the lessons you'll learn in today's society, instead of pre 1960s America, will be enlightening, not destructive).</p>
<p>I worry that even talking about racism perpetuates it. You need not worry.</p>
<p>Hey, I'm an asian freshman at vandy and I'll try to be completely honest. The lack of asians is definitely evident in this school in comparison to some of the larger universities. Being a slightly more conservative place than I am used to (Chicago/Cincinnati), an asian can feel awkward, but only if you alienate yourself. There are a lot of preppy (white or asian) students here, but then again, there are in every college. Honestly, it simply depends on the small niche friends you make. As long as you can find close friends, the other people around you won't bother you too much since they are mostly well-behaved and intelligent people. I have plenty of asian friends here but more causasian friends than I've ever had which is a new and enlightening experience for me.
Nashville is okay. You'll spend most of your time inside Vandy anyways. I wouldn't want to live here but for four years, it's a good experience.</p>
<p>PS: If you are coming to MOSAIC, I'll be a host here. If you want to talk, feel free to PM me.</p>