<p>It is known as the big 10 with the least minorities. If you're international or Asian, are you mostly ruled out of the white groups?
For those of you minorities/internationals attending UW, how much racism do you feel, if they exist?
It's probably a party school - for white ppl.</p>
<p>I do no think that is the case. Most students there are quite liberal and there is no more racism than at any other Big 10 school. Wisconsin happens to be a mostly white state. The grad enrollment is heavily international.</p>
<p>"...no more racism than at any other Big 10 school."</p>
<p>You mean there's more apparent racism in other Big 10 schools?</p>
<p>Cool, alot of it comes down to your attitude and approach. If someone goes into a new environment looking for racism, prejudices or lack of diversity, they will find it, anywhere and in many forms and directions. On the other hand, If you go into it open minded, you wont only see what racial problems there might be but the overwhelming examples of accepted and welcomed diversity. U of W is one of the most liberal universities, not only in the big 10 but the whole country. It's good to have proud support groups for various ethnicities, but assimilation, diversity and color-blindness throughout the school and college experience is what adds to one's growth. Everyones.</p>
<p>Madison is historically a very tolerant place. During the depression and after many eastern Jews who were denied admission to the "eastern ivies" because of official quotas gravitated to Madison because of its level of tolerance and liberal atmosphere.</p>
<p>A trend that endures to this day.</p>
<p>i find madison to be a very liberal/tolerant place.</p>
<p>Yeah, I'm an international student from India and I don't find anyone with a prejudiced attitude towards me. Also, its extremely liberal though its got a fair share of conservatives.</p>
<p>Agreed, madison is a pretty tolerant place. They pretty much except you as is. Also agreed that you wouldn't find any more racists here than at any other big 10 school - wouldn't be surprised if it were less altogether.</p>
<p>I'd like to hear some new opinions on this issue. There are many UW students on this forum who are of color, and as an Asian, I'd like to hear about their experiences (racist encounters, etc) at UW.</p>
<p>I find it hilarious that the OP is so surprised taht racism would exist at Madison, or anywhere for that matter.</p>
<p>What, did you grow up in a box ors omething?</p>
<p>It's just so frustrating to me when people still separate people by their nationality first and foremost. i mean, don't you people understand that they're just people too? </p>
<p>"It's probably a party school - for white ppl." And all other non-whites are what...grovelling at their feet?</p>
<p>grow up please</p>
<p>Direct quote from "Students' Guide to Colleges: The Definitive Guide to America's Top 100 Schools, Written by the Real Experts - the Students Who Attend Them", about Univerity of Wisconsin - Madison:</p>
<p>"If I were an admissions officer I would not tell a prospective student, especially a prospective student of color, the chance they might experience a racist episode is very high. This is due to, in my personal opinion, the number of white students who drink and their drunken interaction with people unlike them."</p>
<p>Please assess the validity of this statement.</p>
<p>I would say that the students in general are "against racism" and definitely do not consider themselves racist. I mean, racism in extreme forms, like not wanting to partner up with someone for being of a different race or talk to them doesn't happen at all. In that sense everyone is open to everyone. </p>
<p>You do have to take into account that a lot of Wisconsin students are from more rural areas, and because the student population is pretty white (we can all admit that, racially, UW is a little iffy on diversity), a lot of students are pretty ignorant just due to lack of exposure to other races. For example, my roommate would refer to other people as "Brotha"'s sometimes and not think much of it. Things like that occur, and I guess it could be debatable whether or not you actually consider that racism. </p>
<p>There were a few hate crimes toward Asians about a year ago on the campus, but they were dealt with pretty seriously and most students were appalled.</p>
<p>Yes, this is the kind of response I was looking for. Thanks very much, Nicole.</p>
<p>What exactly were these hate crimes?</p>
<p>I think it had to do with someone (not a UW - Madison student) harassing two students leaving the library, though I am not particularly positive. </p>
<p>I know that right now two UW students are being prosecuted for a hate crime toward the LGBT community. </p>
<p>These are pretty unusual occurances, though.</p>
<p>Relax all, in a school as big as Madison, of course there are gonna be racist people. Still the majority of people are pretty cool. Besides, Madison is known to be a more liberal town.</p>
<p>Exactly, Madison is as liberal as they come. I live right outside DC so I don't want to go anywhere that is drastically different in ideology. I don't think they are racist. I believe it ranked among the top areas for homosexual acceptance(i assure you i am not a homosexual). My parents are not from america but i don't fear for myself at madison. Please.</p>
<p>I know a few guys don't represent the whole school but weren't a group f students arrested for committing a hate crime against another student a few weeks ago because of his sexual orientation?</p>
<p>I would also just like to say that while the town of Madison is known to be pretty liberal (I'm talkin about the people who live far off of State Street and only come to it on the weekends), the students do not share that reputation. The professors are, however, extremely left-leaning, and there are some pretty vocal leftist social groups (although now campus republicans are really coming together), but all in all I wouldn't say the student body is nearly as liberal as the town of Madison. The grad students are pretty liberal I guess, but the undergrad is a pretty different story. If you want to be around liberal people though, I'd suggest living in the dorms by the water.</p>