<p>Hi!</p>
<p>I saw this post in my google newsfeed, and as a RISD Prof, I may hold certain biases. I hope, given that, that you don’t mind me responding to your question, but I feel I am in a position to respond to the curricular question in particular. I personally would prefer Providence over Ithaca as a place to live, regardless of those biases. But I am mainly writing to address your statement about “Academic Diversity.” I assume you mean the availability of courses outside the traditional “art school” curriculum. Have you toured the campus or looked into our liberal arts program? I daresay that its offerings are as diverse as one might find at a liberal arts college the size of RISD. There are courses in science, social science, literature, environmental studies, etc, and if that isn’t enough for you, it is possible to register for courses at Brown. I’m not certain how easy it is for RISD students going to Brown, but I teach Brown students on a fairly regular basis at RISD. There is also a dual-degree program for Brown and RISD, with pretty rigorous entry requirements, but, considering you expect to go to RISD or Cornell, you may meet them. I don’t think anyone who takes a serious look at the possibilities at RISD could remain concerned that they would only learn art; in fact, there are a number of required credits in liberal arts. But perhaps that isn’t what you meant by academic diversity, in which case, I apologize.</p>
<p>As for sports, do you play Ice Hockey? I was a college athlete myself, at an NCAA div-I school, and RISD doesn’t have sports at that level. But there seem to be a basketball team, and a hockey team of some sort. If your concern is about spectating, there are plenty of Div I sports in the nearby area. Brown is great at swimming, water polo, crew, and the like, and Providence College is apparently pretty big in basketball. A bit further away, you have URI, the Patriots, the Bruins, the Paw Sox and the Red Sox. I don’t really follow sports much myself, but it is an inescapable aspect of the NE culture.</p>
<p>I know little about the party life of the school–it isn’t something that smart students share with faculty. The workload seems pretty serious, that is something that students are happy to chime in about. Diversity in students? Well, there are plenty of international students and those from the US tend to be drawn from various areas. It certainly isn’t a “local” school by any means.</p>
<p>Anyway, I didn’t come on here to advertise so much as allay your fears regarding academic diversity, and end up saying more than enough. I’ll try to check back at some point to see if you ask any more questions, but the semester is in full swing and I can’t guarantee that I will.</p>