Hi! So I am an uprising senior and I have fallen in love with the University of Chicago. I could go on and on about all the things I love about the school but I have a concern. I am an African American female and I am concerned about racism and safety if I were to attend UChicago. I live in the suburbs of the northeast and have rarely had any issues with safety and racism. I am not naive and know that outside of this bubble is a scary world. Despite how much I love the school, I would not like to attend a school in which the negativity of others or an environment is going to present a constant darkness over my pursuit into the future. Could anyone kindly provide me with insight as to what it is like to be a student there and be “black” on campus? Thank you in advance!
The campus is in Hyde Park, a very interracial neighborhood. Population is 46% white and 30% black. 95% of the population votes democratic. You should have no problem with the actual university/campus itself. Racism (explicit or implicit) isn’t popular among elite universities.
I have no personal experience beyond walking around the neighborhood and interacting with current graduate students as I don’t actually start until September. Current students will know better than me, but I imagine you shouldn’t have any issues.
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95% of the population votes democratic
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I hate how people use this as evidence of a harmonious, non-racist community.
That said, OP, Hyde Park is about as safe as any other urban campus.
“I hate how people use this as evidence of a harmonious, non-racist community”
Yes, using statistic correlation between voting patterns and political preference/ideology is a poor methodology. Please inform the statisticians that their work is totally useless.
OP, I am curious that how did you come to a conclusion that U of Chicago has racism? Safety concerns, I can understand, but racism? I am not sure. If you think U of Chicago has racism, how do you view other peer institutions? Is this the only college you single out or you think all top American 20 Universities has that as well?
Chicago has students from world wide, with all races, just like its peer top Universities. If you feel racism is in Chicago, you should only consider HBC schools.
I’ll tell you what’s a rational concern, although it’s really not much of a concern.
Yes, Hyde Park is both multi-racial and affluent. There are African-American people living there, and they tend to be accomplished people – people like Barack and Michelle Obama, once upon a time, or Louis Farrakhan. But some of the areas near Hyde Park are neither multi-racial nor affluent. You can walk to the ghetto from Hyde Park, and the ghetto can walk to Hyde Park, too, and sometimes does. It doesn’t have any walls or moats to keep people out, just a couple of small parks. (And to the south, there’s a lot of the University of Chicago on the far side of the relevant park – the Midway – from the rest of the campus.)
When people worry about street crime in Hyde Park, the image they generally have in mind is African-American people (and, now, Mexican-Americans as well) coming from the poor neighborhoods west and south of Hyde Park (and to some extent north, too) to prey on people living in Hyde Park, including University of Chicago students. And when street crime happens in Hyde Park, honestly, that’s generally what it looks like – but it happens far less than most people who aren’t familiar with the community believe.
This has implications for African-American college students, however. If there’s a white or Asian teenager walking around Hyde Park near the University of Chicago campus, everyone will assume that’s a Chicago student, or maybe a faculty brat who’s in high school at the Lab School. If there’s an African-American teenager walking around, people aren’t going to assume that’s a University of Chicago student unless there are some visual clues, like a University of Chicago t-shirt, a book bag with books in it, or maybe Warby Parker glasses. And some people no doubt will respond differently to what they think is a 'hood kid vs. a Chicago student – they will be more tense, less willing to make eye contact, etc. It’s probably more an issue for boys than girls, but girls aren’t exempt. That’s not a reaction they would face at Princeton or Williams. I bet African-American kids notice it on days when they choose not to dress preppy or hipster, and don’t wear branded UChicago gear.
The other thing, too, is that non-UChicago African-Americans in Hyde Park or elsewhere around the city are likely going to be quick to peg someone like the OP as “bougie,” not without reason, and to make clear to her their low opinion of that. I suspect the OP is already familiar with that dynamic
@NYU2013 Thank you for your input! You said that you will be attending in September? Would you mind if I asked how you tackled their interesting supplemental essay?
@kaarboer Thank you for your input!
@artloversplus I’m new so I’m going to take a guess that OP stands for original poster (please correct me if I’m wrong). I’m more than happy to answer your questions. I am the type of person who will do extensive research before making big decisions. In this case, deciding to apply or not apply to UChicago. The social environment of an institution is one of the many determining factors for me. If I feel that the social environment will negatively affect my college experience, I become wary of applying to the college. With that being said, I took the time to research about safety and racism at UChicago and was surprised to stumble upon a lot of sources in the racism category. These were a couple of the many sources I found:
http://www.blackyouthproject.com/2013/04/the-unsuprising-racism-at-elite-universities/
http://chicagomaroon.com/2014/11/21/protests-against-racism-escalate-after-online-threats/
I believe that wherever an individual goes in the United States, racism exists to a certain degree. It’s determining how much racism exists and the effect it has on daily living that I believe to be important. So no, I am not singling out UChicago or think this way solely on other top universities. I apply this to all universities.
Could you kindly inform me of what HBC stands for?
@JHS Thank you! Some parts of your post were insightful 
@artloversplus Nevermind, I just thought about it and am assuming that HBC stands for Historically Black Colleges. I do not think a college with a large majority of one race would be a good fit for me. I go to a very diverse school (total student population inclusive of 20+ nationalities) and believe that diversity will contribute to broaden my perspective of life and humanity.
OP
The incidents you cited are just incidents, U Chicago is taking steps to prevent future similar incidents happening and they strive to have diversity when admitting students. Racism will happen in any institution, but none of the institutions in the US is a racist or practicing racism. It is the individuals that are racist and instigated those incidents. It happens all the time, including shootings at GA Tech and Kent State.
@MiladyDerin I cannot comment on the supplemental essay, as I didn’t write it. I graduated from NYU in 2012, from law school this year, and am attending UChic for graduate school.
To my knowledge, racism in this area hasn’t shifted as it has in other ‘hot spots’ in the US recently. However, the saftety/crime at Chicago is real. It is nothing new, the University doesn’t like to discuss it obviously, but muggings do occurr in broad daylight. Would this be enough to dissuade me from applying to Chicago? Not at all. But be aware, don’t be stupid, and don’t think you’re invincible. No place is totally safe, so you have to play it safe.
@NYU2013 I don’t think kaarboer was taking issue with the correlation between voting patterns and political preference/ideology. He or she is taking issue with the presumed correlation between political ideology and racism. You can find racists in both parties.
@LegacyMom Your post is contradictory. If he/she is taking issue with political ideology/racism, then he/she is taking issue with statistical correlation models. It’s a well known statistical correlation between political ideology and racism and voting patterns and racism. There’s no ‘presumed correlation’, there’s a well known correlation between liberal voting patterns and lower rates racism. So, clearly kaarboer must be attempting to refute these statistical models and simultaneously refute the work statisticians in this area.
@NYU2013 “It’s a well known statistical correlation between political ideology and racism and voting patterns and racism.” “Well known?” In what circles? I must admit I’ve never heard of it. What statistical correlation models are you citing? And what is meant by a “rate” of racism? Are you referring to documented racist incidents or thoughts and attitudes defined as racist?
@LegacyMom Certainly in the circles I associate with, it’s well known. Perhaps circles in the ivory tower aren’t fair base comparison models (though I would have thought that a well-documented correlation would have been relatively common knowledge). You can do a simple search and find a number of different studies done on voting patterns and internal/external racism. Political behavior and other behavior/ideology models are relatively common - the brands and types of products you buy is a good indicator for political party preferences as well (again, I would have thought this was relatively common knowledge).
It is common practice here that the one who makes the statement provides the underlying proof. Please, do help those of us not endoweth with this common knowledge so widely available to those residing in the ivory towers. The commoners living in the shadows of these holy towers do so greatly need to be bathed in their light.
@NYU2013 I am not trying to be deliberately obtuse, nor am I trying to play “gotcha” with you. I do not pretend to be a scientist, nor am I a proficient researcher. I’m just a modestly-educated mom with some smart kids. I did make a cursory search using Google and could not find any studies addressing such a correlation. I’m not accusing you of lying – I am just curious about the internals of the studies. For example, was racism a self-identified attitude? Or was racism defined by the researchers? Were they gauging sentiments? Or were positions on issues categorized as “racist”? For example, was opposition to affirmative action considered racist? Or were those polled specifically asked to if they consider their race superior, etc? Have their been studies of the voting patterns of people convicted of hate crimes?
I seem to recall a poll during the 2008 West Virginia presidential primary which found that race was a factor in those voting for or against Obama — but that was pertaining to a Democratic primary, so that doesn’t fit the model about democratic voting patterns. I could also point to anecdotal things like the fact that George Zimmerman campaigned for Obama or that Hillary was accused by Obama supporters of being racist in the 2008 primary.
Is it possible your assumption that it was “common knowledge” is more the result of ivory tower groupthink? “Well, of course, every enlightened person knows that democrats aren’t racist…”