<p>
</p>
<p>UW is a very diverse school which offers plenty of opportunities to meet diverse people. Off the top of my head, I’ve met or know people from New Jersey, California, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia and Great Britain. My current roommate is from China.</p>
<p>UW definitely offers “real” diversity. Suggesting otherwise is simply false.</p>
<p>[Cut-and-Paste</a> Diversity](<a href=“Cut-and-Paste Diversity”>Cut-and-Paste Diversity)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.theonion.com/articles/black-guy-photoshopped-in,1433/[/url]”>http://www.theonion.com/articles/black-guy-photoshopped-in,1433/</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/09/02/doctoring-diversity-race-and-photoshop/[/url]”>http://contexts.org/socimages/2009/09/02/doctoring-diversity-race-and-photoshop/</a></p>
<p>Of course you know The Onion is a former UW organization. Sure it was stupid, but it’s also common in advertising. How’s Tiki looking to you these days? His wife wished she could photoshop him out of her life. Now that’s real life. Not just a minor error in advertising ethics.</p>
<p>The “minor error” in journalistic ethics occurred because, by UW’s own admission, after looking for months it couldn’t find a real photo showing actual diversity on campus. That the best you can offer in response is to take a juvenile swipe at Tiki Barber speaks volumes.</p>
<p>nova… please quit. You need to experience the UW campus to know it, not just read about it. On this forum people are offering real experiences and are trying to help. Diversity is not confined to one or two sets of parameters. </p>
<p>A major question should be - will there be a diversity of ideas? Will many different points of view be represented? The faculty at one or the other school may offer more chances to approach problems from different angles. This may be an advantage at UW with the major offered at UW that is not available at all schools. The student wants to know if the IR major will offer more than the center he mentions in the first post. </p>
<p>To get back to the main topic. OP- send an email to the professor in charge of IR at UW and ask your questions. Do the same for Rutgers- ask how you can accomplish your goal. You need to know how much contact undergrads have with the Rutgers Center- it may be peripheral to the main campus and not accessible to you.</p>
<p>Many of our pro UW comments come from knowing about the great experiences had on the UW campus. These come from professors in classes, living in the dorms and the many visitors giving lectures on campus. The Dalai Lama will be there this month, for example. There are myriads of other enriching experiences as well. You can experience poverty and racial differences just by living somewhere- but are the enriching experiences found on both campuses as common? That is the question to answer.</p>
<p>It may be nicer for the student to be with others with the same interests and major, regardless of their socioeconomic or ethnic background.</p>
<p>Please quit why, exactly? I know UW and I know the campus. Have been there many times. If UW is all about diversity and diversity of views, then why can’t views that are contrary to yours be expressed?</p>
<p>You can say a lot of good things about UW, but, seriously – that it’s diverse, especially at the undergraduate level? Take your blinders off, wis75. Not even the university itself agrees with you. Numbers don’t lie, and UW’s are pathetic. I’m not saying it’s for lack of trying, and more than anything it’s because of the university’s location, but c’mon, a fact’s a fact – UW is one of the most homogenous undergraduate institutions of any large university, state or private, in America.</p>
<p>Oh, and if you think I’m the only one who thinks UW has a problem think again:</p>
<p>[Corporate</a> Recruiters Criticize UW-Madison?s Lack of Diversity](<a href=“http://diverseeducation.com/article/5819/]Corporate”>http://diverseeducation.com/article/5819/)</p>
<p>Yes numbers don’t lie as your own link stated. </p>
<p>One reason the university has few minorities is because the state has few minorities. State law mandates that 75 percent of UW-Madison undergraduates must be state residents. But Blacks and Hispanics make up just 10 percent of the population.</p>
<p>The city of Milwaukee has a high minority population, but its public school system, with its high dropout rates and low student performance, doesn’t feed large numbers of graduates to Wisconsin’s flagship university.</p>
<p>And I remind you–you are talking to an authentic UW minority graduate who had a great experience at UW and was very thankful of their support while I was there. What kind of minority are you?</p>
<p>How’s the Virginia celebration of the Confederacy working for you??</p>
<p><a href=“http://diverseeducation.com/article/13688/governor-s-proclamation-omission-puts-virginia-in-negative-light-critics-say.html[/url]”>http://diverseeducation.com/article/13688/governor-s-proclamation-omission-puts-virginia-in-negative-light-critics-say.html</a></p>
<p>William and Mary has its own problematic history</p>
<p><a href=“http://diverseeducation.com/article/13669/virginia-college-to-examine-its-racial-history.html[/url]”>http://diverseeducation.com/article/13669/virginia-college-to-examine-its-racial-history.html</a></p>
<p>And Uva–more current issues</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.baconsrebellion.com/Issues05/10-03/Bacon.php[/url]”>http://www.baconsrebellion.com/Issues05/10-03/Bacon.php</a></p>
<p>Can’t you take this silly catfight elsewhere?</p>
<p>There you go again, barron’s, throwing out petty (and irrelevant) insults when you run out of intelligent answers. We’re not talking about Virginia, we’re talking about Rutgers, and for a student or parent who cares about diversity the difference between the two schools is night and day. </p>
<p>According to the very website whose link you just attached, despite its massive size UW doesn’t even rank in the top 100 undergraduate schools in the total number of minority graduates that it produces in any given year. Rutgers, on the other hand, ranks among the top 25 in the country and produces more minority graduates than any major university outside of California. </p>
<p>As for Virginia, it too ranks in the top 100, despite being half of UW’s size, and boasts the highest four year African American graduation rate among any public school in the country – three times that of UW. </p>
<p>UW has a diversity problem, plain and simple.</p>
<p>(P.S. Being Puerto Rican gives you no license to inquire of my minority status nor free reign to post offensive stereotypes on this board. Guidos? Really? That’s how they teach tolerance at UW?)</p>
<p>See, Milwdad, I don’t view this as a cat fight – or at least a two-sided one – but a serious discussion about a real issue. A poster commented on the lack of diversity at UW, at least as compared to RU, and both barrons and wis75 trivialized the concern. I didn’t get the memo that the Wisconsin forum can only be used to post positive comments about the university.</p>
<p>The record should be straight that UW is not a diverse school in any way, shape or form. Not even close.</p>
<p>@novaparent</p>
<p>I don’t think there is any denying that UW does not have a lot of minority students. What I disagree with is your assessment that because of this, UW has a diversity problem. Diversity isn’t just about skin color or income level, it’s also about people from different states and even nations and their own unique culture and ideals. </p>
<p>The person I know from Great Britain is white, does that mean that he doesn’t contribute to UW’s diversity? From the narrow definition that diversity must consist of minority students he doesn’t. But from an objective standpoint I don’t think you can argue that just because he is white, he doesn’t contribute to the overall diversity of UW.</p>
<p>Meeting someone from another country, regardless of race, is a lot better for “broadening your horizons”, so to speak, than going to school with a person of African-American descent that comes from the same state as you.</p>
<p>Also, there are plenty of large or medium sized universities that are far less diverse than UW. I transferred to UW from UW-Oshkosh (12,000 students) and the difference couldn’t be more stark. I know we are discussing UW versus other large well respected universities, but I still think it’s relevant to mention UW-Oshkosh since it puts things in perspective when answering the question “is UW diverse?”.</p>
<p>Is UW diverse? Yes, though there are other universities that are more diverse.
Is UW more diverse than Rutgers? I think it’s hard to say without carefully defining what diversity constitutes. For instance, UW has more out of state students but fewer minorities, which do you place more emphasis on?</p>
<p>However you define it though, the difference is not “night and day” between Rutgers and UW, and UW is definitely diverse.</p>
<p>Too bad pictures can’t be posted here. One with a dead horse and nova and barrons holding sticks would be appropriate. Points have been made and he who posts last doesn’t win.</p>
<p>UW has a higher out of state enrollment, to be sure, but where do the bulk of the out of staters come from and what’s their economic status? Illinois? New York/New Jersey? To quote barrons, “Buppie from Montclair?” </p>
<p>Diversity requires more than coasties and sconnies, and it’s a good thing to become accustomed to if you’re thinking about majoring in IR and joining the foreign service. </p>
<p>As for study abroad programs, that UW has 150 and RU has 60 is immaterial. Both offer ample opportunity, either through their own programs or through another school.</p>
<p>Well, for international relations it might be better to have more international students. UW has 4,000 internationals and RU has 2500. UW also has among the most students going abroad to study despite the relatively lower income of student families compared to some other schools.</p>
<p>[Americans</a> Studying Abroad](<a href=“http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=150651]Americans”>http://opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=150651)</p>
<p>The UW Chancellor just got back from China to encourage more student and faculty exchanges while the Dali Lama is a very frequent visitor to Madison.</p>
<p>[UW-Madison</a> and China](<a href=“http://www.chancellor.wisc.edu/china/]UW-Madison”>UW-Madison and China)</p>
<p>[Public</a> tickets for Dalai Lama event available April 17 (April 12, 2010)](<a href=“http://www.news.wisc.edu/17940]Public”>Public tickets for Dalai Lama event available April 17)</p>
<p>The UW has so many international things going on I’ll just let you peruse them.
One highlight:
Boasting nearly 3,000 alumni who have served in the Peace Corps since its inception, including 77 currently serving, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the second-highest producer of Peace Corps volunteers. Next week, a series of events commemorates this ongoing legacy of global service.</p>
<p>[UW-Madison</a> News: International](<a href=“http://www.news.wisc.edu/international]UW-Madison”>International | | News | UW-Madison)</p>
<p>OP- did you get the answers you wanted?</p>
<p>Relatively lower income than where? UCLA, which has more than three times as many Pell Grant recipients as UW? Other than the leader, NYU, there’s not a large school on the list that you just attached where the average income of the student body is appreciably higher than UW’s. </p>
<p>As I’ve demonstrated on the “Wisconsin versus William and Mary” thread, this notion that UW-Madison is a school for the working class is a fallacy. It doesn’t even have that reputation in its own state. </p>
<p>UW is the crown jewel of Wisconsin universities, and as such it is disproportionately populated with the white and the well to do just like the crown jewel institutions of almost every other state – Rutgers being a notable exception. That UW also enrolls students who have to work to pay their way and prolong their graduations as a result is hardly a badge of honor, but a byproduct of the school’s lack of generosity with financial aid. A truly great university provides sufficient financial aid so that students aren’t forced to choose between working and graduating on time.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, but no fair-minded person can argue that UW trumps RU on anything relating to diversity or that UW is in any way a lower income school.</p>
<p>Wisconsin (state) is about 90% white. UW Madison instate undergrad is 87% white. Seems more than fair.</p>
<p>Wisconsin has a much lower instate tuition than Rutgers giving every student a comparative $3500 grant. That is not counted in fin aid numbers. Until very recently UW instate tuition was so low fin aid was not that important. But as in most states it has had to be increased and fin aid is lagging. However UW is working on several new aid programs to help including the Wisconsin Covenant and the Wisconsin Scholars programs. It also is conducting a major fundraiser. But I’d rather have a great faculty, great libraries, and great new buildings on a great campus and have to pay a little more than get the second-rate stuff at RU. RU could not even raise money to do a badly needed beautification project. UW has completed $2.5 BILLION in new construction over the last ten years with another $700 Million underway. Go find the RU numbers. UW has an on campus library with over 8 million volumes.
[ScarletNation.com</a> - Message Boards](<a href=“http://rutgers.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=2330&tid=131983269&mid=131983269&sid=988&style=2]ScarletNation.com”>http://rutgers.rivals.com/showmsg.asp?fid=2330&tid=131983269&mid=131983269&sid=988&style=2)</p>
<p>[Great</a> People Scholarship - University of Wisconsin-Madison - Empower Students](<a href=“http://www.uwgreatpeople.org/empowerStudents/index.php]Great”>http://www.uwgreatpeople.org/empowerStudents/index.php)</p>
<p>We’re not talking about how pretty the campus is. We’re talking about diversity. And now that you’ve shifted from “UW is diverse” to “UW is about as diverse as it can be, which ain’t much,” I’d say we’re making progress.</p>
<p>As for UW’s lower tuition, didn’t you say earlier that the folks in Wisconsin earn less than in NJ and the cost of living is less? Doesn’t that mean it’s all relative? </p>
<p>And as for tuition being so low in the past that financial aid was “not that important,” I’d venture a guess that the nearly 600,000 Wisconsin residents living below the povery line wouldn’t agree with you.</p>
<p>In sum, comparing UW to RU, UW has a better academic reputation (particularly at the graduate level) but cannot compare to RU in terms of racial or economic diversity or proximity to NYC. These are the variables that a student interested in IR will want to balance before reaching a decision.</p>
<p>Folks- enough of this debate. You have lost the OP and other students’ attention, this forum is for their benefit.</p>