Denison University Top Questions

Diverse amoungst its whiteness... Depends who you are friends with, most of the population is white and waspy, but there is a big international group of kids (who tend to keep to themselves since they were on a separate Denison orientation). However two of my good friends are from Bombay (Mumbai). My girlfriend is foreign, I have a number of African American friends, but some of them also keep to themselves and seem to cause more of a racial issue than the white students. Denison had a forum throughout last year about problems perceived by black students, which I had no idea existed. The president tried to ignore which made it worse. If they perceive a problem, it should be addressed - I am just not convinced it exists.

Denison has made it a point to raise awareness of all ethnicities and social backgrounds. Many students that attend Denison are well-to-do financially, but there are many that are receiving large amounts of financial aid from the school. Not many students are politically aware, but discussion can be fueled by hot topics in the media and feed academic discussions in and out of the classroom.

Mostly a white campus and the minorities are trying to change that, but it's not going to happen

There are some groups that, to an extent, are easily recognizable: the Chinese (and some other Asians), who often hang out together and speak Mandarin; the African-Americans, many of whom are involved in the Black Student Union; the South Asians (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), who make up a comparatively large section of a population, and whose "group borders" are frequently more porous. There is a sizable Catholic population, as well as the panoply of Protestant sects, Jews, Hindus, Muslims, and the proudly irreligious. Most of the time, people dress well. There is an emphasis on putting forward an image that, though not necessarily made of the most expensive clothes, is one of careful appearance. Conversations range depending on the students; it's not uncommon to walk through the dining hall and hear one table discussing the YoYo Ma concert yesterday, another table arguing about the place of religion in democracy, and another talking about how freshman chick X fucked two Delta Chi's (in the same night). Politics and religion do matter to people here (in conversation, anyway). There's a pretty wide spread in terms of socio-economics, with the majority stretching across the middle class, a few from the lower class, and a larger section with quite a bit of money. The vast majority of Denison students are socially liberal, and I'd say a lot of the students are centrist-left fiscally (although there is much greater variety along the "conservative-liberal" spectrum outside of individual liberties). Most students are welcoming of LGBT individuals, and it's not uncommon for gay and straight friends (guys included) to room together.

People do dress up for class though when you oinly have one class like on a tuesday or thursday, it is common to get through it in sweatpants.

I would say that most students are from the midwest. Different types of students interact. I have learned a lot from people who have different beliefs, thoughts and opinions from my own. People wear a range of clothes to class, some people wear swats, others jeans and tee shirts, other people dress up for class. I personally dress to my mood because I do not feel over dressed or under dressed.

This past year on campus was fairly active with regards to racial and LGBT awareness and oppression. There were incidents of hate crimes, both race and LGBT related, and there was a day-long campus discussion forum to raise awareness and discuss many of the problems at hand. Denison constantly brags about our so-called "diverse" atmosphere, but I think that it is not quite as friendly to race and sexual orientation as people would like to believe. Steps are constantly being taken to increase diversity, and I hope they really pay off because I think this campus could turn into a great liberal arts school with a greater number of diverse perspectives on campus.

While I will say that Denison is not the most diverse campus, they do work hard to promote and encourage cultural understanding and diversity. Most students study abroad their junior year. You could pretty much talk to anyone anywhere on campus and they would invite you to hang out or offer you help. There is a very "midwestern" kind feeling. Studnts are active in on campus organizations, there are tons of them.

While there is not a whole lot of diversity at Denison, I think any student could find a niche at Denison. There are a ton of extracurricular groups for students to join, and if there isn't one you like, you could very easily start a group. Most students are generally preppy, and girls get really dressed up for going out at night. There are a lot of students from the Northeast, many of whom went to either private schools or boarding school. I think different activities on campus bring different types of students together.

I feel like Denison's campus is not super-diverse, even though we do have different racial, religious, and socio-economic groups represented. I feel like there are certain cliques at Denison, and people generally stay in their respective groups, but I feel like this is pretty common at a lot of schools, even though it's kind of unfortunate. I feel like Greek Life is pretty big at Denison and a lot of times you are identified with what sorority, fraternity, or athletic team you are on. On the whole, Denison likes to dress well. Most of Denison's students look good, a lot of the time. Even to class at 8:30 in the morning, which is something that I really will never understand. I'm not trying to say that girls and boys from their respective groups or teams only talk to each other all day long, but there is definitely a divide.

Many people are downers, but many people are beautiful. Just bring your positive vibes, and if you don't like it, change it. That's something that's great about Denison--it is small enough that people know who you are and you know who other people are. If you want to make a change, there's not a whole lot holding you back.

Denison comes from a very privileged background, but has made enormous strides in recent decades to reach out to minorities and those of lower socioeconomic strata through generous financial aid (which explains why I'm there). Students are predominantly, for example, Obama fans.

I guess I don't really know what sort of student would feel out of place at Denison, but maybe kids who are anti-social and unwilling to meet people. There are definitely a number of students like that, but I don't know if they feel out of place. Certainly different races and LGBT groups are present on campus, and thank god they are. If it weren't for the small amount of diversity that Denison has to offer, I would go totally crazy. I just wish there was more diversity. If there were four tables in the dining hall, they would be the 1) sorority girls, 2) the fraternity boys, 3) the swimmers, 4) random people (a mixture of unaffiliated people, minorities, and anyone who doesn't fit in the above categories), JUST LIKE HIGH SCHOOL! I like the fact that Denison students are from all over the country, and all over the world. I was at dinner with a group of 10 Denison students the other night and I was looking around the table and noticing that not two people in our entire group of friends was from the same state. Pretty cool.

Denison's student body is basically all white and upper or upper middle class. There Asians and African Americans as well, but they're not even close in number to the white majority. Religious diversity is a topic I don't know much about. I have a few Jewish friends, but other than that, most of my friends are Christian. Many people at Denison dress preppy, though it's perfectly acceptable to wear sweats to class. People don't talk about how much they'll earn one day. Students are politically aware in general. I would say most students are liberal, but that may just be my friends... there are definitely some conservatives out there...

When you go to class, you'll find everything from pajamas to dress clothes (especially in your 8:30 AM classes). No one really reacts to either one as unusual, that's just how campus is. Since you live on campus all four years, you'll spend a lot of time with all ages of students (17-23 or older, and the occasional young-young student of like 13). You'll make friends of all ages, and no one will be shocked to find a freshman and senior hanging out on a Friday night. And Denison students come from all over the place (USA, Australia, Egypt, Bangladesh, India, Korea, Japan, China, Russia, Africa, Pakistan, etc etc etc); you'll get a chance to learn about many other cultures. I loved that aspect of it.

Most students dress up for class NO ONE wears PJs to attend class. Most kids wear brand name clothes to class, including Polo, Vineyard Vines, Burrberry, and True Religion. Swimmers show up at the start of every meal and sit in the same section of the dinning hall.

Throughout this year alone, Denison's student body has become more accepting and welcoming than ever. Although it is still a pre-dominantly upper class white student body, diversity is increasing and there are numerous organizations on campus to make minorities of all kinds feel more at home and comfortable. While some insist that Denison's campus has not changed at all this year and is still as racist as ever, I have seen a significant change for the better and hope to see this change continue as the future students arrive at school. There also seems to be a focus on the lack of originality in people's clothes, especially with the girls on campus. In the winter it is Ugg boots and leggings that seem to be the focus and when it gets warmer it is the Ugg boots and jean skirts that raise issues. The campus has a daily printing that anyone can submit a piece to (it is usually some controversial issue) called the Bullsheet. This printing is great for lunch time reads and sparks both intelligent and pointless discussions all over campus.

Denison has a pretty diverse student body. Almost 70{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students are from out of state. I come from a county school in central kentucky, so compared to that there is a lot racial, religious and socio-economic diversity on campus. I have friends from all different backgrounds and I don't have a problem interacting with different groups of people. Some students on campus don't interact with people from different groups, but if you have the desire to meet new people and experience different cultures and lifestyles the option is available.

If you want huge parties and tons of school spirit, dont go to Denison. Many students are very weakthy but i never felt out of place as someone from the middleclass who went to public school. People say that it's half liberal and half conservative but i feel like it leans more toward liberal. A lot of students are from the midwest but there are people from all over the country.

There was a revolution on campus in November (2007) about tolerance on campus. The student body came together and the administration listened. It brought the campus together.