University of California-Riverside Top Questions

The students at UCR are diverse, tolerant and understanding of one another. My experiences with the various races, religions and groups were generally positive. Again, UCR is the most diverse university out of the 10 esteemed campuses in the UC system, and is also the fifth most diverse university in the nation, so there are ethnic, religious, and social groups of all types at UCR. As a Muslim, and a part of the Middle Eastern groups on campus, I was able to interconnect with all of the various groups on campus, such as interfaith meetings, collective fundraising with the support of other groups on campus, and simply the organizing of the groups coming together. The majority of the groups on campus support each other and their various causes. There are a small number of certain groups that are intolerant of other different groups, however, the positivity of the collective and combined support of the majority of the groups supersedes the minor intolerances of some organizations on campus. This is why no individual would feel out of place at this campus. Students of different races, religions, and social groups interact with each other all of the time on campus. I had many LGBT friends, many Christian and Jewish friends, and the many friends from the African Student Union. Often times we supported each other’s causes and organized events together. I would say the students at UCR can be quite politically active, and events and protests are often scheduled on campus. There are groups from various financial backgrounds, and various political views, and there is no majority of any one group, which is what’s so unique about UCR. Anyone could fit right in.

Passion is never in short supply at UC Riverside, whether in regards to state laws, religious beliefs, or just the food. It's the most diverse college in the state of California, and with this, students are bound to get heated over cultural differences. It certainly isn't out-of-the-ordinary to find a 40-year old balding minister spewing out Bible verses by the bell tower, while Jewish or Muslim students fight back. I refuse to think that these arguments are negative, though, because it gives our campus the opportunity to express our opinions without any "high-school yard duty" to tell us to go the Principal's office. The fashion is all over the board at UCR, with some students wrapped in Indian saris & others rockin' their Greek letters. UC Riverside is predominantly Asian-American (40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}), but has an unusually high Hispanic population as well. The student leaders represent every background imaginable, allowing for a fair & distinctive way of administrating policies. As one of the United State's "Best College Buys", the university is home to people from extremely varying financial backgrounds. The student to your right can have a father who's a stockbroker and a mother with a Phd, while the the student to your left may be living off of food stamps. It's truly a one-of-a-kind classroom setting and is chalk-full of different ideals.

Passion is never in short supply at UC Riverside, whether in regards to state laws, religious beliefs, or just the food. It's the most diverse college in the state of California, and with this, students are bound to get heated over cultural differences. It certainly isn't out-of-the-ordinary to find a 40-year old balding minister spewing out Bible verses by the bell tower, while Jewish or Muslim students fight back. I refuse to think that these arguments are negative, though, because it gives our campus the opportunity to express our opinions without any "high-school yard duty" to tell us to go the Principal's office. The fashion is all over the board at UCR, with some students wrapped in Indian saris & others rockin' their Greek letters. UC Riverside is predominantly Asian-American (40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}), but has an unusually high Hispanic population as well. The student leaders represent every background imaginable, allowing for a fair & distinctive way of administrating policies. As one of the United State's "Best College Buys", the university is home to people from extremely varying financial backgrounds. The student to your right can have a father who's a stockbroker and a mother with a Phd, while the the student to your left may be living off of food stamps. It's truly a one-of-a-kind classroom setting and is chalk-full of different ideals.

There are over 300 registered student-led organizations on campus - including frats and sororities. And most of these organizations are pretty liberal and accepting. Of course, there are guidelines set by the school that prohibit discrimination but I believe that most of the school is accepting to begin with. Every now and then, a discriminatory incident will come up. At the top of my head, I remember an incident with the Latin fraternity, Lambda Theta Phi at the beginning of last year. A student was reportedly hazed for his sexual orientation and the organization was then dealt with by the school's administration by protocol. A copy of this story can be found in the school's newspaper archive at http://www.highlandernews.org/news/bisexual-student-says-he-was-harassed-by-fraternity-1.1740587#.Tt7hbHNW7ME However, I think the only type of student who would feel out of place at school would be one who discriminates against others. Often times, those are the people who have less friends, which makes sense. Otherwise, most students hang out with all types of people. There are Hispanic people in our Vietnamese Student Association, hispanic sororities welcome Asian students and most organizations have scholarships or payment plans to help those who cannot afford to join on their own. I briefly recall having heard that over 15,000 students on campus receive some sort of financial aid, which says a lot about the socio-economic characteristics of the student population. But having sat in on a variety of school meetings, I am confident in saying that it is not as big of a deal as it has proven to be at other schools thanks to our school's administration. I am extremely proud to say that UC Riverside's students are very active in the community - which great and necessary considering the extremes of Riverside's poverty. Regardless of whether it is a cultural, business, political or social frat/sorority/club, we all volunteer. In fact, in the year 2010, our campus completed 2.5 million recorded community service hours. The President’s Corporation for National and Community Service recognized this and placed UCR on the Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll. More information is available at: http://newsroom.ucr.edu/2639.

Everyone is nice and you shouldn't isolate yourself. and there are plenty of club activities. I personally love the LGBT center because i feel home there. and no body is judgmental, you're in college a time to be yourself

Ask any student what their nationality is, and they will never give you a general term like “white”, “black” or “Asian”. They will proudly tell you what their ancestry is and where they came from. As it’s said a lot, a majority of the student body come from under-privileged backgrounds, and that’s not a bad thing. They receive just as much help as anyone else, financially. They are just as smart too. There are no discrepancies here in terms of finance: if you are a student, you are a rich in knowledge and life, regardless of where you came from. There are a lot of culture-specific clubs on campus, from a Filipino club to an LGBT support group. But you don’t have to be that certain race or orientation to join. One thing these clubs all have in common is their openness: all are welcome.

UCR rants on and on about how diverse they, but the fact is that its true. There is a multitude of different races and ethnic backgrounds. At UCR there are also many religious types but they really mean no harm though they may ask you if you found Jesus. On the UCR campus is a building called Costo Hall. Here there is the LGBT center, African American Alliance, and Chicano group. There are many groups on campus that are accepting of others and offer help to those that need it. A majority students that attend UCR work either for housing services or the dining services while others have jobs else where. With tuition going up many more students are looking for jobs even though they may have enough money to pay for their school fees. Though some students may have enough money to keep themselves above water, others desperately need the help of financial aid. However, though the socio-economic range differs, all students understand that school is not cheap and they do not let money divide them.

The campus offers resources to students of almost every background and culture, providing an experience where most everyone can feel welcomed, as if by family. As I've stated before, being one of the most diverse campuses in America means that there are so many types of people here it is hard to stereotype just one. There is a rough mix of "left", "right" and "centered" students, as well as a mix of students from wealthy backgrounds and those from not so wealthy ones. This optimizes the campus as a great place for meeting new people and for learning of different cultures.

UCR has one of the most diverse diverse campuses in California. With student centers for all cultures and ethnicity like the Chicano center or the Pacific Asian center to the LGBT center and HILLEL the Jewish student center, one can find a home with friendly faces wherever they choose. Also one can go visit other centers to learn about any cultures or ethnicity they are unfamiliar with or interested in.

There's just about all types of students here, with many different clubs to promote them. There are various ethnicities, various cliques, and various kinds of activities for them.