Wesleyan University Top Questions

Wesleyan's student body is predominately sheltered rich kids which is by no means a terrible thing but can make going to school here feel very much like a psuedo-reality. The school is very cliquey but I feel everyone finds a niche since for such a small school there is a tremendous amount of student activity.

The university's residential units generally house far-left leaning individuals, though a relatively small group of politically conservative students can certainly be found. Interestingly, many students seem not to connect political leanings with economic attitudes. Consequently, there seem to be few Neo-Marxists or Trotsky-minded critics, but a wealth of staunch Democrats from upper middle class to upper class backgrounds concerned with particular 'liberal' movements (animal treatment banner stereotype?) In fact, politics is often a topic of discussion but one that finds itself too well heard. Hence, or maybe just because it's something to do, the student body has a very active element. Demonstrations, with their own form of transportation to the particular site, are certainly not uncommon. With diversity comes of course an ethnic awareness. In this self-divisive manner, particular groups of students come into being--some even have houses or buildings dedicated to their particular culture or, in some cases, more obvious forms of distinguishing. Some see this as problematic but remain sensitive, and there are very few notable hate-based crimes.

Politically aware and thoughtful, if not active...we always try to be open-minded, and there's an overabundance if anything of dialogue about every issue imaginable. Definitely left-leaning. There are distinct social circles, but not in too clique-y a way. A little like the Mean Girls cafeteria, but not so exclusive. The community is more diverse than most, I think - culturally, ethnically, geographically, and financially, although the last one is limited by our relatively small endowment.

although a lot of kids from Wes are from Massachusetts and New York, there's still plenty of diversity and plenty of kids from different states and different countries. before coming to Wes, I was worried that I wouldn't find enough kids like me and that too many kids would be too extreme about being part of the counterculture and being activist, but I quickly realized that there are still plenty of kids like me, and that there is someone here that really anyone from any background can relate to.

While I can't speak for the present, during my undergraduate period, just about every group you can imagine was represented at Wes. There were international students from most countries, and people from various subcultures and socio-economic groups. Overall, the student body tends to be composed of compassionate, passionate people. I'd say that the only type of person who might not feel comfortable there would be one with a closed mind, or with very conservative views.

My friends are wonderful! I was afraid Wesleyan was clique-y, but different students do interact, we just definately form close knit groups. My friends are my new family, and are all from different parts of the country (or a different country) with diverse and fascinating backgrounds. When I got the flu for two days, several people stopped by and brought medicine, flowers, candy, fruit, emergen-c, cards, comic strips and mountains of cough drops. They are sincerely compassionate people, and I'm so grateful to go to a school where people value independence while simultaneously taking care of each other like they do here.

Wesleyan prides its self in its diversity and it is diverse. With a school so focused on being liberal and progressive, there is a problem with integration though. While I have seen no evidence that the student body at Wesleyan is racist or classist or an -ist, there defiantly self segregating occurring. Students tend to travel together based on three main categories: sports teams/group, race, and economic background. Ex. at the dinning hall there are often all black, all asian, all white tables. While this is not wrong, at an institution that prides its self on equality and progressiveness this seems to point towards a slacking commitment to those ideals. Also, Wesleyan's students are often perceived or stereotyped as rich and upper class. There is a wide range of economic and social backgrounds present though.

Students here are very politically aware and active, somtimes obnoxiously so. Many are very rich as well, although often you would never know it. To me the school feels diverse but still not quite to outside-word proportions. The majority of people are white and upper-middle-class, probably from the Northeast, and likely Jewish. Every possible group is represented here though, and lots of people are on financial aid as well. The groups mix incredibly well - probably because most people feel safe here.

The student body is pretty diverse, with a well-articulated queer community and hipster population. For the most part, students are open to others and accepting of differences between people, but there is an awareness of the generally middle-upper class background of the student body.

There is no diversity at Wesleyan. One of my black friends once told me that he knew everything single black kid at the school. For the most part Wesleyan uses its Asian scholarship program (Friedman) to get really smart kids to come to the school while simultaneously claiming that its boosting diversity. When I think of diversity, I expect a bit more range...Generally the Asian non-Americans keep to themselves and talk in their respective languages. I'd say the school is about 15-20& Jewish, but very few of them are practicing. For the most part the school is rich. I know a lot of kids on financial aid, but they are still pretty well off being that the school is one of the highest tuitions in the nation. I'd say that the black students feel the most out of place. The school pretends to be this big accepting field day, but I feel that the white kids have their own racist views that they keep to themselves, or try not to display. This is Connecticut... What do kids wear in class? Where to begin...From ripped up clothing, to outfits that are so over the top it's hard to say what's normal. I think the worst was during my Social Psychology class where the activity of the week was to do something that broke a social norm. Some kid came in dressed as a Jack of Hearts with a giant card taped to his front and back. It felt like Middle School all over again with kids begging for attention... Talking about how much you will/want to earn one day is an unspeakable taboo. Here at Wesleyan, we value integrity over greed and corporate success, and of course we're all going to be homeless one day.

Hipsters/lesbians/jocks.

As an English and Music major, I couldn't be happier. The music department is tops in the country, and is filled with legendary jazz and experimentalists like Anthony Braxton and Alvin Lucier, all who are incredibly accessible. (You're not going to find anyone that famous willing to sit down with you for an hour at Yale, kids.) The English department is of the same caliber, and so were my experiences in Biology, Art History, History, and many other departments.

Wesleyan students are politically progressive intellectuals. They are generally fairly wealthy. There is fair percentage of the student body that are students of color, a high percentage of LGBT students, and very few conservatives, "jocks," or stereotypical college "frat boy" types.

Hippies and athletes. Rich white kids who pretend otherwise. Predominantly leftist, completely leftist, entirely leftist. Experiences with racial or LGBT groups can be tough because they are often so militant and unwelcoming to reason. The kind of student that would feel out of place is one who does not buy the party line. Four tables in the dining hall: -white athletes from Boston -unwashed hippies -vegans -LGBT

Wesleyan is a more-than-most-liberal-arts-schools open community that still has issues of Race, Gender and Class fomenting under the surface. At Wesleyan there is not enough, but far more dialogue about these issues than at anywhere else I have heard of or experienced. It's populations are working toward deconstructing some of these issues and should be commended and encouraged.

Wesleyan is as diverse as diverse can be while still being full of generally well-off kids from good homes who had the money - if not to attend the best schools - to give time to their studies in high school. True diversity -a false concept if there ever was one - is not the reality there. This doesn't mean that Wesleyan doesn't deserve credit for the tremendously open space it provides for people to define themselves. This is perhaps the best interpretation to Wesleyan's claim of "diversity." People at Wes are the most self defined that I have ever met. This kind of freedom often leads to self righteous assholery but also makes for a large and interesting community of people comfortable with being themselves and passionately involved in their particular interests. If you would desire freedom you must endure people who feel free to be jerks. The side effect of this openness can be a suprising amount of comfortable and un-enforced closeting of communities. Because it is so okay to be a transgendered preppy physics student committed to change in Burma people end up seeing only the same tiny set of people who fit into the communities they see themselves a part of. If I could give advice to incoming wes students it would be to try to get a foot into as many different circles as possible. Too many kids come to wes and spend their whole experience in the confines of one community. And this in a place where they length and bredth of commmunity types is more diverse than anywhere else you are ever likely to be.

There are students of every group at Wesleyan, and for the most part, they are included by everyone else. There are a lot of wealthy kids though. Once in a while, I felt weird being slightly more middle-class (although my family is definitely not poor!). Students are politically active, and the campus is pretty far to the left, but that's one of the reasons I went there. Most kids are from New York or Boston areas or from other parts of the Northeast. However, there are kids from all over the US (like me) and the world (I think it's like 6 percent international or so).

Wes students are very open to any and all kinds of people. As long as you're passionate about something, anything, and are willing to share your passions with others, you'll fit right in here.

There aren't many conservative students at Wesleyan. They may sometimes feel out of place, because they are such a small minority. I think that they are even sometimes ridiculed. Wesleyan students preach acceptance and try to be welcoming of all religions, colors, nationalities, genders, etc. and I believe that most social settings are fairly integrated. But sometimes, students with different views, if they lean more toward the right-wing, are criticized in an unfair way. Wesleyan may not be as much of a "Diversity University" as it claims, but from what I observed throughout my four years, the student body is a good mix of people from all walks of life who come together and are able to enhance each others social and academic experiences.

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