UT Students on Cultural Diversity

The University of Austin at Texas has always been a university of repute, not just in Texas but worldwide. It is currently ranked number 27 in Times Higher Education's list of the 100 best universities in the world 2013-2014. In recent years, UT has expanded to include a variety of students from different races, ethnicity and cultures, making the university successful not just academically, but also culturally. Its cultural diversity has made UT Austin one of the most alluring places for students to receive a higher education.  Though still predominantly white, the university is shifting to include more minorities.  However, it is not only the inclusion of more minorities, but the blending of different cultures and learning to accept differences that really gives UT an edge.
   

Jazmin Coronado, Freshman

  "I am a Mexican American," said Jazmin Coronado, a first generation Kinesiology major, "I had never been exposed to other races and cultures apart from mine, and when I came to UT, everyone was sort of weird. But I ended up realizing that we're all weird. It's just that at UT everybody thinks different and I think that has a lot to do with our different cultures."

"I am Indian, from the Netherlands, so I am proud to call my self a Dutch," said Nina Lobo, a first year Civil Engineering major, "I really like the diversity here. With a lot of different cultures there's so much more to learn about people and so many perspectives! It's amazing. When everyone's surrounded by different races I'd imagine it would be hard to openly harbor stereotypes or racist opinions. You can't assume people will all think or act the same which pushes you more to accept them as individuals."

Despite UT Austin being such a diverse campus, the student body is still largely composed of white students. This dynamic sometimes poses a challenge for other students.

"Yes, at the beginning it was hard. It was difficult to adapt to all the new faces and backgrounds, especially people with a different race because I had never interacted with them," said Coronado.

Douglas Maudlin, sophomore

Douglas Maudlin, a second year Psychology major, who is half white and half Mexican went through a similar experience.
"Since I grew up in a small town, there isn't a lot of diversity. . . and coming here was a huge cultural shock for me."

Morgan Dunn, Junior

"I went to orientation and I called my mom and I told her I'm not going here," said Morgan Dunn,  a third year Radio-Film-Television major. "In the first semester I was in a huge cultural shock because where I come from it's mainly black and Hispanics."

However, the 'cultural shock' quickly dissolves as most students learn to adapt through socialization.

"Well my roommate was from my high school and she was black too. We made best friends with our neighbors and they were both different races, so after that I didn't have much trouble," said Dunn.

As scary as it can be integrating into crowds of different people it can also be exciting. "There's so many people from different backgrounds and I was really excited coming here and really experience being mixed together," said Maudlin.

UT Austin takes pride in amplifying diversity by including international students into the student population. One such student is Takalani Takie Malivha, a freshman international student from South Africa majoring in Economics. She comes from the Venda tribe, a minority even in South Africa.

Takalani Takie Malivha, freshman

"When I came here, human interaction was very difficult," said Malivha. "Everyone kind of minds their own business, we all live in one tiny room with someone else. I don't even know my neighbors still. When I go outside people don't say hello, it just feels like one room in a cloud."

Friendship is an aspect of cultural acceptance that sometimes comes hard when adapting to a diverse college environment.

"Making friends was really hard, people tend to make references to things I know nothing about... When I look back to last semester its mostly me eating dinner at Kinsolving alone. There was one organization I joined because I was really struggling, but when being a race minority people tend to look at you for reference... Like they would tend to ask me about the civil rights movement, I know nothing about that," said Malivha.

Despite the difficulties integrating into a new place, to new people, and a new life, cultural shock gives the students opportunity to accept and enjoy what this new environment has to offer.

"At UT, my experience was a lot of culture shock but it also has been an opportunity to know and have confidence on myself as a person and pride in where I come from and what I am."

Culture at The University of Texas at Austin seems to float and the students feel better for it.