Class of 2014 Creates Diversity

Caroline Hendershot

Mrs. Weakley

Journalism 102

Ole Miss Class of 2014 Creates Diversity

The Ole Miss Class of 2014 containing over 1,00 new freshman was the largest entering class in the history of the university.

The overwhelming number of new students that came to Ole Miss this past fall brought with them not just numbers, but diversity as well.

The University of Mississippi has been struggling with issues regarding diversity for over 40 years and some of the controversies are still alive today. The Class of 2014 is helping to solve some of the concerns by supplying the university with the most diverse group of freshman ever seen.

“Everywhere I go on campus the diversity is apparent to me," stated freshman, Jordan Martin, 19 " I live in Martin, a freshman dorm, and the people on my floor are from so many different places and everyone has a different background. Living with those people has really opened my eyes and helped me experience things like I never would have before.”

Martin and Stockard Hall, the two largest freshman dorms, are busting at the seams with a diverse array of people. The assortments of groups of students lounging in the dorm lobbies, studying in the study rooms or hanging out in the laundry rooms are all unique and different.

In these dorms, gossiping freshman sorority girls can be seen mingling with honors college students and foreign exchange students joking around with the jocks. The diverse atmosphere of Martin and Stockard is unique and cannot be found anywhere else on camps.

One example of the freshman class’s true diversity can be found in the Twin Towers C-Store. The C-Store is a small convenience store located on the ground level between the Stockard and Martin Dormitories.

The C-Store is infamous for their assortments of chips, candies, frozen meals and most of all, their fried food menu.

Residents of Stockard and Martin can be seen wandering in and out of the store during the day, but the night is when the store thrives. Every night, overwhelming numbers of customers pour in hoping to find a late night snack.

The workers of the C-Store have interacted with the freshman class in a way that no other people on campus have. They have seen everything from late night wanders just coming in from the square to students who just need a study break come into the store for food.

The employees of the small market have witnessed, first-hand, the impact the diversity of The Class of 2014 has had not only on each other, but also on the entire university as well throughout the year.

“Yeah, the freshman class is definitely diverse…more diverse than I’ve ever seen it, actually. Students come in here all the time with someone I’d never expect them to be hanging out with. I can for sure tell that the freshman this year are way more interactive with each other than any other group of freshman I’ve ever seen before.” late night C-Store worker, Tyrone Bradley, 28 stated.

With the numbers of the new freshman Class of 2015 being expected to be larger than the last, The University of Mississippi can only hope that it is as much, or more, diverse than The Class of 2014.

To learn about the diversity statistics at The University of Mississippi please visit:

http://collegeprowler.com/university-of-mississippi/diversity/