Diversity within Ole Miss Couples

Bonnie Farris

Jour 102

Final Paper

Multi-Media Project

Diversity isn’t something many people notice across the University of Mississippi’s beautiful campus. Most who attend Ole Miss will say it is heavily populated with over indulged white kids, and that it is very rare to see students in an interracial relationship.

For generations here in the deepest South, there had been a great taboo: publicly crossing the color line for love. Less than 45 years ago, marriage between blacks and whites was illegal, and it has been frowned upon for much of the time since. Mixed-race population is growing far more quickly, particularly in the South.

“Racial attitudes are changing,” said Marvin King, a professor of political science at the University of Mississippi who is black, married to a white woman, and the father of a 2-year-old biracial daughter. “There is certainly not the hostility there was years ago.”

Interracial relationships are more and more publicized in the media. Famous couples like Seal and Heidi Klum, Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom, and Cuba Gooding and his white wife, Sarah Gooding see no color barrier. This type of publication makes interracial relationships less scandalous, especially in this generation.

“I was raised in the south so interracial relationships haven’t really affected me, I’ve been raised to be civilized as an American.” Said Karli Valenzuela, Chilean, sophomore at Ole Miss.

“We get some looks on campus, but not really a lot and none of my friends ever call me out on dating a Chilean girl, just my parents.” said Jonathan Moose, white, freshman at Ole Miss.

Moose and Valenzuela have been dating for 5 months now and don’t plan on breaking-up anytime soon. They both agree it doesn’t matter what race you are, and that students have to recognize that Ole Miss is not a highly diverse University.

It’s imperative to help our students understand how important it is to honor diversity. It is important to not only accept, but to celebrate our differences.

Mississippi has seen a 70% increase in multiracial population over the last ten years. States such as North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia, Tennessee and some midwestern states have seen a 70 -80% increase in their multiracial population over the last decades.

Only time will tell if Ole Miss becomes more diverse and interracial relationships become more accepted. Our generation doesn’t seem to judge too harshly when it comes to interracial couples.

http://www.milkandmocha.com/interracial-dating-topics/912-love-race.html

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/

Diversity in Fraternities

Jake Wamble

Journalism 102

Final

Diversity in Fraternities

Diversity has been an issue at the University of Mississippi for a long time, but Ole Miss is becoming increasingly diverse. It is now home to students and professors with very different cultural and religious backgrounds.

The Greek Community on campus is no exception.

Fraternities at Ole Miss were once almost completely white, but they are steadily becoming more multi-cultural.

“I have a Cuban background and I found it very easy to fit into the Greek system at Ole Miss,” said Sophomore Eduardo Montalvo.

The Sigma Nu fraternity now has multiple members with different ethnic backgrounds. This is different from years past when there was almost no cultural diversity.

Most fraternity members like the fact that their fraternity is becoming increasingly diverse.

“I like the fact that the fraternities on campus are changing,” said Robert Coffin. “I think having friends from different backgrounds is interesting and cool.”

A key reason the fraternities are changing is because the school has changed as a whole. Ole Miss now boasts more out of state students than it ever has before.

“I meet kids that come from all over the United States,” said Rush Chairman Robert Corban. “I get a chance to get to know and hang out with a lot of different people, it is very interesting.

The United States is a unique, diverse place. The University of Mississippi has not always fit that description, but it is well on its way.

“It was the flagship school in what was then the most defiantly white supremacist state in the union. Now, Ole Miss is a diverse university where racial conflict is a topic for history classes rather than a fact of everyday life…” The Associated Press, Sept. 20, 2008.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1661801/multicultural_fraternities_sororities.html?cat=4

Diversity: UM Foreign Exchange Students

Maria Martin

Jour 102

Final Multi-media project story

Students all over the world engage in foreign exchange programs to explore different countries and cultures. Here at the University of Mississippi, hundreds of foreign exchange students from all over the world are attracted to Oxford’s unique culture.

Being a foreign exchange student is far from easy. Going to a different country includes many challenges that young undergraduates must face.

Most students come to the United States prepared to speak the English language. “In China, I was considered a very good English speaker, but when I came to America I found that it is much harder to speak with Americans than I thought it would be. Being in America has improved the way I speak English however.” states female Chinese foreign exchange student, Xuan Zhu, 19.

Foreign exchange students are either housed in the on-campus residence halls, or in apartments around Oxford. A popular place for foreign exchange students to live off campus is Campus Walk.

Campus Walk houses the majority of the older foreign exchange students, so they can live together off campus and meet different students from all over the world. “Living in Campus Walk was a great experience because it allowed me to meet other foreign exchange students in which we had many things in common..coming to America!” claims male South African foreign exchange student, Ryan De Kock, 24.

The University of Mississippi offers foreign exchange programs for each semester. Most foreign exchange students will only do one semester, and spring is the more popular semester for the program. “I decided to come to America when they were in the warmer months of the year so I could escape the cold months of mine.” said male Australian foreign exchange student, Luke Tulloch, 22.

As a foreign exchange student airfare is provided by the University at the beginning and end of each semester. There are scholarships granted to certain students which covers full tuition, partial tuition, or full tuition with housing and meals.

“The biggest challenge for me at first was finding people that I had things in common with, but once I branched out and met people in my classes I made friends in no time.” Ryan De Kock, 24. “The biggest challenge I faced was finding all my classes! My roommate was very nice and walked me to all of them so I would not get lost.” Xuan Zhu, 19.

The exchange program allows the foreign exchange students to study English along with their other classes they choose to take. Foreign exchange students learn the American culture, along with the unique tradition at Ole Miss. “I have never been somewhere with so much spirit and so many people that are willing to help you at all times.” Luke Tulloch, 22.

The foreign exchange program keeps inviting more and more students back to Oxford for many semesters to come. The foreign exchange students that come here encourage American students to venture out of their comfort zone just as they did, in order to learn about different cultures and explore the world.

http://www.outreach.olemiss.edu/exchange/

We All Bleed Red

We All Bleed Red

The news of Usama Bin Laden’s take down spread fast on May 1, 2011. From news stations in the United States and around the world to social networking sites, the information was out there and those that were affected felt a strong sense of relief.

As we can expect, opinions varied greatly around the country and world on the death of the leader of one of the greatest terror organizations, Al Qaeda. One thing that held steady was the simple relief that he could no longer hurt any more innocent people whether near or far.

Yemen native, Ahmed Sharaf, was very eager to share his feelings. “I am very pleased with this, no matter how long it took.” Sharaf said. “I have never known any one who was personally affected by his actions but the terror in our hearts is enough.”

Sharaf also went on to tell how the love that is taught in the Koran is not what Bin Laden was showing. “ We are taught to love and respect, not to kill Christians and with Bin Laden dead, I believe terrorism will go down.”

Francis Ramer was also relieved but says she thinks this will give the remaining terrorist more of a reason to strike.

Although we all have different opinions on the matter of who killed whom and the affect that it will have on terrorism in general, there is one thing we all share, pain.

Losing the ones we love to acts of terrorism is real. It is something that changes the course of all of our lives and something that we relate to regardless of race or creed.

The final question asked to all who were interviewed was simple, what’s the difference between a white man and an Arabic man besides the color of skin?

The answers were simple. “Nothing!”

If we take the time to look past skin color and religion it becomes clear that we are not that different. We all bleed red.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/osama-bin-laden-killed/story?id=13505703

Diversity: Ole Miss Ambassadors

Ciara Oakley

Diversity in the Ole Miss Ambassador Program

The University of Mississippi’s Office of Admissions hosts over three thousand prospective students and families yearly for campus visits with the student Ambassadors providing the tours.

The Ambassador Program is made up of nearly 100 members who are required to go though an application and interview process before being selected. The students’ chosen for this program range from freshmen to seniors, while also being diverse in other ways than just age.

“We expect the Ambassadors Program to be diverse every year and reflect the student body at the University of Mississippi,” Associate Director of Enrollment Services Jody Lowe said.

Members of the Ambassador Program are typically involved in many different campus activities such as the Associated Student Body, Student Programming Board, Orientation Leaders, various religious groups, Provost Scholars, Greek life, and other small campus clubs. Ambassadors also come from different racial backgrounds, cultures, and states from all over the country.

“We want them to be able to connect to prospective high school and transfer students in every area and walk of life,” Lowe said. “We do not expect them to all be Greek, or all be involved in other prestigious campus activities, we just want them to be friendly and outgoing, while also representing our University in the best way possible.”

The Ambassador program is predominantly made up of students from Mississippi, but the program is also represented by several other states including Texas, Alabama, and Illinois. To diversify the group even more, newly selected Ambassador Ife Olayemi from Nigeria is the first student chosen from a different country to serve in this organization.

“The Ambassador Program is one of my favorite organizations I’m involved in on campus because of all the different people in it,” Sophomore Bailey Haile said. “Everyone comes from different backgrounds, have different personalities, and not everyone is Greek, but we still are able to get along and have a good time during our office hours and special events.”

While it may seem like fun and games, the diverse group of Ambassadors are required to complete a certain number of tours a month, work special events, and write letters and postcards to stay active members. Also, prizes including t-shirts, gift cards, and book scholarships are given away at weekly meetings to keep the motivation going.

One thing the Office of Enrollment prides itself on is that visitors give such positive feed back on their experiences with the Ambassadors. Along with this, many students have reported making their decision to come to Ole Miss based on their time spent with an Ambassador.

The Ambassadors also create a great impact on parents; since they are usually the first student contact families have with Ole Miss, and are a representation of the student body.

http://www.olemiss.edu/orgs/ambassadors/about.htm

Diversity at UM Residential College