As an incoming student, college can be pretty intimidating. It can be even more so if stu- dents come from small towns that lack diversity of race, gender or sexual orientation.
Ohio University provides many outlets on campus for new students to get involved with di- verse groups of people, including the Multicultural Center, the International Student Union and the LGBT Center.
OU’s Multicultural Center offers a variety of programs and opportunities for people of all races and backgrounds to participate in with the goal of raising awareness of different cultures and promoting growth of students in a diverse environment.
“We do a very good job of exposing students to different ways of thought and different ways of being,” said Winsome Chunnu-Brayda, associate director of the Multicultural Center. “The best way to interact is to introduce yourself first, and then say you’re excited to learn about them.”
Members of the Multicultural Center, such as Julius Smiley, a senior studying Spanish and the outgoing president of the Black Student Cultural Programing Board, stresses the importance of not basing first impression on appearance or race when incoming students join the Bobcat family. He experienced the judgement first hand.
“When I was walking one night, a student walked by me. I was by myself walking home, and they were drunk,” said Smiley. “They saw me and said, ‘Hey there’s a black kid,’ and they went to the other side of the street.”
The class of 2018 can also learn more about the international population on campus through organizations like the International Student Union representing the 1,881 international students at OU from more than 100 countries, according to the OU website.
“This was an opportunity for me to still be involved in the international community and meet new people,” said Papa Ndiaye, a first-year master’s student from Senegal and graduate advisor for ISU. “It was more of a robust and intense continuation of being involved with different people.”
LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) students are also a group who may seem for- eign to incoming students who were never exposed to that culture.
Delfin Bautista, the director of the LGBT Center, said one of the biggest stereotypes some incoming freshmen may face is the thought their roommate may become interested in them shortly after living together.
“Just because you’re of a certain orientation doesn’t mean
you’re attracted to every single male or female,” Bautista said. “We all have our likes, dislikes and what attracts us.”
Bautista urged students who are unfamiliar with the LGBT community to have a conversation about attractions with their roommates if they’re uncomfortable. He mentioned that the key to debunking misconceptions about others’ orientation begins with getting to know them personally.
@TIFFANYTOUVILLE
TT315212@OHIOU.EDU
