College of William and Mary Top Questions

Diversity is somewhat low, but every year adds more and more students of different race and ethnicity. Still, the student body is comprised mainly of white upper-middle class students. Despite this, there is virtually no racial tension. The student body as a whole is very accepting to diverse peoples and ideas.

Some groups on campus are more vocal than others, and some are more militant than others, as well. The racial and cultural groups are always extremely accepting; overall, they just want other people to appreciate the things about their heritage that they love. Even events that you'd expect to be less easily accepted, like Palestine Awareness week, really do stir up a lot of interest, in a good way. The religious groups keep mostly to themselves; they recognize that their activities are going to interest mostly group members, and hold a lot of activities that foster group bonding. The only groups that really cause any sort of bad feelings around campus are super-rightist ones that seem to refuse to accept other views. For example, Students For Life will always hold an event on the SAME night as a pro-choice event is held. Their planning seems to be retaliatory, always. Also, the Virginia Informer, our "independent" newspaper, is known for being purposefully incisive and biased. There are more conservative or rightist groups that are far more tolerant and well-accepted on campus, and students whose views aren't extremely liberal don't feel out-of-place, but some groups' aggressiveness can be over the top.

The balance is skewed toward minority student groups, because of initiatives from the past several years aimed toward increasing so-called diversity in the student body. Because of this, student publications lost a lot of funding, which was redirected to things like the Filipino-American Student Association, which does nothing more than a banquet or two for the student body at large. The publications, on the other hand, serve the whole school. Tons of kids from Northern Virginia. Most students are politically left, but not really that aware; typical young idealists rather than than structured, rational political thought.

There's not a huge amount of diversity here, although, there is more than one might expect. A lot of students are from northern VA (Nova), and because it is the D.C. area, people often come from really unique backgrounds or have moved around a lot and have neat stories to tell. A city-goer would feel out of place at William and Mary, or someone who likes to keep up on fashion 24/7. Students go from anything to pj's, to jeans and a t-shirt, to nicer sundresses.

William and Mary's student body is dominated by wealthy, white, politically emotional students. The majority of students are far to the left on topics such as gender issues, economics, foreign policy, and the environment. There are also minority populations of ethnic groups, religious students, and conservatives, however the campus is socially dominated by affluent white liberals. Roughly one third of the student body is not from Virginia, one third from Northern Virginia, and one third from other parts of Virginia. There is a stereotype that out-of-state students are smarter than others, and that students from Northern VA are smarter than other in-state students, due to admission requirements. This stereotype has little merit, but is an example of elitism prevalent among the student body.

White people love ethnic diversity, but only as it relates to restaurants. Many white people from cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York will spend hours talking about how great it is that they can get Sushi and Tacos on the same street. But then they send their kids to private school with other rich white kids, and live in neighborhoods like Santa Monica or Pacific Palisades. But it’s important to note that white people to do not like to be called out on this fact. If you run an ethnic restaurant you can be guaranteed repeat business and huge tips if you act like your white customers are adventurous and cultured for eating food that it isn’t sandwiches or pasta.

The student body is diverse, but not diverse enough in my opinion. It's mostly white geeks, who where dungeons and dragons t-shirts and white preppy kids who wear lilly pullitzer and have more money than they know what to do with. Pretty much everyone is from Virginia, mostly northern Virginia or Richmond. If you're not from Virginia, you'll quickly learn about most of the high schools in the state and what the stereotype of someone who went to Thomas Jefferson (TJ) is. People here are very active and socially conscious. We have a lot of guest speakers and events geared toward this, and most are because students invite them to come. It is really cool to go to school with students who are aware of the world and it's problems and are trying to fix them.

All sorts of really really smart people

The campus is extremely diverse... not so much on paper (although we are far more diverse than most), but simply in the vast number of different interests and passions among students. Everyone hear brings something unique to the table, which makes dicussions and debates inside and out of class a blast!

There are a lot of really socially conscious kids here. There isnt a lot of prejudice here, and if it becomes an issue, we are definitely a campus that then schedules a million different speakers and debates to address it. There is not a lot of ignorant hatred here. Also, kids who tend to align themselves with different groups are very likely to interact. We're generally a pretty tolerant campus.

This school is pretty liberal but there are still a lot of conservative people because we're in the south. Overall though, we definitely tend to swing to the left, and people are not afraid to speak up about their political beliefs. We've got clubs for basically every presidential candidate. It's kind of annoying getting leaflets in my CSU from them all the time, actually. There's a pretty diverse range of people, but not like you'd find at other places. I mean, the administration says they're working on it, but I guess its kind of hard when two thirds of the students are from Virginia, and 80{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of those are from NoVA. Different types of students interact, but once people find their groups, they tend to stick with them. It's not like you can't hang out with other groups though. I'm not Greek and I hang out with my Greek friends all the time.

We're working on diversity. Our last class had 33{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} non-white students. The LGBT community is small but active. We have new initiatives for scholarships for underprivileged students. There are many different religious groups.I don't really know anyone who discriminates about this stuff. We're really socially active, although not predominately any part of the political spectrum. 66{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students are from Virginia, that's the law since we're a public university. Usually people dress somewhat nicely to go to class. It would be odd to go to class in pajamas. Some students do talk about how much they'll earn one day. Most don't.

i mean there are ignorant people any where in the world and some people just haven't had the experience of being around diversity in the bigger since. Diversity many anything that is different from you whether it be religious, racial, lgbt, socio-economic status, interests, or whatever. So sometimes they need to be put in their place so they wont make the mistake again. The worse thing I've experienced is living in a fraternity place and next door neighbors would use the N-bomb often (it was annoying to hear). Any minority that doesn't want to assimilate to the majority will feel out of place. Clothes they wear clothes (t-shirt, jeans, collared shirt, suit, dress, skirt, boots, shoes, sandals, jerseys). They wear clothes. Usually it goes by freshman hall... people get their group of friends when they get here and thats who they hang out with... usually you see the same ethnic groups hanging together. you have the Sorority, Fraternity, Athlete, and Regular student tables. Financial i would say upper middle class to middle to RICH.... other than that we have people dispersed in. Politically aware or active dont do it justice. Politics is life here. Politically i would say it's all over the place... and people talk about wanting to be successful... not always about the money.

I've already talked about LGBT. W&M supports them and they are welcome on this campus. No one wears a sign above their head that says "gay" or "straight" but they are free to be the way that they are. I feel like that's how it should be. W&M once had a historical lack of ethnic diversity and that is no longer true. The college has and is continuing to expand it's diversity and tolerance is not an issue here. There are numerous cultural organizations that are very active and attended by many students who are "native" to the culture. In addition, it has a strong international pull that I feel contributes to the campus. I'm an atheist, but I have many very religious friends. It never comes up as a conflict, and the religious have a variety of affiliated organizations to attend and supplement their experience. Atheists don't really organize, but it is an understanding and accesible climate for non-Judeo-Christian religions too. Facebook self-identification put the incoming class at 3:1 "liberal" to "conservative" and I consider myself in the latter category. A liberal slant is to be expected at any college, but I have found myself pleasantly surprised at how judicious the campus is to be balanced and most of all accurate. The campus has two major student news publications, one for the left and the other for the right, but most of us read both. There's a College Republicans and Democrats organizations, I can't say I know much about either. Students at W&M have the ability to vote as residents of Williamsburg and the Student Assembly has been running voter registration drives that bring W&M students to about 20{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the city in terms of registration. A student is running for city council and has a serious chance at getting elected. Conversations touch a range of topics and it is never completely clear who falls into what category, because people are more complicated than that. I think people at W&M listen to each other and give each other a chance. In the end, that heads off all problems that relate to prejudice.

William & Mary has really raised the importance of diversity since my freshman year - my friends all come from very different backgrounds, and none of them really seem to fit out of place. I can't really think of a student who would feel out of place here - perhaps a student who doesn't study. Most of the students here do seem to have money, but it's not a big deal if somebody isn't from a middle-class background. Most students are comfortable in jeans and a t-shirt to class. Some dress up more, others dress down more. Most students live in Rainbow flip-flops when it's warm outside. Also, it seems like everybody on this campus runs. Most students are politically aware at the very least, with the majority of students fairly liberal. There is definitely a conservative voice on campus, as well. Further, the majority of students who are liberal are more moderate than radical. Business students tend to talk about the fact that they will make money later on; most science students are pre-med; most humanities students either work for a non-profit or something like Teach for America after graduating, or joke about how they will live in a box.

Diversity is not big on campus, although we are getting more and more diverse. As a jewish student on campus, it has been a really good experience. There is a lot of tolerance I think, but also a chance to teach others about my religion, and explain the different customs and such. Even though we are a state school, I have gotten a chance to meet people from all over the United States and the world from places like California, Saudi Arabia and China. I have met a lot of people who are openly gay, black, white, asian, hispanic. While there may not be tons of people who fit in these groups, they are definetly present on campus. People wear a variety of stuff, but mainly comfortable but nice looking clothes. People are generally preppy but nobody really cares how you dress. People tend to self segregate, but if you join multicultural groups especially you get to meet people from other backgrounds as well. The more active you are on campus with different activities, generally the more people you will meet. As a state school we tend to have people with less money that at the private schools. I know people who are here instate and with financial aid. To be honest though, it doesn't come up that often. The nice thing about being here is that so much happens on campus and doesn't cost much that money is less of an issue than if we were in a city where it costs more to go out. Students are politically aware, but not very active. Academics and extracurriculars mainly come first. People are pretty central on the spectrum, but left and right are both present on campus. Future jobs and salaries has never been in a conversation I've had here.

The only person that is "left out" at W&M is the one that just doesn't care. We have diversity. we have intellecutals, activists, volunteers, future and current leaders--I won't go one because we have every type of person you could imagine. Come here if you want to be involved and have something to show for your college education. DO NOT come here if you can't handle grades that aren't As, if you don't ever want to have to study, if you don't like a daily challenge, don't like to have intellectual conversations, and can't accept the fact that there are lots of other people out there that are way smarter than you--in a good way.

WM students are awesome. We're very accepting, and have a diverse LGBT culture on campus. Dress code can range from pajamas and bathrobes to suit and tie. The student body tends to be more liberal leaning, though some students are just apathetic.

Students here are socially liberal and its a diverse campus where everyone can feel welcome. And with over 500 extracurricular groups on campus, you will definitely find your niche of people. We are starting to get more socio-economically challenged people attending which has been great in diversifying us in that respect. Out of state tuition is pretty pricey- but I'm not sure who is on financial aid or not- it's not a big deal.

Sometimes I feel like Christians get the most prejudice - it's not trendy to be a Christian right now, and I feel in class sometimes that the assumption is that no one is. For the most part, people are fairly accepting, however. Left out? Maybe really artsy/funky people... my brother goes to VCU and I always feel like i stick out there because i'm so boring looking... There's a sharp divide between those who DRESS for class and those who wear sweatpants/pajamas/what they wore yesterday. Sometimes these people alternate from day to day. Different types do interact. Four tables - one is a whole freshman hall, one is that guy sitting by himself reading, one is a cutesy couple, one is friends meeting between classes. Most W&M students are from Northern Virginia. The rest are from New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. I think most are pretty financially well-off. Students are pretty politically and socially active, and seem largely left to me. I've never heard anyone talk specifically about how much they'll earn. I have heard people talk about being poor, but I am in the education program, so yeah.

Diversity on the campus expresses itself in many ways. There is a shortage of African American and lower socio-economic statuses, though the school's diversity program has been diligently working to correct this. There is a known LGBT section of the campus, and they are generally very well accepted by their fellow students, and many people will correct others who make slurs based upon race, background, or sexual orientation. I myself am friends with students that fit many different categories, gay, straight, african american, asian, catholic, jewish, and many other categories. I don't think any student would find themselves out of place. Students wear a mixture of clothing to class, from sweat pants to business attire. Most students are from the northern Virginia area, though there is a large minority of students from New England as well.

Fairly diverse student body. Very left-leaning.

Outspoken right wing groups border on rascism. Anyone other than a weathy white person would feel a bit out of place here. Students expect a lot to come from a WM education and many are dissapointed when tey end up waiting tables. Students do not socialize ourside of their groups.

Over the past few years, the College has been trying to increase the diversity of W&M. But the school is still OVERWHELMINGLY white. Mostly upper-middle class white people. A lot of Christians, a lot of athiests/agnostics. But thankfully there is a wider range of people being admitted/recruited for the school.

Lots of gays. A good bit of people smoke pot and drink here and that is cool.

There are a few different "(stereo) types" of students. Frat Boy - Rich Kids who drink out of trashcans in their units and try to convince girls that they want to come to room 203 and drink a gin bucket instead of the white Russians in room 202. Can normally be found talking about how wasted they got the night before, i.e. "Lunchboxing." Sorority Girl - More rich kids(girls this time) that wear sunglasses the size of their entire face (hide the ugly frames!) They are normally sporting 20 lbs of extra weight (the party pouch) and usually come off as being unintelligent. The attractive ones are so into themselves cause they are such a minority on campus and normally have 8 or 9 of said Frat Boys they can choose from on any given night. Disgusting I know. D&D/Harry Potter/Video Game Nerd - Pretty down to earth kids who've decided that instead of wasting their time trying to meet a bunch of people they will stay in and play video games/read. Often they find like minded people and can be found talking about Dragons and Wizards and getting even fatter in the dining halls. Jocks - Girls and Guys that are obsessed with fitness and spend most of their time running or at the Rec Center. It is fun to smoke cigarettes in front of the glass window and watch them run on the treadmills. They are harmless, and mainly interested in their personal appearance and achievements. Most of them have girl/boy friends and will probably marry young. Hippie/Activist/Unclean - People that are into politics and think that the SA actually accomplishes things. They were the among the first to think that they could get the school to strike when Gene Nichol was fired and think that students can actually peacefully make a difference in the future of the school. They have yet to realize that the Administration will do what it wants and that students are just a problem that throughout history the school and city pass back and forth and neither is willing to accept the baggage that comes with being a "college town" All others/shades of grey - Kids that don't fit into one of these, but balance themselves between them, normally pretty generic people. Musicians often fit in this group, on the more interesting side of things.

My experiences with students mirror my experiences with people in general. I don't think I met any group of people that I had not met before and certainly not that I haven't met since. I think most students should feel welcome at W&M, although I will say that we are predominantly white, middle to upper class Americans. I've interacted with many types of students, and I don't think I'm alone. I will say though that most students tend to have a small base of friends they tend to hang out with most and from which they meet other students. I'm skipping the tables question. Most students are from VA, which makes since and is completely acceptable because we are a public institution. I think students are politically aware and are blossoming into that line of thinking. Many are active politically, many are not. I'd say most students are left of center, like many young people. However, I know lots of conservative students and even more that are unsure and moderate. Some students are generally concerned about the money they will one day make, but this is not often their main concern. I also don't know too many business students.

It is not an incredibly diverse school and you do not see a lot of mixing of crowds, but I don't think anybody would be "out of place". There is a good financial mix of people, because the school is relatively affordable. There seems to be even representation between right and left wing politics. Business students talk about how much they will make one day.

Thanks to affirmative action there is a good mix of students at the college. Most interactions are genuine as people are intelligent enough not to be racist/sexist. Most students are from Northern Virginia and definetly in the middle class economic range. Students are fairly politically active, but mostly in the democratic/liberal organizations.

Diversity is on the rise. We are mostly an accepting bunch except for the usual more conservative groups. I do not think politically extreme or snobby people will do well here. We generally don't dress up for class. Jeans are a norm. We may not have numbers for diversity here but people interact fairly well. We get a lot of students from north of here: New York, New Jersey, Northern Virginia. We get a mix from everywhere else in the world too. People from every socioeconomic background can now come here. We are politically aware, not exactly always aware. I think most people here are moderate. We might have more lefties than righties.

Any student who enjoys a party or even moderately drinking socially will regret attending. I believe the admissions office must have some kind of attractiveness screening, or else Williamsburg is home to some sort of virus that targets only those with favorable genetics.

Not very racially / religiously diverse, but the LGBT population is more than I have heard of at most every other college. No student would feel out of place here - the religious right is small and easily ignored. I hate questions like "describe four different tables of students in the dining hall." That's dumb and we should all be past that. Most people I know are. Most students are financially well-off, but there are students from lower income brackets. Students are quite politically aware, and lean to the left a bit, as to be expected in a liberal arts college. The right isn't ostracized, though, much as they would like to claim they are. Students are either excited to make money (Government, business, pre-med, pre-law, etc.) or loathe to talk about post-college life (pretty much everyone else, including myself!)

One of the jokes about William and Mary is that it should really be called "Wilma and Mary" because of the high number of lesbians on campus. However, I don't really think this is any more true than any other college campus. If anything, there are more openly gay men on campus. Even so, the gay and lesbian communities are generally pretty small and people are very tolerant of alternative lifestyles. Most William and Mary students are from Virginia because it is a state school, but an overwhelming majority of those come from northern Virginia, more specifically, the D.C. area. This generally means that most students at William and Mary come from the same socio-economic mould--most are white and upper middle class. A lot of students (both those from Virginia and those from out of state) went to private schools or public schools in really rich areas--you see a lot of Vera Bradley, fake (or real) pearls, and North face backpacks. There is a strong Christian presence on campus, but it is not an overweening or threatening presence. There are plenty of non-Christian religious organizations that promote cultural events on campus and they are generally well attended. Tolerance is a real key-player at William and Mary.

ive met students in basically every type of "group." a lot of us seem to be white and middle- or upper-middle-class. the social atmosphere here is not for everyone. we have a considerable range from party to studious, but i imagine some kids would feel stifled here, if they didn't have an academic bent. to some the campus is peaceful and beautiful, but to some who need constant adventure, it may be boring. tshirts and jeans are fine! some people put more effort into their appearance, and some really don't care. ive never felt under or over dressed here. most students hang out with kids similar to them. but you get the opportunity to meet all sorts of people in clubs and classes. the kids here an generally nice and friendly, and ive never seen any discrimination. most kids are from virginia, especially northern virginia. politics are big here- the ones to the far left and right are most vocal. i have never heard talk of future earnings.

While there are racial, religions, LGBT, etc. groups on campus, everyone seems to get along and is very friendly towards one another. We are a very open community and willing to learn about the cultures, beliefs, etc. of other people I don't think that any kind of student would feel out of place. It is a very diverse community and it seems like everyone is able to find their own clique. Most students wear whatever they want to wear to class. Some students can be found in sweatpants, while others will wear a button up shirt or a dress or others will come in jeans and a leather jacket. Students are very free to dress how they want to at W & M. While there are many different types of people, everyone seems to get along well and respects the other. The four tables at the dining hall are for athletes, Greeks, Pep Band, and the punks. Most W & M students are from Northern Virginia, but there are also a lot of international students. Most students are middle class. Students are very politically aware/active. College Republicans and College Democrats both have high membership, as well as the Student Assembly. Also, Rock the Vote is now sponsoring W & M because of our commitment to being politically involved. It seems to be a pretty even match of leftists and rightists.

a student who does not have self esteem would feel out of place jeans and a tshirt most of the time students cross "group" boundries, esp with freshman hallmates most are from virginia, then new jersey, then connecticut a lot of variety in wealth predominantly left yes

It's funny because many people say William and Mary is liberal. It is for Virginia schools, but coming from the Northeast, I think it's pretty conservative. There is a lot of political diversity. A lot of students are Christian... and they go to church. The student body isn't extremely good looking. But eveyone is super friendly and nice. If you're looking for a whole lot of Brad Pitts, this isn't the place for you, but if you're looking for really sweet, accepting, down to earth people with great personalities, you'll find people you like here.

Different types of students certainly do interact. It's a little bit too campy for my taste though. The various diversity mentioned above is well represented at the College. I'll say though, that as far as socio-economic groups go, wealthier classes obviously dominate (since higher ed is generally for elites). Luckily they congregate mostly in Greek life so everyone else can enjoy the rest of life. I think the recent measures taken by Ivy League schools and to some extent at WM will probably change the socio-economic landscape at universities, so hopefully more students from lower income backgrounds will be able to attend WM. The most interesting interaction on campus is the dynamic introduced by right-wing groups, particularly the "libertarian" students. I think it's a great for a campus with such a large liberal majority to constantly have to answer to the complaints of a small but very vocal minority. This is one of the great things about WM - there is a lot of practical political debate. It's something you can't find at small liberal arts schools where everyone embraces the same basic political ideals. For me, coming from a college town in the PNW, William and Mary initially struck me as incredibly homogeneous and monolithic. This was a response to the educational backgrounds of most people I met, as many came from Fairfax county schools or New England prep schools, as well as the racial homogeneity of students and staff at the time, which greatly contrasted with the racial composition of hourly workers at the College. But during my years there I saw a lot of changes and I grew to appreciate the value of attending class and sharing living spaces with people who hold fundamentally different ideologies.

Students who think outside the box and assert themselves feel left out at William and Mary. There is an intense culture of conformity. The axes of alienation fall less along the traditional lines of race, religion, gender identity, etc.--the College embraces superficial diversity, so long as its cultural mandate of intellectual, political, and dialectical moderation is observed. In a hyper-modern, post-multicultural context, minorities are paid a great deal of lip-service and tokenized much in the same way as the slavery-era archetype of the "house negro." This now includes queer/LGBT people. But, the diversity is only celebrated and embraced to the extent that the individuals accepted as the "leaders" of these subsets adhere to the core values and cultural norms of the establishment, which I consider to be the straight/white/male-dominated administration. So, for instance, a black leader must be whitewashed and a gay leader must exhibit gender-normative behavior.

I am aware of minority presence on campus but for the most part they seem to gravitate toward each other (e.g. it is not uncommon to see packs of asians wandering the streets of Colonial Williamsburg). I FEEL OUT OF PLACE AT WILLIAM AND MARY. Most students might as well wear uniforms to class because they all look the same, all the time. On Sundays all the girls wear sweatpants. I do not generally witness interaction between different "types" of students. I try to avoid the dining halls but I can guarantee that at least three out of four tables will be full of STUPID girls, with the other table consisting of unremarkable, boring people. Most (all?) William & Mary students are from Northern Virginia. I am from Massachusetts. They are different. Most students appear to be from upper middle class backgrounds. If students are politically aware or active, they hide it well. The majority of my interactions have been with leftist-leaning students, but that is because I can't stand conservatives. I avoid conversations with anyone that might be at risk of telling me how much they plan on earning in the future, but I'm sure they do it.

There is a wide range of students here, which is great -- LGBT, students from upper class and middle class families, and, thanks to President Nichol's Gateway program, an increasing number of students from lower class families, bringing all perspectives to the campus. The majority of students seem to be liberal leaning, which may come as a surprise, although there are a number of conservative students as well, of course -- the two groups seem to get along fairly well, in general, aside from the issue of Gene Nichol. Most William and Mary students come from Northern Virginia, I'd guess about a third, with another third coming from the rest of Virginia and then the final third coming from out of state. My friends and I joke about not having a job out of college, but we're okay with that -- as a mostly liberal arts school, that's to be expected. Most don't seem to be concerned about how much they'll earn out of college, and are focused on their grades.

Being in the south, albeit the northern south, William and Mary has its share of conservatives, in every sense of the word. The vast majority of the school is run-of-the-mill white, middle class, straight and Christian. Racial diversity is not one of our strong points, but open-mindedness is. There are innumerable cultural groups on campus and their events are well-attended. I've never even heard of an instance of racism or discrimination on campus. Overall, students are respectful and leave other groups alone. There are, of course, more extreme groups, in both directions. Compared to what I've heard about other schools, WM is an incredibly active campus in terms of local and national politics. Almost every weekend you can find a rally or protest of some kind. Lately, activists have been especially present because of the controversy over the resignation of President Nichol. Many claim his contract was unfairly terminated and have been petitioning the Board of Visitors to bring him back. Often it seems that the protesters are just protesting for the sake of protesting. It's something to do in an otherwise dull town.

There are many different groups on campus ranging from NAACP to Christian organizations to something that you want to create yourself. A student that does not want to get an education would feel out of place here. Most students wear whatever they feel like to class. Yes, different types of students interact. The tables full of people in the dining hall could be anyone from any sort of group on campus freshmen to 'super senior' or graduate student. The majority of William and Mary students are from Virginia. There is a large portion from Northern Virginia and a good number from the Richmond and Hampton Roads area. There are financial backgrounds of all types here at the college. Students here are very politically active and they are aware of the issues that matter to them. There is definitely a strong left feel to the campus (or at least the one that make the most noise are left), but there are political views of all types. No, students don't really talk that much about what they'll earn one day; more about what they'll do one day, or what sort of impact they will make.

The Jewish population here has increased with 2007/08's freshman class; there is a lot of diversity here with language houses and active student organizations like the ASA or CASA. You can dress however you want here and not feel judged--sometimes i go to class in sweatpants and other times dress pants. It's up to you. Most students are from NOVA but a lot come from Maryland and New Jersey. The students that go here range from preppy frat guys to dirty hippies. But sometimes you'll find a "dirty hippie" is IN a frat. There are very blurred social lines here, which is nie. It's an overall BARAK OBAMA supporting campus.

-WM is growing more and more diverse, and as a minority myself, i think this is great. the campus is very tolerant of other ethnicities, and openness is encouraged. for the most part, though, students come from an upper-middle class background, and some students really know how to impress their snobbishness on others. sometimes i think the school could use some humility among its student body, but we do a good job, on the whole. -since ours is a small community, a student will find him or herself interacting with every type of student imaginable, at one point or other. day to day, though, the students tend to involve themselves loosely with certain groups or circles of friends, but there is no group on campus which is isolated from another. -at the cafeteria, there's always the loner, or the person doing his homework or reading the newspaper. there are the socially outgoing sorority girls who laugh loudly and take up half the cafeteria. there are the athletes, who eat everything that's to be eaten, and concentrate so much on the consumption of their food that they don't speak or look up. then there's the rest of us normal groups, who kind of just blend in with the background noise. -most of the students are well off. not to sound hypercritical, but we're all fairly spoiled on this campus. -on the whole, both faculty and students are highly politically aware and active about issues that impassion them, including a woman's right to choose, student voting, and a student's rights on campus. the College is split between left and right. rarely is one moderate at this College. most of the faculty lean left. unfortunately, there is a strong conservative current at the College, and it is usually this current which determines our campus' policy. -although we study all the time, and it's on our minds all the time, students will rarely talk about how much money they'll one day make. it's sort of an unspoken rule that we're all in it to strike gold, but talking about it would be unbecoming and unfashionable. we all know we're thinking about this all the time, but we never want to admit it, not even to ourselves.