Kayley W.

Brandeis University -- Waltham, Massachusetts
Kayley W.

Major: Undecided between: Economics; Health, Science, Society and Policy; Violin Performance

Expected year of graduation: 2012

Undergraduate, Graduate or Professional student: Undergrad

Extra-curricular activities involved in at school: Varsity track, Leonard Bernstein Quartet, Students for Environmental Action

Hometown: Wyoming, OH

Diversity Info

Gender: Female

Race: White

Religion: Jewish

Other Diverse things about yourself that you want to share: Polish-American

Why did you choose to attend your current school? Honestly, I got a full scholarship…but also, it seemed like one of the only places where I could ever be involved seriously in music, academics and athletics.

What is your school’s reputation for diversity? My school is known as a Jew school. It is sort of true in that approximately 50% of the school is Jewish but I have not ever felt like there was an overwhelming amount of “Jewishness.”

What’s the reality? How diverse is your campus? I think it depends on what you are expecting and what you mean by the word diverse. There are many different kinds of people at Brandeis, not just by looks.

Share some examples of how you experience diversity at your school. Well, about half of my friends are Jewish, some of my best friends are international, my roommate is black and some of my friends are gay, so I could go on with the standard “diversity” blurb, but I think it is very different than most schools just because there is not such a focus on Christianity. Because the focus is more Jewish than Christian -- unlike the rest of America -- there seems to be a lot of acceptance and people don’t really judge other people based on differences.

How comfortable do you feel on your campus? Very comfortable (see above).

Is diversity discussed at your school? Yes, diversity comes up often especially because that is part of the reason Brandeis was founded. It was founded as a place where people could be accepted no matter what their religion, race, etc. is when other colleges wouldn’t let these people (especially Jews) in.

What types of opportunities are there to learn about or celebrate diversity?

Clubs or activities: Yes, multiple
Special events or speakers. You have to look for them through specific departments or centers, not the university as a whole, but yes, there are many.
Academic options (specific majors or classes). You have your pick of 38 languages, an international studies major can focus their studies on any world region, there are majors in comparative studies available, and you too can create (with approval) a major or minor if you don’t see offered what you’d like.

How aware of diversity do your professors seem to be? Can you recall any diversity issues that were brought up in the classroom? Has anything “great” or “offensive” happened diversity-wise? My classes have all been pretty well-behaved so I haven’t really ever had an incident where someone was offended and a professor had to step in. All that comes to mind are some class discussions in which I felt many students held sexist opinions.

Do your classes include books or opinions from a diverse range of experts and authors? Depending on the class, you can only have materials which range in voice so much, but I’d say that in general, yes, OSU is very good about including diverse opinions and authors in the readings.

Describe any recent incidents of discrimination that took place on your campus. How was the issue addressed? Do you think it was addressed appropriately? Can’t recall…

How does the school administration support diversity? Don’t know… it seems to just be in the “roots” of Brandeis.

If you could go back in time, would you choose to attend the same school? Why or why not? I think so. Every once in a while I wish I had decided to go elsewhere, but that is mostly for reasons regarding my music performance major.

What do you like best about your school? My scholarship, all it has allowed me to do, I have some great professors, my friends and I actually like the food (I might be alone on that one…).

If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be? I would love to have more school spirit.

What else would you like potential students to know about your school? Brandeis is a great place to do a lot of things, but it is a liberal arts university. When I was deciding where I wanted to go I was unaware that a liberal arts school meant “you should probably go to grad school if you want a job.”