Are all University halls so mulitcultural?

[Papirus]

I moved DS in yesterday. A Redbrick University.

He's had a horrible time over the last couple of years, but got it together to get a place and seems genuinely excited by the study.

I've been excited for him as it's a fresh start and an opportunity to meet people far outside our usual circles (which would be mostly white, skilled working class/lower middle class).

The families moving DC in yesterday were indeed hugely varied, which is fantastic. DS was out last night with flatmates from 5 different ethnicities and 4 different countries. I am a little surprised though to find that the white English middle class don't dominate.

Not bad surprised, just having my preconceptions put aside and wonder if this is typical?

The university I went to had very multicultural halls but the lectures where prominently white people.

I assume it’s because many students are from different countries so they have no choice but to live in the halls.
Whereas maybe more and more young people are choosing to continue living at home if they can now.

@Teenyliving Yes, I can but this post still reads a bit odd. I can't put my finger on why so I will leave it at that.

Early signs are that he's more than happy. He's generally very introverted and I worried that he'd spend a lot of time in his room. He spent yesterday evening playing cards and drinking vodka with his flatmates and they were planning to scrape themselves up and go and explore this afternoon. [Grin]

Think it depends very much on the uni.

My son was a first year last year. His flat (9 students) was exclusively white.

Thus year he has a house, shared between 5. Also all white.

DS will take it in his stride. You're right though, many people here seem to know better than I do how the population of my town is made up.

DD has a vast amount of foreign students at her uni. She loves it and finds it really interesting. The first year she shared a flat with a girl from Abu Dhabi. She was absolutely lovely. She's also got a couple of American friends, one from Thailand, India, Singapore, Austria and a few from Germany.

A big proportion of the university, say 25%, of students may be from overseas. In large universities students will know there are often accommodation blocks earmarked for different student groups and the home students may well know before they go which these are from friends at school, the university may also match students to accommodation like this. Before anyone says this is unacceptable the universities know that students are more successful settling in together doing this. My youngest was in a flat of ten with four overseas students although two of them had been at boarding school in uk. I would say all ten were middle or upper middle class. He was the only Northerner in the flat in a large Northern university. One student moved in late as he had been unable to settle in a flat where all the other students were from overseas. I would say something very similar with all my other children who have been through university.

You’re coming across very ignorant OP. So rude.

I think it would be very unusual to have halls with majority foreign students given the stats. Bristol is just over 20% ethnic minority and only 114th for social inclusion. So likely to be well off, non ethnic minority surely?

This is what puts me off ever starting a thread now or asking for advice.

You end up having to defend every tiny aspect of your life or what you've said.

OP - I think the answer simply is that it varies. It depends on the university, the location and the halls.

Also, obviously all international students are likely to go into halls accommodation. Home students may not go into halls and may live at home. Someone mentioned on another thread the UK is 86% white. You say where you live is about 98% white. So that could affect things - halls would be more likely to have international students.

Universities used to be the preserve of the upper classes. I hope that has changed a lot and there's more of a mixture now, even compared to 10 years ago.

If the UK is 1/3 one class, 1/3 one class and one third another I'd hope university would reflect that, but I'm sure it doesn't (yet). I'd like it to not be dependent by or affected by class at all.

Why is OP coming across as rude?

White British boys are one of the most underperforming 'categories' nowadays, so it's hardly surprising there's fewer of them at prestigious universities and the intake is more diverse.

I think this exactly happened to my son’s friend, with international students that didn’t want to mix with him. He tried to make it work but in the end he requested a move to another room and was fine. It really is about the friendliness and openness of the people in the flat. The background and ethnicity of the flatmates is much less important than whether they gel together as I am sure you and your son know. Ultimately if doesn’t make friends with them and needs to move neither you or he are ‘racists’ as a lot of posters on here are implying. My child who had most trouble setting was in a ‘top’ university dominated by private school educated students who were very cliquey whilst being very vociferous about how open and inclusive they were.

Except this is not the OP's son's experience so far. My own son is in an all-home student hall somehow, and he won't be requesting a transfer to hole up with his own ethinicity.

Heaven forbid a white person should be the minority for once 😂

The point I am making is that if for whatever reason they don’t settle in their accommodation or make friends as they hoped they can ask to move. The OP doesn’t have a lot of experience of university life and in asking a straightforward question she has been attacked by the ‘woke’ brigade.

Yep pretty much. The entire premise of the thread is ‘there wuz some brown people’.

She also said it was fantastic @thedancingbear.

We live in an area where there is very little ethnic diversity, so I was pleased that DD went to university in a multicultural city with students from every sort of background. And this is the impression I got from the OP.

Heaven forbid that people who don't live in a multicultural area actually want to do so

I’m an academic at a very prestigious university. White British kids on my course are outnumbered by “ethnic” students (British and foreign). In fact, one boy from a white WC background was the victim of racism.

It's actually white British working class boys.

However it depends on the school.

Nothing wrong with being happy with diversity, but it’s a bit much to be shocked at it.

Again, there’s nothing wrong with being from a small town with little to no diversity and being happy to move to somewhere different, but I don’t know how someone can think everywhere is like that.

Its more then surprise that’s the issue, and acting like people of different ethnicities and nationalities are are a spectacle. Like OPs son reporting back on the ethnicities and nationalities of those he went on a night out.

Its perfectly okay to say it’s different to what you’re used to and a great change, it’s OPs attitude and phrasing that are the issues.

Even if you live in a small town of white people surely you know people are different ethnicities go to uni ffs, it’s not an excuse for ignorance.

When did I say I was shocked to find diversity? I expected to find diversity. I didn't expect to find the white middle class completely absent, which according to the stats and PP they're not, so I was right to be surprised.

When did I say I was shocked to find diversity?

PinkFroggs is either projecting or has poor reading comprehension skills.

I've repeatedly said it's a good thing.

I'm not sure you've repeatedly said this OP?

I'm just surprised because of my preconceptions (probably from spending too long on MN) that it's not more white MC.

This surely has just proved your preconceived ideas were wrong?

Yes, I've said that too.

I mean you did say you were surprised, and you seem surprised enough to have made a thread on it so