University of California-Irvine Top Questions

UCI is very diverse. I have frequently been in a class where I am the only white guy. Usually all of the groups interact very nicely, however, as I noted before, the Jews, Muslims and Christians tend to argue about a lot of stupid crap. And every once in a while, they will arrange for guest speakers to come which spur protests. As for most UCs the majority of the school is pretty left, but because it is located in conservative Orange County, any students are Republicans. The wealth of students varies too. many pay their way through UCI by working, and others have their parents pay. People don't really talk about future earnings, but those who get jobs will occasionally speak of what they were offered.

Most of the students at UCI keep to themselves, I'd say. There are some groups, however, that have a definate presence on campus. The greeks are one such prescence as well as the political groups. The muslim student union is probably the most controversial group on campus. There are groups that are growing in popularity such as pro-Isael and dance groups.

Honestly, i never though that it was possible to be surrounded by so many asian people without actually being in the far east. guess i was wrong. Most people at the school seem to come from upper-middle class homes. People are moderately active and definately lean towards the left.

The Jewish community is bulleying the Muslim community. Four Tables: Asians, Frat and Sorority, smarts, & regulars.

When it comes to politics, most UCI students seem to be apathetic. Some students are very politically active, and the campus has been on FBI's watchlist because of the conflict between the Muslim and Jewish student unions (A Muslim student was hit by an FBI car last year). Most campuses tend to be more liberal than the surrounding area (except in Berkeley), and this seems to be true of UCI and Irvine. But when the surrounding area is filled with bourgeoise bastards (Republicans, and Democrats to a lesser extent, that are interested in keeping property values high and wages low), you tend to see their progeny spewing out bullshit about how going into Iraq is spreading freedom. You get a range of political ideologies in the social sciences, even a few neo-Marxists that will get your minds thinking revolution. But ultimately, you will realize that the only revolutions that have a chance of happening in Irvine have to do with the Ron Paul Revolution.

mellow.

People aren't too spirited here and in general, are not excited to be at UCI. On the plus side, there are a lot of really good looking people here for a UC campus. It's also a fairly sized school. So when you're walking along campus, you'll recognize people, and that provides a more homely feeling. In terms of the Asian population, again, it all depends on who you hang out with. I joined a fraternity in IFC. The population in the system is pretty diverse.

People wear whatever they want to class usually. Different types of students interact in social clubs or in living accommodations that require it. In a dining hall, people of the same dorm will usually sit together. Most UCI students live locally and are fairly well off financially (or their parents are).

I love UCI because though the student body leans left on the political spectrum they are by no means falling off. Yes we have a person on our main walk way yelling about the end of the world, how Mulisms or Jews are destroying the middle east, but overall it is all chill. The money is well spread with a lot of middle/upper middle class. There aren't many super rich kids, but many are well off, though there are many people who come for lower SES backgrounds. There is a little bit of political apathy, but I kind of like that, every listens to others generally. Also UCI does an amazing job bringing in politicians and world leaders, from Jimmy Carter to former presidents of European countries to leaders in Isreal to leaders in the Muslim faith, UCI really does an awesome job at balancing the issues and providing a true forum (if you wish to attend, if that's just fine too)

I am a Caucasian in a sea of diversity. It's one of the things I love and hate about UCI. I love it b/c going to UCI has taught me to get along with all types of people, from all types of backgrounds, and to be more tolerant and understanding of people. However, being a Caucasian, I have also felt really left out b/c UCI has many activities geared to those with other cultural backgrounds. I blame most of this on myself for not being better at finding a niche where I was comfortable, but I also just think it's an inevitable part of going to a culturally diverse school. And perhaps it's been good for me to be the minority in college....the tables have turned on me and as a result, I'm a much stronger person that I was before I came here. All in all though everyone is very excepting of everyone else and UCI does not stand for racism AT ALL, which I think is really a great quality of UCI. Most students wear whatever the heck they want to class. We have people in pajamas, people coming in suits (for Fraternity or job/interview reasons)...but mostly people just wear jeans and flip-flops.....it's very casual. A lot of UCI students are from Southern California, with a few from Northern California, and an even fewer amount from out of state and out of the country. UCI students come from all different financial backgrounds, made possible both from UCI's extensive financial aid opportunities, it's low cost to begin with, and it's prestigious reputation. I think students are politically aware, and are active in terms of voting. I think there are probably more democrats than republicans, but there is a fair divide between the two parties.