Danielle
UCLA is a public school in every sense of the word; we represent the public quite well. There are some interesting racial and gender breakdowns between majors; for instance, there are more Asian students in south campus majors than in north campus, and more women in the humanities classes than men, etc. In my experience, students develop different circles of friends based more on shared experiences than upon demographic—you’ve got friends from your dorm, friends from your classes, and friends from your clubs. These circles are usually as diverse as the places you form them.
UCLA has its artery—Bruin Walk, the main walkway between the dorms/off-campus apartments and the classrooms and lecture halls. Naturally, clubs use this to advertise themselves, meaning that in a five-minute stretch you can (and will) come into contact with activist groups for either side of the political spectrum, Greek representatives, job recruiters, religious/antireligious debaters, and literally everything else you could imagine. Sometimes it’s a pain, because often these groups are ones I would never be interested in, but if there’s a group you want to find and join, then they’re more than likely out there. All in all, most of the groups on campus feel really comfortable getting themselves out there because it’s such a diverse (and overall tolerant) campus. You’ll hear too many rather than too few opinions, which I think stimulates a pretty healthy environment for debate and learning things outside the classroom. Basically you can be as involved or uninvolved as you like, as always, but open-mindedness really is the key in such a place as UCLA, where there are plenty of people with opinions so strong that they have no qualms about questioning yours. Overall, the only discrimination I see is against ignorance. There’s enough diversity and large enough numbers here that there’s no real minority except in the numeric sense—even a “minority” group has a voice and an opportunity to use it, often very publicly on Bruin Walk.
Most UCLA students are from California, and specifically the Southern California LA/Orange County area. But luckily the fact that we’re a public school eliminates a lot of ethnic or socioeconomic exclusivity; you’ll see a lot of very wealthy students, but you’ll also see just as many on a financial need scholarship, and because we’re not a private school, those demographic separations aren’t often the topic of conversation. Ethnically, you might see some cohesion, because we’re in LA, and that means that if you’re Persian or Korean, there are plenty of stores, restaurants, religious centers, etc, that cater to these cultural traditions and therefore attract specific audiences, making it easy to spend time with people of similar backgrounds. But, conversely, because we’re in a city that can support that kind of diversity, it’s just as easy and acceptable to overlap as it is to separate.
Politically speaking, we’re California, and it’s a university, so it should be no real surprise that we’re fairly left-of-center. But Bruin Republicans are still a pretty strong and respected presence on campus, and while they may not have the number of Bruin Democrats, it seems to me that they make up for a lot of that difference in strength of participation. Essentially, the only significant singling-out you’d face as a political minority is a heightened opportunity to debate your opinions.
Ali
That's pretty presumptuous of you to say there are four tables of students in the dining hall. Anyway I don't know about that.
Most people can fit in with each other except immigrants and student athletes. Student athletes are stupid as hell and only hang out with each other and get a ton of help and tutoring with their super fuckin' easy classes.
Immigrants- well they have language and most of all cultural barriers so they hang out with each other and there's not much else to that.
Most people I talk to are liberal but maybe that's because I only talk to the cooler people 8-)
Anthea
Most students go to class via "bruinwalk," a long hilly path (well, larger than a path) that connects the "hill" where the dormitories are located, and the main school campus. Strolling down "bruinwalk" one may notice that:
1. Most UCLA students are from California:
Being an international student, I am overwhelmed by the sheer number of Californians. Not that I'm complaining, but anytime I meet someone out of state, or shock! out of the country, I feel like I found something of a rarity, well, statistically, we international students are something of a rarity. The out of state-rs and the international students share one strong common feeling and that is the feeling of being robbed, or having our blood sucked out, as we pay roughly three times more tuition than a Californian would, and frequently receive no financial aid whatsoever. But of course, if you are from California, UCLA is a great school that happens to be relatively cheap. Case in point; my roommate, who hails from "Nor-Cal Baby" states that the best thing about UCLA is that while being a great school (like a public ivy), she can afford it comfortably, which makes UCLA "hella cool." Sticking to money matters, there is a great variety in students' economic backgrounds. Many receive and need some form of financial aid, whether in scholarships, loans or through work-study. Some students struggle to put themselves through UCLA and are constantly working, while many others drive around in their BMWs and are sustained by parental support.
2. UCLA - University of Caucasians Lost among Asians:
I'm from Hong Kong, so I'm used to Asians. BUT, many students have told me that they experienced something called a "culture shock," which I am unacquainted with, becuase they had apparently never seen so many Asians in one place before.
3. There are three (a possible fourth) dress codes, and people tend to generally fall into one of three categories or somewhere in between -
a. I like to wear jeans and my UCLA sweatshirt everyday. I sometimes go to my early morning classes in my pajamas, this way, I have the option of falling straight back into bed when I return to my dorm room. I only own flip-flops. Recently though, it's been cold so I like to wear UGG boots.
b. I like to look good for class. My outfits make no logical sense; sometimes, even though it is really cold, I like to wear my really short jean skirt with my UGG boots and a lacy tank top. I wear a lot of perfume/cologne. I adore Abercrombie and Fitch.
c. I like to dress hip for class. I wear super skinny jeans with really brightly colored, tight hoodies, or sometimes blazers. I like converse sneakers. I like to grow facial hair, and hell, the hair on my head can grow long too!
(d. I have no idea what I'm wearing, and obviously have no awareness.)
Rebecca
UCLA is a very accepting community. There is every type of person here, and while many groups tend to be homogenous, this does not mean that interaction between these groups is absent. Economically, UCLA has everything, and there is a large LGBT community as well. Race-wise, UCLA essentially has two groups: white and asian. These two groups are not necassarily separated, however, as in my own group of friends it's about half white half asian. However, the few number of black students we do have tend to stick to themselves, while the somewhat larger hispanic populations tends to spread themselves out more among the white and asian populations.
There is definitly some segregation, but overall students are willing to interact with just about any type of person. The way people dress can often be seen as a group dress code, but in general students tend to be very trendy, as the Los Angeles influence can be felt throughout campus.
Students are very involved both politically and religiously, though most students are liberal, and the religious groups are a very specific portion of the student body.
Addar
Pressure is strong to connect to some ethnic group. They are very radical and strongly active on campus.
Out of place: overweight, Conservative and shy student
Clothing: jeans, Uggs, Chanel sunglasses, big american apparel v-tee, leggings. Cute gym attire is acceptable but only if you haven't worked out in it yet. A yoga mat is a status symbol.
Interaction is rare unless forced. People aren't necessarily racist, but comfortable within their own groups.
Financial backgrounds: all backgrounds