Tyshana Campbell, Class of 2022

Rutgers is such a big school that you will find your crowd. There are so many different people but like the same things that will hang together. However, there are organizations that cater to specific groups, which isn’t segregation (just a home away from home). Are there resources? YES!!! We have the Paul Robeson Cultural Center, which is the Black Cultural Center. They host black events and create spaces for black students to feel welcomed and at home. At Rutgers, we have the Social Justice Cultural Center and Douglass Residential College, which are geared toward other marginalized groups such as women and the LGBTQ+ community. Also, there are Student Support Services, which offers a multitude of resources for first-generation students at Rutgers. I wish Rutgers would hire more Black and Brown professors and faculty and give white professors sensitivity training. Sometimes, I think Rutgers is such a big school, and even though they do an okay job at promoting diversity. You only get to see a glimpse of that in real life. For example, I am a senior and have only had two Black female professors and they were both in the Africana department. Mind you I am a STEM major, so there is some room to improve representation at Rutgers. Going to a predominately white institution can be hard but don’t give up! I fought the majority of my first year at Rutgers because I felt like I didn’t have community, but I just didn’t try to find any. You have to FIND YOUR HOME AWAY FROM HOME. You will feel out of place and uncomfortable, but that’s life. You have to keep going in order to feel comfortable and trust me, you will get there!