UCSB

Anonymous, Class of 2023

Editorial Team — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 04:02:59 +0000

With the Student Resource Building’s designated cultural spaces, it is nice to have a space of your own with people of similar cultural backgrounds and experiences. Although, it does not seem to promote much mingling. I do think there are some students where there is no such thing. Some of the clubs on campus are and can be diverse and inclusive. Resources include the Office of Black Student Development, National Society of Black Engineers, Black Women’s Health Club, BSU, and the designated study room in the Student Resource Building on campus. The OBSD does a great job at providing opportunities, safe space, and mentoring for the Black students on campus. However, I can not speak for my counterparts. I do believe that UCSB could be doing a much better job at supporting students of color by hiring more Black and brown professors, staff members, and faculty on campus. Representation matters, especially in STEM. I chose UCSB for its Environmental Department, and I have only ever had one Black male professor teach me in the Environmental Science Department– Professor D. Pellow, an extraordinary scholar, and individual. I do not feel as represented as I would like. Being a mixed Black womxn there are few of us on campus it feels. The demographic of campus is visibly predominantly white, Asian, and international students. The Black community on campus is pretty close and tight-knit from what I have seen in my year here. They try to reach out to one another and propose bonding times, a safe space to ask questions, and genuine friendships. I suggest being vocal and reaching out to these individuals. It will make your experience more enjoyable when you can find a familiar face in the crowd.

Nazrawi Allen, Class of 2023

Editorial Team — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 04:01:09 +0000

Your first days at UCSB will be a bit of culture shock, the best thing I would recommend is to keep yourself grounded in other Black spaces because these are the people that are going to be going through the same things that you are going through and likely feel the same way about feeling isolated at such a predominately white institution. I chose my school because I was rejected by UCLA and UC Berkeley. If given the opportunity to attend any of these schools, I would choose UCLA, however, I would take UCSB over UCB. UCSB is cliquey among different races. There are resources, but much of them, are by the black students, for the black students while other communities are fed their resources by the administration. The Office of Black Student Development is a nice change, they serve as advocates for our needs. I do not feel represented by anyone but myself. I wish there weren’t so many racist professors in the Political Science department. From what I have observed, UCSB is supportive of students with other marginalized identities. Overall, try to get involved with your school’s black student organizations, they will keep you sane.

Anonymous, Class of 2025

Editorial Team — Thu, 14 Apr 2022 03:57:11 +0000

Honestly, I do not feel represented. The Black population at UCSB is so small so if you were to take a picture of campus during passing times, there would maybe be 5 Black students amongst hundreds. People of similar races will tend to group together but they aren’t exclusionary. UCSB is a wonderful institution, but at its core, it is a PWI so the experience will be better in Black spaces. Find black spaces on camps! Whether that’s a club, sorority, fraternity, or cultural center, it will give you a sense of community that can be hard to have in a Predominantly White Institution. The best memories I have are in these spaces. I chose UCSB because I liked the location and it seemed like a respectable institution to pursue my education at. I would choose my school again because there’s no other place where I could see myself graduating from. At UCSB, there is the African Diaspora Cultural Resource Center (nicknamed the ADCRC) and the Office of Black Student Development (nicknamed the OBSD). My experiences with these resources are nothing but positive. The ADCRC presents a safe space for Black students to study and converse. The room is full of culture and is very homely. The OBSD’s whole purpose is to enrich the Black student experience at UCSB. They send out emails about internships, jobs, scholarships, and other opportunities for Black students. We have Cultural Resource Centers for most ethnic groups in the Student Resource Building and there’s the Multicultural Center where students of any culture can have a safe space to be in. Additionally, when picking housing, you can choose to live in cultural halls. There is also an LGBTQ+ house in Manzanita Village (a residence hall on campus) as well as Cultural Resource Centers in the Student Resource Building. I wish my school employed more Black faculty, staff, and professors. Also, I wish the greek life here was more diverse.