University of Iowa
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Majors: International Studies and French double major. I’m taking French with the Arabic track.
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: White Bisexual Female
Summary
I have been involved in the Immunity Campaign which promotes access to vaccines, I recently joined Student Government, I am part of the Arab Student’s Association, and I’ve written for Fools Magazine.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Bisexual
High School Experience: Public school in West Des Moines, IA with a graduating class of about 750 students. There were a lot of students who planned to go to college but a lot of them decided not to go.
First-Generation College Student: No
Majors: International Studies and French double major. I’m taking French with the Arabic track.
Minor: None
Extracurricular Activities: I have been involved in the Immunity Campaign which promotes access to vaccines, I recently joined Student Government, I am part of the Arab Student’s Association, and I’ve written for Fools Magazine.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
The Arab Student’s Association has and I’m anticipating student government will have a big impact. A lot of people in the Arab Student’s Association are from Arab backgrounds and I have Arabic heritage also, but growing up I never was exposed to people with a similar background as me. Being part of that organization has really helped with identity, having a sense of belonging, and a connection to culture and heritage.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your majors?
I mostly have essays and a lot of reading for International Studies and French. For French, it varies a lot depending on the class, but we’re still doing a lot of reading in most of the classes. Like, I took a French cinema class where we had both screenings and readings.
Is there anything you feel either of your majors’ departments do especially well or poorly?
In the French department, you can tell a lot of the professors are very passionate about teaching the courses and making the class more fun to come to. I respect a lot of my French professors because a lot of them show an interest in the students and wanting to get to know you.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I don’t think either of my two majors is very competitive. They are both collaborative. In French, everything’s spoken in French, so sometimes people might not know what’s going on and other students will help each other and we all help each other through it.
How accessible are your professors?
They are very accessible. They want to be there for their students.
Do you think people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
In my International Studies courses, there is a diverse political background for all the students. I think a lot of people are maybe not necessarily open to hearing ideas but are open to arguing each other’s ideas when it comes to politics and stances on social issues.
Why did you pick your majors? Are you happy with your choice?
I’m happy with them. I’m taking French with an Arabic Track, and I feel like I can use that with International Studies. I’m pretty happy with the languages. I think studying languages is interesting and useful and that more people should study languages beyond high school.
Reasons to Attend
1) If you like a party culture and want that in college, the party culture is pretty predominant here.
2) If you want to be involved in going to sports games. People here are really into going to sports games, especially the basketball and football games.
3) If you want a tight-knit campus community, although Iowa is a big school, I don’t think it’s as daunting as other places. There are a lot of people who come from small farm towns and the city and size of campus aren’t as imposing as one would think, so they are fine here.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) If you want the opportunities of a big city or being in a coastal city. I don’t think Iowa can offer as many opportunities in that regard as other universities.
2) If you are going to live on campus, I don’t think the on-campus dining is preferable.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Stanley Hall with one roommate
Sophomore: Stanley Hall with one roommate for the first semester and then I moved off-campus second semester.
How was transitioning from your hometown in Des Moines to Iowa City, IA in terms of location?
Iowa City is definitely smaller, not that Des Moines is big in any sense of the word. You can get around everywhere pretty quickly and easily in Iowa City. I didn’t get homesick because I was excited to be away from home, so I was fine with the transition.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
Most of the time, I feel pretty safe. If I walk home from a friend’s apartment at night, I don’t really care if I walk home alone because most of the walks are under 10-minutes.
Social Opportunities
What kind of nightlife or weekend activities do you participate in at Iowa?
I usually go to bars, parties, or just go hang out at a friend’s apartment or house. I sometimes go to fraternity parties, but those are mostly for first-years, so I mostly now go to parties at people’s apartments or houses. People go out on Thursdays, but I usually have classes those days so I don’t go. I just go out on Friday and Saturday nights.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
I’ve gone to some of the events that the school puts on. But, if I’m not going out and seeing people, I usually just stay in.
What is the impact of Greek life on the weekend options at the University of Iowa?
Greek life provides a bunch of parties, but I don’t think a lot of the older students partake in them unless they are part of Greek life.
If at all, how has identifying as LGBT+ influenced your nightlife experience? Is there much of an LGBT+ nightlife scene on or around campus?
I’ve been to [the LGBT+ bar], Studio 13 a few times, which is fun. Since I’m just bisexual, it doesn’t affect me too much overall.
How happy are you with the weekend options at Ithaca? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I think our options are limited by how small the city is. I think it would be nice if there were more events that aren’t partying. It would be nice to have options for people with different tastes.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I knew a few of them from high school and others I met in classes and dorms. I met a bunch of friends through one of my friends from high school too.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
There are groups for everyone and anyone can find their niche. There are just some groups that are more prevalent than others. Like, there’s a lot of White people and a lot of them are in Greek life. [About 74% of students are White. About 13% of men are in fraternities and 17% of women are in sororities.]
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
In terms of different sexual orientations, there is some mixing but I think people of different sexualities tend to hang out with each other more than with straight people. In terms of students of different races, I see people who are South Asian sticking together and a lot of people I know in the Arab Student’s Association have friends who are not White. It’s a lot of White students intermingling with White students and then everyone else intermingling. That’s obviously not the case for all friend groups, but I would say that’s true for a large portion of people here.
How would you describe the LGBT+ community on campus? How strong is it?
Last year, one of my friends and I lived on the LGBT hall in Stanley. In that hall, I don’t think sexuality was a uniting factor since people were getting in arguments a lot. But, in other situations like Spectrum meetings, I think sometimes it can bring together.
How do you like the size of the University of Iowa in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How has it impacted your experience? [There are about 23,000 undergraduates at the University of Iowa.]
I think it’s a decent-sized campus and student body, but Iowa City is a small city so you can’t really add many more people to it. I like having a lot of students here because it makes for a more diverse community.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
A lot of my friends have at least one friend or roommate who is in Greek life. One of my roommates for this upcoming fall is part of a sorority. I feel like there are a few people in Greek life who date non-Greeks, but usually, people in Greek life date each other. With fraternities, the guys are open to hanging out with guys that are not in fraternities, but, in my opinion, the sororities are more tight-knit.