St. Lawrence University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Global Studies
Minors: European Studies and African Studies
Student Self Identifies as: Black Heterosexual Female
Summary
I’m part of the Thelomathesian Society, Carefree Black Girls, I work as a Community Assistant, and I’m [a leader] of the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Coalition. I also recently joined a sorority.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Black
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Public school in Washington, D.C. with a graduating class of about 125 students. The class was very diverse in terms of having a lot of Black and Hispanic people. There was not a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Global Studies
Minors: European Studies and African Studies
Extracurricular Activities: I’m part of the Thelomathesian Society, Carefree Black Girls, I work as a Community Assistant, and I’m [a leader] of the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Coalition. I also recently joined a sorority.
Have any of your extracurricular activities had a particularly big impact on your experience?
Being part of [The Thelomathesian Society] and being a community assistant have had a big impact. Being someone who came from a high school that didn’t necessarily prepare me well for college and also someone who wants to bring representation and be a voice for students of color, those put me in a position where, at first, I didn’t think I could do it, but having that role and working with different kinds of people has given me the confidence and the ability to do a lot of things. The platform I ran on was mental health, and the culture I come from has a lot of stigma around the mental health conversation, so that process helped me relearn how I should take care of myself. I relearned the process of self-care and self-love by working with the counseling center and, now that I’m elected, I feel that I have to embody a healthy lifestyle and understand the importance of health. That’s shaped a lot of my experience here and I’m truly grateful for that.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
The Global Studies major is a lot of readings and papers. On a weekly basis, now that I’m taking 300-level courses, I have a longer reading of about 60 pages or a shorter more complex reading that is about 30 pages but takes the same amount of time as the longer readings. Then we have little papers throughout the semester and then a really long paper at the end of the semester.
Is there anything you feel your major’s department does especially well or poorly?
The Global Studies department does really well. I like that my classrooms are very small and my professors extend their help a lot and I know that I can go to them anytime. With the material we talk about, I think the courses contextualize themselves to our current political and social climate. That makes our discussions more active. The department does exceptionally well in how the professors teach our courses.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
It can be both. But, for the most part, St. Lawrence is a really rigorous school and a lot of students come here with a private school education or maybe with a different kind of upbringing, so some tend to want to work alone and knock things out. That makes it so there is a competitive atmosphere. But, at the same time, there are people who are very collaborative and want to work together and want to help each other, it just depends on who.
How accessible are your professors?
Very accessible. I can reach out via email or stay after class. Their office phone numbers are also available.
Do you feel that people are open to multiple schools of thought in the classroom?
It depends. There is a bubble that is very prevalent and it can create a sense that people are opposed to different kinds of things. I know that there is a sense of openness and it’s getting better, but, at the same time, sometimes you can only have a certain kind of conversation watered down. Also, if you’re a person of color and are in an African Studies course or something, and the professor is pointing you out to make contributions to the class, there is also that pressure. St. Lawrence is a place where race and gender are constantly talked about and it can be tiring and there’s a pressure to include those things in conversation. Sometimes it can be good and you have international students and students from different states and you can have fruitful conversations, but there are some times when people just butt heads or there is no space to talk about it.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I knew that I wanted to go into international relations, but St. Lawrence doesn’t have an international relations major. I started as a Government and Global Studies double major but I dropped the Government major. I’m very happy with Global Studies, it’s an interesting interdisciplinary course load so I’m able to touch on the subjects that an international relations major would. My focus is on understanding people, their interactions, and the things that affect them. I’m able to cover people like Marx in Global Studies like I would in the Government major, so it has a good balance of what I’m looking for.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student? Were there any resources in place that helped you adapt?
That was really hard and something I think that I’m still struggling with. My writing skills and learning how to manage my time and the confidence that comes with that is not something I was prepared with at my high school. Coming here, I came with the attitude that it would be the same [level of difficulty] as my high school, but it was much harder. I had to learn how to fail and be okay with the fact that the work was not easy. I didn’t know how to reach out for help and ask. I struggled with learning how to study for an exam and write certain kinds of papers because I’d never had to do that before. I had to figure it out on my own and struggled in that aspect.
Reasons to Attend
1) It’s a wonderful place. If you’re first-generation college student, if you’re looking for leadership positions, or are looking for things that you haven’t done before, it’s a good place for it. We have the resources, support groups, and people who want to work with you.
2) St. Lawrence looks to engage the larger community and I think our alumni network speaks to that. You’re constantly learning and growing as a person. There is an emphasis on self-learning and the self-journey.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) It’s a secluded environment so it sometimes feels like you’re stuck. If you’re not driving or have an alternative to get off-campus, it can be very easy to get sucked into the St. Lawrence bubble.
2) If you’re looking for a big sports school, St. Lawrence is not that.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on campus?
Freshman: I spent my first semester in London because I entered through the London First-Year Program. I then moved to Whitman Hall in a double.
Sophomore: Gaines Hall in a single
Junior: I’m a community assistant in Priest Hall
How was transitioning from Washington, D.C. to Canton, NY?
That was definitely a huge thing. I grew up in the city, so I was used to noise and chaos and I was just used to that lifestyle. Coming to a community that is secluded from everything is definitely hard. But, I think we have a special community because there’s an emphasis to focus on St. Lawrence since there’s nothing going on outside of it. There is also a change in lifestyle when you come up here since there are more outdoor things to do than in the city. You also have to adjust to the weather since it’s super cold.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
The safety is actually something that I have to applaud. I feel safe all the time. I have never walked around campus and felt unsafe.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
St. Lawrence is known for its party scene in the sense that there are a lot of things going on. On Thursday nights, there are events at Java Barn and I enjoy hearing certain artists perform, so sometimes I do that. Different Theme Houses will host different things, so I’ll sometimes do that. I’ll also just get together with some friends and hang out.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
I like being in the outdoors a lot when it’s sunny. My friends and I will have a picnic sometimes. Also, something that St. Lawrence does is called First Saturday that provides alternative events for students who don’t drink or anything like that. They do stuff like laser tag.
How happy are you with the weekend options at St. Lawrence? Is there anything you would change about them if you could?
They can get repetitive. It is pretty much the same thing happening every weekend, so you get pretty over it by your third year. Also, unless you have a car, leaving campus is hard. If you have a car, sometimes people will go to Canada which is a nice break from campus. [The drive from Canton, NY to Montreal, Canada is about 3-hours.]
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met one during the First-Years in London Program and we got really close and lived together the second semester. When I came back, I knew someone from an overnight visit program and he introduced me to his groups of friends and my roommate and I became really close with them.
How was transitioning socially from the London First-Year Program?
It was hard. We were kind of just dropped here after being in London and having a different experience. Everyone here had already made their groups and cliques. It was cliquey in the sense that there’s a larger community, but there’s a sub-community for everything so everyone’s in their subcommunities so it was hard sometimes. It’s very easy to be intimidated to join anything and meet people, which is why I automatically jumped into different groups to start meeting new people. Once I started to meet new people it became easier, but there are some people who transferred from my program, so maybe I got lucky in the sense that I joined a group. I also think that since the community of people of color is so small, a lot of people took me under their wing which helped me meet other people. [About 13% of students are domestic students of color.]
How would you describe the overall social scene at St. Lawrence?
More than anything, I would say St. Lawrence is what you make of it. My experiences every year have been very different and I’ve learned that how I’m involved in the community is what leads to different experiences. The reason why I joined a sorority is that we can all be in different bubbles and it’s very easy to be comfortable once you meet a group of people, which you will. People are very focused on their academics but are also very outgoing and going out to parties is the outlet after having a rigorous week and what kinds of parties you’re going to and what types of people you’re meeting depend on what social groups you’re a part of. My sorority gives me a more diverse social experience because it’s a new group of people who I wouldn’t have connected with otherwise.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
There’s a safe space on campus for LGBTQ people called Spectrum and they do a lot of things to include the LGBTQ community. But, I wouldn’t say there is 100% acceptance. I think we’re getting there. We state our pronouns often and I think that speaks to the fact that we really care about making sure that we identify people how they want to be identified.
How would you describe a Black community on campus? How strong is it?
We’re very connected. People of color on campus, for the most part, all know each other. Now that we’ve been getting a lot more students of color than ever, there are people of color subgroups as well. But, I think it’s really nice because everyone kind of understands each other or can relate based on the struggles they go through, the little microaggressions they face, or the things that they experience that other students might not. I’m not saying that every student of color connects and we’re all friends, it’s just that there is unity under the larger umbrella and there are subgroups under that.
To what extent do people in Greek life and not in Greek life mix socially?
I had a preconceived notion of what people in Greek life would be and what I was. Yes, you have your average sorority girl and frat boy, but you also have people who you wouldn’t necessarily think would fit the Greek criteria. I’m especially very proud of my sorority because it’s one of the most diverse, not just in terms of race but in terms of different backgrounds and stuff like that. It’s a good balance in that you maintain your friends outside of Greek life and when you join you do events to meet the people in your sorority who you haven’t met before. It’s up to you to balance out your friend groups and how you give your time to people. You do have requirements and things you do together as a sorority, but as a result, you make friends within it.
How do you like the size of St. Lawrence in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 2,400] students?
I like it. I’ve always wanted to go to a small school and I’m glad that I did. There are days when I just want to be a number, but those days are rare. It’s such a small community that sometimes you feel like everyone knows everything about you and you just want to be anonymous.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find internships or jobs?
Yes. We have events like Connect programs and I was able to attend DC Connect. It was a week-long networking program with different SLU alumni and different people in different industries. Also, being in [the Thelomathesian Society] and [other leadership roles on campus], I’m constantly in the position to meet alumni, so I do my best to connect with students who graduated and reach out to students in spaces I’m interested in.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
The career office is helpful with resume help and the other programs we offer, like Connect and Handshake. There’s a lot that the career office does that is helpful if you take advantage of it.
Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
No, I have not.