The lack of out-of-state diversity
You’re in line for the toaster in Campion dining hall. You’re holding your blueberry bagel in your hand just waiting to finally sit down and enjoy your favorite breakfast meal. You notice that the person in front of you is taking his time, flailing his bagel, ranting that ‘these bagels aren’t real bagels,’ and that he’d practically kill a guy for a ‘Taylor ham, egg, and cheese.’ You’re a bit confused, but you think nothing of it.
You go to sit down, but amongst all the chatter, you hear a girl ask her friend if she could get her a wooder. You are startled. What on earth is a wooder? Later in the day, your friend is driving you to the King of Prussia Mall, and she stops to get gas. She looks dumbfounded when she realizes she needs to get out of the car to pump gas, claiming ‘Jersey girls never pump their own gas.’
We live a pretty charmed life here on Hawk Hill. We have brilliant people, kind professors, Chipotle, and Honey Grow. But there is one thing we are lacking: out-of-state diversity. If it feels like you are surrounded by people with habits alien to your own, you are not alone. Saint Joseph’s University, though a beautifully diverse place with extremely welcoming people, is dominated by students from the New Jersey and Philadelphia area. This explains why all the contacts in your phone start with area code 856 or 609.
As a born and raised “New Jersian,” I indeed follow this campus trend. However, the more people I meet, the more I realize that Hawk Hill can sometimes feel like Wildwood Beach: Pt. 2 (the seaquel). Granted, I appreciate that seemingly everyone here understands my multitude of “Jersey Shore” references, but in comparison to the schools around us, we lack out-of-state diversity.
La Salle University, though only 38 percent of undergraduate students are from out of state, has a student population that represents 22 different states, according to College Factual. In addition, the University of Pennsylvania attracts students from all over the country, and is perhaps the most diverse school near us. According to Penn’s Freshman Admissions web page, most of their out-of-state students are from California, New York, and Florida. Even looking down the street at our holy war rival, Villanova University has a staggering 78 percent out-of-state population, according to the College Board. I understand that there are many factors that allow for a school to become dominated by out of staters, but come on, we’ve got hawk wraps.
I am fully aware of the New Jersey stereotype. Yes, we do love our New York bagels and our Philly cheesesteaks, but I can assure you, the rumors about us all being rude and out of touch is sincerely false. St. Joe’s may not be the most diverse in terms of out-of-staters, but if there is anyone who can show a good time, it’s a Bruce Springsteen loving, too cool to pump gas, diner enthusiast, pure bread New Jersian.
