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News

Diversity important to UH students

by KATY UMAÑA
The Daily Cougar

Researchers and analysts are not the only people who say UH is at the top of its game when it comes to diversity.

More than half the students surveyed by The Daily Cougar said diversity is the main reason they chose to attend UH.

U.S. News and World Report's 2006 list of America's Best Schools ranks UH second in campus diversity. 

"I think that is very important ? learning from the different cultures. I was young at the time but I learned a lot," UH alumnus and former NBA all-star, Otis Birdsong said, about his time as a UH student in the 1970's.

Among the multi-cultural events on campus is Frontier Fiesta, which concluded Saturday. Each night students from several campus groups, including the Nigerian Student Organization and the Caribbean Student Organization, took part in variety shows that showcased skits and dances by students.

Frontier Fiesta's musical acts included Latin, R&B and country artists.

But some students said the University appealed to them for other reasons.

Creative writing junior Signe Cluiss attended Boston University before transferring to UH. He said the University puts students' needs before money.

The relationship between professors and students was also a welcome change for some that attended colleges elsewhere.

Before moving to Houston, biology sophomore Birte Wolff attended Philips Universität Marburg for a year. 

"It seems like the University has more passion than the German university. The German university has old values … Professors are people you can talk to here. In Germany, they are not. They are absolute authority figures," Wolff said. 

Accessibility to professors is important for many students who said being able to communicate whenever a misunderstanding may occur despite the size of a class is a necessity.

"After settling into my freshman year here, I realized that the professors were eager to give students additional assistance," pre-business sophomore Ashley Sutton said. "That really helps." 

Students surveyed also said the recent additions and renovations around the campus have vastly improved the University's appeal. 

After witnessing the transformation of the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library, nutrition senior Connie Tsao said she thinks UH has "more of a university feel" than it did before. 

While some may appreciate the experience of being able to relate with people of different cultures or being able to establish relationships with professors, others enjoy the company of other UH inhabitants.

"I love the squirrels. It's nice to watch them, they're everywhere … and they're friendly and fun to feed," biology sophomore Vishal Pattni said. 

Additional reporting by: Allison Wardzinski, Mary Hulse, Mai Bui, Adam Barrera 
and Rebecca Daoud. 

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