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Opinion

Diverse campus offers students advantages

Santiago Lopez
Opinion Columnist 

While walking around campus at any given point during the day, one can see the diversity that exists among the students at the University of Houston. So many students from many different backgrounds converge in such a concentrated area for the same purpose: to further their education. 

This is a lofty notion and one that would call to mind better relations among different people than that which is found within the neutral confines of the United Nations building. Yet this is not the case.

Groups of students can be seen gathering to chat, eat and study together — but these groups of students are almost purely homogenous. 

These congregations of students may assemble together because they are so similar, and with that homogeneity can be found a familiarity that makes the pursuit of a degree seem less arduous.

While these students may find themselves in a comfort zone while associated with people who are just like them, they could be missing out on what is possibly a greater experience. Experiencing the cultures and customs of those outside our comfort zone can open up our eyes and help us see past stereotypes. 

By turning to a classmate and having a friendly conversation, students can find the person sitting next to him or her is not like what he or she previously thought. 

Dialogue between two classmates can open up a realm of possibilities. You might find someone you can e-mail to get the homework assignment from a class you missed, you might find a co-author of a play you can't quite finish or you might even make a friend.

Hiding out in a group of people who look the same, talk the same and act the same may be fine for now, but such a limited network of friends does you a great disservice in your future vocation. 

You may have to make adjustments when you get that job you are working so hard for now and are forced to work with people who are vastly dissimilar. This is because you did not take the time to mix with a varied group of people when you had the chance. Take advantage of the melting pot that is UH.

You might not make life-long friends with everyone you sit next to in class, but at least your classroom will feel a bit friendlier each time you walk into it. 

At the most, you could extend your horizons past your own world and see that though it is our differences that make us unique, we are more alike than we think.

Lopez, a creative writing junior, 
can be reached via dccampus@mail.uh.edu