By Alexander Strum on November 19, 2008 10:11 AM
Sometimes as a graduate ambassador, I get questions about how "diverse" of a school Emerson is. The answer to that question really depends on what kind of diversity you're asking about. I was pleased when I received a list of the accepted students to my program this past summer and found out that the writing students came from 17 different states and 4 different countries. I knew I was going to be surrounded and influenced by a variety of people, and it has shown in my workshops. For the first time in my writing career, not all the stories I read in class take place in New York or Boston. Many are set up and down the West Coast—and in the Deep South, too.
With these different places of origin come different viewpoints and opinions on writing. I don't think I've heard two of my classmates claim to have the same favorite author, which means I'm constantly getting different perspectives on my work in class. It's always interesting to see someone who is largely influenced by Jane Austen commenting on the work of someone whose greatest influence is Charles Bukowski. It makes for an energizing and eclectic literary community.
Ethnically, however, Emerson is not as diverse. For the most part, people tend to look like me, which is reflective also of Boston itself (apparently "the third whitest major metropolitan population in the country"). Boston has come a long way from its reputation as a city marred by racism as recently as the 80s, but is still largely considered a city of Irish and Italians. I will say that Emerson, thanks largely to its overwhelmingly liberal political views of its faculty and student body, is very receptive to diversity of all kinds—even if some forms of it aren't necessarily around at all times. The only thing really required to fit in to the writing program here is a passion for writing and desire to help others around you improve their writing as well.
For an interesting look at the current state of race in the city, check out this article from the Harvard Gazette. (Keep in mind, though, that it was written six years ago, and Boston has changed a lot even since then.)
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