Last week I discussed the demographics of Regis University between the years, 1988-1992. In that blog, I stated Regis' student body resembled the stereotypes represented in the movie, "Breakfast Club."
As promised, this week I am examining Sinclair Community College's student body. It may be because I am more mature now, or maybe because I am not living with all the students in the dorms, but for the most part, I don't see outward groupings like I did at Regis. Another reason for this is because most of my Sinclair experience mainly takes place in Building 13. Today, when I look around Sinclair, I see average college students wearing mostly jeans with t-shirt or sweatshirt depending on the weather.
The diversity that was lacking at Regis is very much present at Sinclair. It appears that a wide variety of ethnic groups are well represented at Sinclair. Where Regis, being a traditional college, most of it student body were between ages of 18 to 22 years old, Sinclair does have those students fresh out of high school, but it also has students that are in their 20s through (maybe beyond) their 60s.
In my opinion, there is a vast difference in a student's attitude towards school depending on the person's age. In my experience, those students who graduated from high school recently are more likely to blow off the assignments or skip class, where the much older students tend to take everything much too seriously.
Being a military wife myself, I am delighted to see so many individuals taking advantage of the GI Bill. I met a student in my 2D design class who had served in Iraq three times and now he has the opportunity to pursue his dreams while being full time student. He is a really good artist and I am sure he will go far. His story inspired me.
The one thing I observed about Sinclair is that my classmates tend to look out for one another. There is definitely a "we are all in this together" attitude. In the visual communication department, we are required to bring our art supplies with us to class, but sometimes someone will forget their double-sided tape, tracing paper or a sharpie. Most of the time, classmates help the person out. We also help each other out with learning different design programs. Once I had a girl I hardly know give me her typed notes when I was out of class. These kind acts make me proud to be a part of Sinclair student body.
Sure, there are some divisions in Sinclair's student body. Just in the visual communications department, there are the "regular" design students, who seem different from the "fashionable" interior design and "starving" traditional art students.
Like at Regis, I occasionally see athletes on campus. Yes, there are some "geeks" playing Dungeon and Dragons in the common area too. But in general, I think labeling people is counter-productive because it results in a false, preconceived notion of who the person is without discovering who the person really is.
The younger students definitely seem to have an almost contemptuous attitude toward Sinclair. I honestly think it's because many of them are being forced to go by their parents (to save money or whatever), and they think it's beneath them.
ReplyDeleteOlder students, on the other hand, are either paying out of their own pocket or going on Uncle Sam's dime (and possibly racking up thousands of dollars worth of debt in the process), which gives them a much healthier appreciation for the value Sinclair has to offer. xD