Washington & Lee and Racism.

[Alamo]

I don't want to come off as a jerk either, and I understand your concerns.  It might not be the easiest life for them, but for you and your family as a whole, it might foster a genuinely meaningful, life-changing experience - more perspective is always better.  That said, kids can be very cruel, and if going to school in the area made them more racist, the trade-off would not be worth it.  If I were you, and I repeat myself here, check out the area (especially the surrounding public schools) for yourself and see if it feels right - you might be willing to give it a shot.  My feeling is that W&L brings in enough diversity that you can be happy in the area without venturing into the countryside where more rampant ignorance is more common, but I'll wait until I visit to the school to see how accurate this is.

As for small towns leading to increased self-segregation, I think the exact opposite is true.  If only a tiny fraction is a minority, opportunities to self-segregate are fewer simply because there are fewer minority students.  Being totally honest, I had more good minority friends in high school than I have since - they couldn't self-segregate very much, and had no choice but to interact with their non-bigoted WASP peers, and I'm very thankful for that.  Best of luck to you with whatever you decide - I'd love to see you attend W&L, make it more diverse and maybe even find out that small-town life has its own unique and wonderful charm. 

[Fred Hits]

i really don't think you have anything to worry about----tho i must say the first time i also looked on a map and saw 'lynchburg' i was a little hesitent

[Lenny]

MJB, if it makes you feel any better, the hispanic population in the Lexington area is actually pretty large.  At least large enough that the public schools have ESL classes, for whatever that is worth. 

And, I think Alamo is pretty on-point in his analysis of self-segregation in a small population.  Though racial and ethnic minorities make up a decent percentage of the W&L Law student body, X% of ~130 still isn't a whole lot of individuals.  So, self-segregation would lead to a pretty lonely existence, in my opinion, so it makes sense that, out of necessity, minorities wouldn't self-segregate.

[George Jefferson²]

Retard.  I'm multi-racial.  For census purposes, I'm classified as Hispanic, as is anybody with any hispanic blood.  What the hell is that Mexican stuff about?

Mexican
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It is possible the op was referring to himself. Your post discussed him and his kids as if they were black, and I don't recall him stating his ethnicity, or the ethnicity of his family members. It is also possible that you know more about each other than either of you are letting on, and he was in fact calling you Mexican, but I doubt it.

[JamesD]

Sorry, I thought he was calling me Mexican, which is often used as an insult towards non-Mexican hispanics.  I overreacted.  My fault.

[mjb]

Retard.  I'm multi-racial.  For census purposes, I'm classified as Hispanic, as is anybody with any hispanic blood.  What the hell is that Mexican stuff about?

Mexican
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You said I was black. I was saying im mexican.

[mjb]

Sorry, I thought he was calling me Mexican, which is often used as an insult towards non-Mexican hispanics.  I overreacted.  My fault.

Its great to know that being called a mexican is an insult and one takes great offense to it!

[mjb]

There may be a few minorities in the town, but don't expect to meet any in class: http://officialguide.lsac.org/OFFGUIDE/pdf/aba5887.pdf

Thats really worrisome and I've seen its a trend for hispanics at most 5-20 schools. Is it that the top 5 gobble them up or what? I sure as hell hope so! I dont get it.

[Alamo]

There may be a few minorities in the town, but don't expect to meet any in class: http://officialguide.lsac.org/OFFGUIDE/pdf/aba5887.pdf

Thats really worrisome and I've seen its a trend for hispanics at most 5-20 schools. Is it that the top 5 gobble them up or what? I sure as hell hope so! I dont get it.

My guess is that a number of factors play into it, and I'll start with W&L specifically.  The foremost, probably is perception.  It's perceived as being racist (footnote: while Lee was controversial, he did oppose slavery, and nearly accepted the offer to command the Union army, but in the end couldn't stand the thought of fighting his own family in VA, where he was from - he's no MLK but he's no Nathan Bedford Forrest either), so minorities don't go there.  The ones who do consider going say: "Gee, there aren't a lot of minorities there, I don't think I'm going to be comfortable."  Where are these ultra-brave minorities supposed to come from if not from amongst yourselves?  You say there is no celebration of diverse culture - I say go there and celebrate, do the town and the nation a service and bring a little variety!  But don't expect it to happen on its own.  I think that you would be more welcomed than you presume, but I realize it does take a lot of courage. 

As for the top 20 in general, I think you have a point: the best of the best (HYS and maybe a couple others) really value diversity and are untouchable when it comes to reputation.  The ones just beneath, clawing to keep their top 20 status, are less willing to sacrifice anything in terms of hard factors (LSAT & GPA) to give a chance to those who have been disadvantaged and would add diversity, and would make it a better environment, but just don't have the stats.  That's pure speculation (obviously the specialty on this board), but I've got a feeling there might be some truth to it. 

And as far as the "Mexican" comment goes, I think that JD is just pissed about all Hispanics being lumped together as one, not that Mexicans are intrinsically bad, just that not all Hispanics are Mexican, but the perception of such reflects bigotry and ignorance.   

[JamesD]

My LSN profile says Hispanic... and I thought you had made the assumption that I was Mexican.. just because I was Hispanic... which pissed me off.  Clearly, I was wrong.  Its all good.