A quick Google search will tell you that Miami University is often stereotyped as white, preppy, rich and snobby. When I realized Miami was evidently my top choice after seeing its scholarship offer to me, I had a strong fear that this would define my next four years and make it difficult to make lasting friendships.
I grew up in a nearly all white town, with a population less diverse than Miami’s campus. My hometown in Northwest Ohio maintains a small number of residents, totaling only about 2,600, with 94% being white. As a multiracial student, my high school experience unfortunately consisted of many uncomfortable moments between me and my peers.
By comparison, Miami’s student body is 77.9% white, as of fall 2024 – still mostly white, but significantly more diverse than my hometown. That difference mattered. Here, I’ve met people who share my background and people from many others, something statistics only partly capture.
In high school, the lack of diversity in my town made an impact on my experiences. I was called slurs, made the subject of jokes and sometimes excluded from groups because of my differences. I tried to be forgiving, but racism grew exhausting, shaping my life in school and beyond. When I read online about Miami’s reputation, I feared that I was doomed to repeat my experiences from back home.
None of this is said to bash my town or my peers; many people accepted and appreciated me. I loved growing up where I did and would not have changed my upbringing if I could. But what I endured shaped what I now value most in my college experience.
Despite many of the stereotypes that circulate about Miami and its students, my experience has been the opposite of what I feared. I’ve found acceptance, respect, joy and even the ability to express my political opinions, which is something I didn’t feel exactly safe doing in my hometown.
Being here has changed my perspective on Miami. Living on campus has not reflected the numbers and stories I read before arriving here. Through countless encounters, my fears of racism have been unraveled, replaced by friendliness and inclusion from peers.
I have joined clubs, built friendships and found fulfillment in everyday interactions. Where I once feared mockery, I now feel seen. I can step out into the world and be myself without a sense of dread looming over me. Never did I think I could sit in a common area while studying and laughing with people I met four weeks ago, or that I could walk into a meeting for an organization and be tasked with something on the first day with no prior experience.
One of the most exemplary moments of this feeling of unconditional acceptance and recognition at Miami I have felt was on the first night after moving in. My roommate and I sat on our beds, crestfallen at our parents leaving and the realization that this was what would become our lives.
Determined to change our attitudes, we headed downstairs and immediately began finding people who gave us a change of heart about things. I remember walking around campus in a group of about 10 people, feeling united by the novelty of all our experiences within the past 12 hours, laughing and talking more than I had with people in months. We ended the night with a friendly poker match (don’t ask me if I won).
Those people are still my best friends here today.
I write all of this as a testament that if I could come from a town of less than 3,000 people, struggled with racism growing up and fret about the various stereotypes about Miami yet simultaneously find my people and success at the same time, I believe anyone can. No matter where you go, college is a daunting place filled with changes, and letting what’s online about Miami get to your head helps with none of the stresses. Relax, go out, get involved and your tribe will follow. Everyone is in the same boat.
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The most beautiful thing of it all is that, for the first time in a while, I can sit in a room and simply belong, and that peace is something I never take for granted. I am confident that despite what is out there about Miami, everyone can feel welcome here and fit right in. There is a space here for everybody, even me.
Anthony Caprara is a first-year student majoring in journalism and finalizing a second major choice. He is a contributing writer for the opinion section of The Miami Student. He is also involved with Miami Television News, Cinci Smiles and the Honors Student Advisory Board.
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