Introduction
Idaho State University (ISU) is arguably one of the largest and oldest universities in U.S having begun way back in 1900. Like any other big university, the institution attracts students from all over the world. The university is also diversified in terms ofcourses and services offered. This makes the university a place of diversity in terms of culture, tribe and the groups of people in the institution.This paper discusses the different groups of people that make up the Idaho State University community.
Composition
Being a large institution,ISU draws its membership from all over the world. However, the largest population comprises of Americans from State of Idaho. The next large group comprises of students from other states in America. The smallest group comprises of international students. The population of ISU can be divided into four major groups.
These groups include local students, international students,working class people and religious affiliated people.Each group of people has their own characteristic features which differentiate them from the rest.
Local Students
This is arguably the largest group of people in ISU. It comprises of students from Idaho State as well as the neighboring states. This group is characterized by English speaking peopleof American origin.The greatest percentage is non-Hispanic whites. They comprise the largest population of the school and are equally distributed among all faculties. This group of students is also actively involved in college activities such assports and cultural activities. A subgroup of these people commutes from their nearby homes.
International Students
This group consists of students from other countries outside U.S. The major characteristic of this group is that most of them come from non-English speaking countries and as such they can easily be noted from theiraccent and fluency in English. A good percentage of these people are of Asian origin andthey can alsodifferentiated by their skin color.
This group may not be very vibrant in school activities such as sports but they are notable in international student organization bodies. This group of people is differentiated from local people by their tendency to dissociate intosubgroups in which they share common interests such as race or origin.
Working Class Persons
Another important group of people that comprises the ISU community is the working class students. This group of people is characterized by the amount of hours they spend in the campus. This group is only found within the university at specified times since they have to work and study at the same time.
This group is mostly found within the university in the evening. Unlike most of other groups who are affiliated with one student body or organization or another, this group have little or no affiliation at all. They are grown up people mostly aged between 30 and 50 yearswho come to either pursue adult education or advance on their academics by pursuing advanced degrees.
Religious Group
Another unique group of people is the religious group. ISU accommodates freedom of worship and as such a large group of students are affiliated to one religious group or another. The largest religious group is Christianity where most of the student group lies. Muslims and other religious affiliations are the minority groups of people.
This religious group is characterized by its involvement in religious functions such as Sunday services, seminars, community services. In addition, this group is responsible for worship activities in the university. Its importance is well demonstrated in the way they are involved in institutional activities such as prayers during official gatherings.
Leadership Affiliation
Like other large universities,ISU supports and promotes leadership among students. There exists a student representative body which attracts people with leadership interests. In addition, student organizationsand other levels of representation have student leaders attached to them.
All these student leaders in all categories make up this special group of people. This group is most vibrant and predominant when there are student leadership electioncampaigns within the university. They are characterized by their political and leadership ambitions.It can be argued that this is one of the most sensitive groups of people in ISU since it is sensitive to both internal and external politics. They represent the interests of the whole body of students.
Conclusion
It is undeniable that any large academic institution is a universal society. ISU being such a large institution is composed of different groups of people. The most predominant group is the local students who come from Idaho State and its environs. International students represent a small but important group of people in this institution. Religious group is also large and is comprised of people with common belief.
Other unique and characteristic groups of people include student leaders and working class students. All these groups represent different kinds of people that make up the ISU community. Each group is important in its own way and ISU cannot survive in harmony without them.