Texas Tech University

Date: Feb 10 2015
Major: Civil Engineering (This Major's Salary over time)
I did move in from New York to attend Texas Tech in Lubbock. I will be graduating in December 2015. I have had mostly bad experiences while here. It has been more than 2 years since I relocated from New York. So I have had in-school experiences as well as a resident of Lubbock experience.

Texas Tech in Lubbock accepts student from mostly smaller cities around Lubbock and even from out of state. I have made few friends in Lubbock and none from the school partly because the Greek society pretty much rule the campus. You will most likely be ignored if you are not a member of their inner circle or group of friends. People usually have blank stare on their faces when you ask a question of try to start a conversation. If you are non-white, the passive animosity is even worse. Students that you have taken classes with, worked together on a group project will simply not acknowledged you even with a nod if you run across them on the street or within the school premises. This really disturbs me. I wish I knew why the students are like this since most of them are from around Lubbock. So it is hard to say it is a Lubbock problem.

Lubbock is a small city with a big chain businesses everywhere. Students spend most of their time drinking and going to movies since the city barely organizes events that are community oriented. There are many small business on 34th street, but most people prefer to shop at the mall rather than support small businesses. I reside in a family oriented neighborhood and since I have been here about 3 years now, my neighbors are always looking at the sky, scratching their head, looking away at something very interesting, tying their shoes (you get the gist) rather than say a simply howdy . I usually have an old lady from across my block that usually come say hello every now and then.

I do have very few people who I am friends with and from my interaction with them, it is either they are from out of Lubbock or have travelled extensively. Perhaps that is why they are cordial. I usually play indoor soccer at Indiana Avenue and find it very difficult to get into a team. In two occasions, two teams played handicapped instead of having me play on their team while I asked to join and was given a firm no. I assume their reason was because I was black since they are an all white team. These are some of my experiences I would like to share. Most people you will see might tell you how friendly people from Lubbock are but I do not agree with that based on my experiences in Lubbock. The ending of 2015 would not catch me here, after graduation, I will be moving to more hospitable city(ies) in Texas such as Dallas-Forth Worth or San Antonio.

If you are still coming, I hope you find it a more pleasant experience than I did.