The Rocket

Issue date: 3/3/06 Section: Opinion

Crystal Hawkins - Staff Writer

The racial separation on this campus is apparent. Schools were integrated after the Brown vs. Board of Education trial and now, 52 years later, most of us still haven't figured out how to accept the differences of others on campus, because there is clearly still a cultural barrier.

I understand that minority groups on this campus feel like they have to stick together. I have witnessed this specifically with the African American students and their Black Action Society and the gay and lesbian students with their LGBTA. And while both of these groups allow members who aren't black, gay or lesbian to enter their groups, I do not think people who don't identify with these minority groups feel justified being there.

The separation is most obvious in Weisenfluh. Even though I sometimes see members of Greek organizations or teammates sitting together, it isn't as harmful, I think, as the division between the races. The black students sit together and I even notice that the international students all cluster together as well. I know there is security in being with people you think will relate to you, but why not try to do the unsafe thing sometimes and make more friends outside of your cluster?

I accredit this separation largely to stereotypes. More than one of the students I have befriended in Slippery Rock admitted that the towns they're from lack cultural diversity, which is no surprise. So, the only representations of other cultures they are exposed to are those on television. We need to understand that the ignorant representations supplied by the media are not always accurate.

Being from a large city, I was definitely exposed to different types of people. However, I went to predominantly black schools until college, and I have never taken the misrepresentations of other cultures so literally. Personally, I do not appreciate the stereotypes that come along with being African American and I try to dispel them as often as I can. While I understand stereotypes come along with every type of person, it is critical that we learn to question these often imprecise representations. And this goes for all stereotypes; not all cheerleaders are dumb, not all feminists are man haters and not all Iraqis are terrorists.

Race or sexual orientation has never been a factor for me when choosing my friends. I do not understand how it could be a factor for anyone. Somehow, we all need to learn to get past the surface and accept your peers for who they are. A race is not all someone is. I am so much more than just African American, and I wouldn't want you to miss out on getting to know me because you're turned off by the ignorant stereotypes you hold so dear.

You learn more when interacting with people outside of your cluster. You have absolutely nothing to lose when acquiring a more diverse group of friends. Accepting others' differences are what I believe molds us into rounded human beings.

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