Race Racial Division/Separation on Campus in Environment

Race

Racial division/separation on campus in environment

Students in the focus group described the campus environment at Landgrant University as being welcoming overall, but difficult to find meaningful connections with other students. Segregation is too harsh of a term to use in this case, but it is clear some of the students at the university feel that people stick with their own racial groups when making friends. This has created a trend in campus life that is hard to overcome. Therefore, there remains a racial division/separation on campus.

Stereotypes are mentioned as one of the most common causes of racial division on campus. One participant in the focus group claimed that white students claimed they thought she was "ghetto" and stereotyped her as a "loud" African-American female until they got to know her. This experience shows that stereotypes continue to color first impressions of people, preventing meaningful friendships from forming and enhancing the racial divide on campus. Experiences like these also appear to be common on campus, and exacerbate the racial division that already exists. Many non-white students felt a little uncomfortable attending an all-white campus; unfortunately the discomfort remained after matriculation. For instance, one student notes that groups of white kids will act as if they already know each other. The racial divide on campus is made worse by things like having the official school brochure depict African-Americans in stereotypical roles like athletics photographs rather than as integral to campus life.