<p>Since you are from the neighborhood, and since Stanford has a relatively large percentage of various minority groups, do you have a feel for whether Stanford students self-segregate to an unfortunate degree?</p>
<p>The bay area is diverse and I would imagine Stanford reflects that and then some. One thing I have thought about is that all people tend to segregate themselves into like groups if they have enough others to do it with. I work at a very small school with a diverse population. Because of its size the kids can't afford to segregate themselves. We don't have clicks. Everyone needs each other to have any sort of social life! When my son visited the U.S. specifically Berkeley he was amazed at the groups of students he saw walking around. There was no mix. Because he had never had that experience, he made me look at it. If a college is small with a fairly good mix of kids, will segregation into racial types happen less? The larger the institution the more possible it is for kids to segregate themselves?</p>
<p>It is my personal observation that Asians, desi Indians/Pakastans/Sri Lakans, Ethiopians, Nigerians, African Americans, Caucasians, etc. tend to self-segregate, as you put it, in voluntary study groups and social situations as well as elsewhere...even at Stanford. And being African American, I fully understand the importance, even the necessity, of bonding with people who look like me, in order to survive in a campus community and the world.</p>
<p>I certainly am not stating in any way, though, that there is never any interaction among Stanford's diverse population. I have gone to events at Stanford, such as performances by the Stanford Gospel Choir, that is a very diverse group and draw a very diverse looking audience. It just seems that, when given the option to choose, people seem to stick with their own kind. </p>
<p>A prime example is to look at the many clubs & organizations, fraternities & sororities, etc. on the Stanford website that are self-segregating. (I don't really like that word, but it seems to fit at the moment.)</p>
<p>This certainly is not unique to Stanford, and it certainly doesn't mean that a student's circle of friends will not include a diverse population. But at the end of the day, people seem to stick mostly with their own kind, however one chooses to define "own kind." It is not always along ethnic lines.</p>
<p>overseas, I like the simple way you stated it...much better than my rambling.</p>
<p>Self-segregating is very noticeable in Silicon Valley, even in the work place. Just observe how Asians, Desis, Latinos and other affiinity groups go out to lunch with their own kind, to their own eating places, and shop or otherwise do business with their own kind.</p>
<p>On a Friday or Saturday night in downtown San Jose, a lot of night clubs will feature hip-hop music for a college-age audience. But Asians, Filipinos, Blacks and Latinos will go to separate clubs and be with predominately their own kind.</p>
<p>We live in a world where we celebrate diversity, but when we really look it actual situations, actual interaction, we self-segregate!</p>
<p>Thank your for your response. I certainly have nothing against "birds of a feather flocking together" when they are most comfortable that way, whether for purposes of relaxation, identity-bonding, pair matching, or whatever. But isn't is a shame, in an important way, if students at a univerity where everyone respects each other can't mix in many ways on a more heterogenenous or, better yet, random or otherwise non-ethnic basis? Is what you describe just the way life is? Or should we, collectively, be disappointed about it and try to do something about it?</p>
<p>My whole family is one big mix of everything: Black, White, Hispanic, Chinese, Indian, Hawaiian! We are good Californians. But it has been a struggle for the kids, especially the older ones. My sister's kids who are now in their 40s had to decide if they were black or white. My nephew chose to be black and my niece chose to be white. They grew up in Berkeley. Now I think it is better for the children of mixed marriages since there are more of them. And knowing my son and his attitude, he just has a better view of the world. The racism of the past seems to allude him. I put my hopes on youth. Slowly, slowly.</p>
<p>And by the way, conservative grandma and grandpa had a lot of growing up to do in their lifetime and if they can do it so can everyone else. :)</p>
<p>On the "own-kind" question, I think I understand your point. Especially as you get older and more boring, it is comforting to be with people like yourself, whether or not defined by race or ethnicity, at least a certain percentage of the time. For example, people with a comparable education or profession or otherwise having similar interests. But, at the age and circumstance of students at a university like Stanford, wouldn't a lilttle discomfort, if necessary, be worth it for the perhaps once in a lifetime opportunity to truely mix with different types at a time when all have the most in common?</p>
<p>gsp-- regarding self-segregation, and with the Davidson example in mind, I eventually came to the conclusion that diversity is "working" to my liking due to 2 observations: (1) the college seems genuinely committed to promoting the advancement of minority students within the student population, and the students report same, and (2) the negative secondary effects of pushing "outsiders" into any social or organization situation, like self-segregation, seemed minimal, meaning the culture is an accepting one.</p>