<p>I find it really weird and creepy that colleges have "multiracial prospective student festivals" where all the URMs come out in a group to see the school...I cant really put my finger on it, it just seems wrong though. if I were a minority there's no way I would go on one of those</p>
<p>Well… you could see it from two perspectives: </p>
<p>1). You might be compelled to feel that it’s wrong that colleges have a separate recruitment festival for minorities. You might feel that this is tantamount to de facto segregation, and somewhat ironical for an academic community that strives to be diverse and well integrated.</p>
<p>2). Or you might just understand that many minorities, especially those from families with a weak college background, may feel uncomfortable attending a prospective student day on their own. The prospective student festival will be specifically designed to make their transition to college life easier, and make them feel more welcome among students of a similar background.</p>
<p>alright, well that is a reasonable explanation I spose. but why separate by skin color in the first place? I feel it would be way more appropriate to have sessions for lower income students, especially when considering having “similar backgrounds”. I don’t see the black or hispanic people from my school as any different from the white ones, and I don’t see why colleges should - though I do support their right to choose their incoming classes as they see fit. What they are doing in the case of #2 is causing people to identify and unite with each other by skin color. Seems a bit backwards to me</p>
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Colleges that hold those fairs are typically mostly white people. Having those fairs shows minorities that there <em>are</em> some other minorities that are applying. I think it’s supposed to make minorities feel less separate, and make the campus seem closer to their experiences.</p>
<p>Yeah… but wouldn’t having sessions for low income kids be worse? It’ll be like “Poor people day!” </p>
<p>Colleges aren’t completely altruistic. It’s in their best interests to have a diverse class, and the methods they use aren’t always the most elegant or subtle. In most cases, people of different backgrounds have fine experiences together once they are actually in college.</p>
<p>You both make good points. I can see the merit of these minority days. I wish it weren’t true, but I guess it’s just a sad fact of life that we identify ourselves and others by color. honestly, if I was the only black kid at a school it would just feel weird no matter what. recruiting low income kids has the problem that these kids wouldn’t be able to easily associate with each other…It’s harder to tell someone is low income than it is to tell that they are black</p>
<p>What’s wrong with having one college day for minorities and others for whites. How is that racist at all? </p>
<p>brb Brown v. Board of Education</p>
<p>^ Eh, except being part of the white majority is far different from being in the minority. From my own experiences, many whites believe that racism is for the most part nonexistent, and yet when you ask blacks or other members of a minority group, many do feel that there is an underlying prejudice that still manifests itself in more subtle ways.</p>
<p>People might not be segregating buses and schools, but when you’re black and standing in an elevator and the woman besides you clutches her purse, or you’re Mexican and people act surprised when you tell them you work a white collared job, these little things start to add up and you fall under the impression that yes, prejudice still does exist. You start to believe that opportunities in academics are dominated by whites and Asians, and that subconsciously discourages you. By having fairs and such aimed towards minorities, you hopefully combat this belief.</p>
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<p>It feels to me like you’re trying to make a point, yet any possible point I can see could only be made by someone that’s irredeemably stupid. Obviously you’re not that, so could you give me a hand please?</p>