<p>I'm not going to say racism doesn't exist, because that would be denial. But as far as the spectrum of racist places to live, from 1 to 1000, with 1 being Martin Luther King harmony and 1000 being WWII in Europe, I'd have to say Ann Arbor is a number 3.</p>
<p>On top of that, Asian minorities are probably the least likely to be discriminated against. Despite that one news article that is being mentioned so frequently.</p>
<p>As for that...it was a drunk "bro." I think he would have peed on ANYONE who walked by that wasn't lumbering down the sidewalk with a sorority girl screaming "Ohio State Sucks." He was an idiot. He IN NO WAY represents the community.</p>
<p>I realize this is an old thread, but I had to give my 2 cents on this. </p>
<p>I definitely agree with kb54010; the racial environment here is not particularly good, especially for people of Asian descent. Racism against blacks is not a big issue, but racism against Asians certainly is. This racism comes not only from whites, but also from blacks. Whites tend to be implicitly racist, while blacks are more overtly racist. This is my final year at Michigan, and I’ve been called racially demeaning slurs a number of times, all by black people. The implicit racism the whites show is less detectable, but in the long term, you start to get a sense of it. </p>
<p>Case in point. I was at a speeddating service run by the university. The girls started commenting to each other, “Why are there so many Asians?” You think they would have gotten away with “Why are there so many blacks?” She said it right in front of my face. Another incident; I was standing in line and some kid started talking about the girls in his class, and said something like, “yeah the Asian one, we’ll see about that.” In a demeaning tone of voice, as in she is easy because she is Asian. Third example. At some restaurants with my white friends, the waitresses are obviously more polite and receptive to the whites than they are when dealing with me. </p>
<p>Overall, since I’m graduating in a week, I think I can say that from my years here, racism against Asians is actually a pretty substantial issue. The impression I got is that most of the people here have had much more contact with whites and blacks than they have had with Asians, as opposed to places on the West Coast, where there are a much higher percentage of Asians in the areas. These kids come from places like Troy, Michigan, which has a very low percentage of Asians and hence seem to have learned of us mostly from stereotypes. Its unfortunate because the University is fairly well-rounded, but I would not recommend the school to younger friends and relatives of Asian descent. There are much better places for Asian people in terms of the racial environment. Vancouver and Cali come immediately to mind.</p>
<p>When Alexandre said “liberal” he meant socially liberal. Practically all affluent communities in the US are “liberal” in that sense of the word.</p>
<p>Idk, I’ve never felt discriminated against as an Asian student in my two years so far at Michigan. Sure, you’ll run across the occasional smartass or two, but as a whole, I’ve never been discriminated against.</p>
<p>Racism? half the campus is Asian or Indian, the university hosts tons of multicultural events, each student government org has a specific committee for “multicultural issues”, there is always a group handing out info on their given group in Angell hall or the diag, and on every bulletin board in a dorm you’ll find something talking about minority culture or the plight of minorities, ect, ect.</p>
<p>If anyone is being discriminated against, its white straight males. We don’t have student orgs, and we don’t get special attention just because we were born a certain way. </p>
<p>Michigan is about the least racist school I can think of.</p>
<p>Racism is not a problem at UMich. I am openly Arab and I never had any issues fitting in or making friends. You are going to have bad apples everywhere of course, and Michigan is no exception. However, by and large, Michigan’s student body and faculty/administration are not racist.</p>
<p>Definitely racist. Esp if you are black. Asians and Middle Eastern people all seem to stick together but they are accepted better by the general population…Whites. This is my first year and I don’t like it. When I walk down central, I get stared at and sometimes the “What the **** are you doing here?”. It’s frustrating. Esp when people talk about the great diversity and fun to be had. Not so fun when you’re trying to branch out to new people, new experiences, new fun and no one (esp from a different race) wants to reciprocate. I’m the only black person in my German Class and no one talks to me. I’ve always loved German…the language and wanted the opportunity to hear and learn with other people. Today, the instructor forced me into a group with three white guys and not one of them spoke to me. For ex. “What’s “kommen” in the imperfekt?” Clearly, I knew the answer and was like 5 answers ahead of them. They all asked each other but never once looked at me and said “Hey, do you know?”. So why should I be friendly and offer? I came to this school with high hopes but everyone is so…standoffish and rude. The other day this Middle Eastern guy stood in front of a door for the next class after Slavic Studies…I was waiting on my friend; to the outsider I was waiting for the same class as him. He looked at me for like 1 minute and said nothing. As soon as these white guys walk in, he goes “Hi! My name is…Yours?” The ****? Am I not good enough. I don’t know if people think blacks at Umich are ghetto but I’m certainly not. I came here with 10 of my friends and we’re considered “oreos”. I try to contribute to a class and just get stared at or stuck in a group where the whites with get along with the Asians or Middle Eastern people all click with each other and the moment I contribute it gets awkward.
The atmosphere here for a black student is very uncomfortable and I thought it was just me but all of my friends and even some new people (blacks) agree with me. It’s a fun and inviting campus for those outside of the black race . 95% of the time, you see blacks hanging out with blacks and it’s not that we don’t want to meet new people (I do! and I’ve tried!) no one wants to meet us.<br>
I don’t mean that all Whites or Asians or Middle Eastern people are racist but it seems like a good majority are. The three all seems to be fine with each other but throw a black person in the mix and things get awkward.
I was really excited about coming here and hanging with new and different people but all I’m doing is being stuck in my own race and I refuse to feel awkward and uncomfortable just to meet new people…people here need an attitude adjustment or something. I don’t know but if all I wanted to do was hang out with my own race for 4 more years and not meet anyone different…I would have stayed in Detroit.</p>
<p>“I don’t know but if all I wanted to do was hang out with my own race for 4 more years and not meet anyone different…I would have stayed in Detroit.”</p>
<p>You haven’t been in classes for a week yet and already you have the whole school pegged as being racist. Give it a chance!</p>
<p>Racism at Umich against Asians and Blacks…have I, a white guy, ever seen this…maybe sometimes. I’ve heard of a few incidents. Even heard about faculty discussing a few incidents, but it is really hard to tell when somebody’s actually crossed the line with a comment.</p>
<p>In my opinion, some of it just comes from the fact that Michigan is a tough and competitive environment. If they can’t get you on one thing they’ll get you on another(your race). They way to overcome this is just to be friendly and outgoing. This causes many of the problems to got away. Occasionally, you’ll run into jerks. Just ignore them.</p>
<p>BryRai can’t make any friends in a week so he blames it on racism?.. Maybe you’re just a *<strong><em>ty person to be around. Why do people have to start talking to you? Why can’t you say something to them and see how they react instead of hoping that somebody initiates a conversation and if they decide to start one with another person, labeling them as racist? People that have experience real racism would laugh in your *</em></strong>ing face if you were to tell them this *<em>**. Let’s not forget that you said “I don’t mean that all Whites or Asians or Middle Eastern people are racist but it seems like a good majority are.” </em>? If you’re gonna cry racism cause you can’t start conversations, maybe don’t generalize three different ethnicities??? seriously.</p>
<p>Maybe I left it out or maybe I did not. I wouldn’t be feeling this way if I didn’t experience it. Did you not read the part where I said I was excited to meet new people? I never speak bad about people unless given a reason and I have branched out and tried talking to new people. So as far as me being a "<strong><em>ty person" and not making an effort is </em></strong>**. I dare you to go on campus and find a couple of people who feel the same way as I do. It’s not racism when I’m stuck in a group and I speak when someone asks for an answer but still get ignored? I’m one of the nicest people out there and I’m just speaking on what I have observed and experienced. Seriously. Don’t get upset because I spoke about what most at this school will try to hide.</p>
<p>I have never encountered racism yet. I’m Asian too.
If you don’t feel comfortable with Americans, join KSA or KISA.
Everybody’s really nice as long.</p>
<p>How can you guys tell this black student there is no racism, when s/he is describing what s/he has experienced?? I have never encountered racism at UM but then again, I’m not a minority. I once saw an incident of blatant racism against black students at MSU (by a bus driver, not other students). You can’t tell a guy he’s not experiencing what he’s experiencing. Oh, right, I guess he’s just not “friendly” enough. I would say that a hefty percentage of the in-state students at Michigan come from the tri-county area around Detroit. Most white people in that area are scared to death of black people. These students’ parents and grandparents all fled Detroit in the 60’s and 70’s after the race riots and are extremely afraid of /prejudiced against black people, and they pass this on to their kids. I know white people who live 10 miles from downtown Detroit but haven’t been to a Detroit Tigers game since 1966 because they are afraid to venture into the city limits. That’s how a lot of students grew up, not really their fault. They also went to schools with very few (if any) black students, because the tri-county area is very segregated. So it’s fear and ignorance that sometimes makes people act this way. However, as others have pointed out, that’s not all students at Michigan. I’m sure you’ll find open-minded people from other parts of Michigan or from out-state that have no issue with race, hang in there and keep trying. And I’m only half-joking when I say, if you dress preppy you will probably get a lot more white people & Asians talking to you.</p>
<ol>
<li> “How can you guys tell this black student there is no racism, when s/he is describing what s/he has experienced?” </li>
</ol>
<p>because what he’s describing isn’t necessarily racism. He’s describing people not socializing very much with him, and instantly attributing it to racism. </p>
<ol>
<li>" I would say that a hefty percentage of the in-state students at Michigan come from the tri-county area around Detroit. Most white people in that area are scared to death of black people. These students’ parents and grandparents all fled Detroit in the 60’s and 70’s after the race riots and are extremely afraid of /prejudiced against black people, and they pass this on to their kids."</li>
</ol>
<p>The irony of complaining about racism whilst simultaneously painting an area of millions of white people as all being racist. Nice. I’m from that area. Nobody acts that way. No one tells to “be afraid of black people”. We are taught from day 1 in school about the evils of segregation and racism. I’m afraid you are disconnected from reality if you believe that there is a large amount of racism there.</p>
<ol>
<li>“I know white people who live 10 miles from downtown Detroit but haven’t been to a Detroit Tigers game since 1966 because they are afraid to venture into the city limits”</li>
</ol>
<p>…because Detroit is one of the most dangerous cities in the country, not because there are black people there. I wouldn’t go to Detroit for any reason other than to see a sports team play, and its because its a pretty miserable place, not because of black people.</p>