<p>"That said, the OP never said he/she has anything against African American roommates, but is concerned that he/she may not fit in. Lots of people approach new situations worrying if they'll fit in, "</p>
<p>Yes, it's normal to approach a roommate situation wondering if one will fit in. THis occurs even if roomies are of the same race.</p>
<p>What IMO is not normal or open minded is trying to figure out some way to ditch roomies before even meeting them -- simply because the roommates are of a different race than one is. That is narrow minded.</p>
<p>To post a thread on this under an "SOS" head, thus acting like this is an emergency situation -- is even more narrow minded.</p>
<p>If he'd posted about the situation and had asked for suggestions about how he could best get along with roomates of a different race, that would have been an open minded way of facing the situation.</p>
<p>Meanwhile there have been plenty of posts from whites on CC who complain about blacks self segregating themselves on college campuses. This is because sometimes blacks and other minorities will sit at the same tables during meals or will want to be roommates together.</p>
<p>The OP's post is exactly why minorities do this. It can be very difficult being on a mainstream campus and constantly encountering whites who act as if a URM is some kind of alien species. </p>
<p>I have known black students whose freshman year roomies were white, and those white students acted like they were scared of the black student. The black students had had plenty of exposure to white people before, and had no qualms about rooming with black studenrts.</p>
<p>In one situation, when the white student and her parents entered the dorm room and saw the black roommate, the white family immediately left and the white student never moved into that room. </p>
<p>In another situation, without asking, the two white roomies of a black freshman moved the black student's bed into the room's closet and expected the student to sleep there. </p>
<p>In another situation, white students reported to the RA that a black student was smoking pot. The black student wasn't smoking pot but was fixing her hair with a hot comb, which causes a smoky smell.</p>
<p>In another situation, a white student said that she felt "funny" about her black roommate because the black student put lotion on her legs and arms after bathing. This is a normal habit of black people because it prevents their skin from getting an ashy cast due to dryness. It was amazing to the black student that her roommate would be put off by something like this.</p>