Why do college kids hang out with their own ethnicity?

<p>oh yeah...merry christmas eve to you all</p>

<p>You too. Christmas snuck up on me this year... probably because of exams.</p>

<p>^^^rl.hill, I dont think ethnicity based aid was designed that way. It definetely started as a wnderful thing. Unfortunately, that is what it has come down to. My city has both 4 VERY low income schools and one great prep school. The few non white kids at the predominately WASP prep school are going to achieve lots and lots of ethnicity based aid and drive to college in their beemers and mercedes while the minority kids (in the difficult situations, for which the awards were designed) at the other 4 schools will be lucky if they finish high school.</p>

<p>See you guys at Burning Man. Merry Christmas.</p>

<p>I'm sorry to say that I'm too lazy to read all 18 pages, but i've skimmed through the first and last pages.</p>

<p>IMO, i think it is just nature taking role. If you look at different animals, do you notice how each particular species only associate with it's own particular species? Humans are no different. I know there are some people out there that only want to hang out with a specific race, but that isn't the case with most people. Even the ones that are part of the clicke that is all asians or all black or whatever, most of them will also have friends of other races. It is just where they fit in the most.</p>

<p>Thats both sad and horrible. Races ARE NOT species. wt f</p>

<p>Which schools have the least ethnic segregation?</p>

<p>It would probably be the ones with the fewest international students, most of which come from China, India, Korea anyway (and a few from eastern Europe).</p>

<p>Personally, I don't care what racial composition a school has, as long as they're mostly Americans and I can hang out with people of any appearance who share my culture (American culture) and interests without being considered an outsider.</p>

<p>btw I am of "Asian" race and I find accusations that those of us who identify ourselves as purely American in culture and identity, are "White Washed Self-hating Minorities" as highly offensive and racist. The PC people in this thread who believe this seem to think that only white people are allowed to become American in the melting pot and that everyone else has some foreign culture to stay loyal to. Then they pat themselves on the back for "supporting" minorities and fighting racism when in fact they are encouraging them to stay segregated and perpetuating racial divisions.</p>

<p>Yes, colorblindness is still only a utopic ideal. But we should be striving toward it instead of giving up and dividing people into races and herding these people into racial/ethnic cultures and characters just like every racist does.</p>

<p>So what if I want to hang out with people of my culture? No one will look twice at a white person hanging out with a group of all white people. Why is it any different for minorities?</p>

<p>the same reason adults do.</p>

<p>I think people feel more comfortable in the atmosphere with their same race. There are somethings that I can only talk about with my Asian friends.</p>

<p>Also sometimes this separation is as strong as like people from the North of one country don't hang out with people from the South etc.</p>

<p>This talk about "races" is really annoying me. We are all of the human race--that is all that matters, at least biologically. I think who hangs out with who is a function of culture. By culture, I don't simply mean American vs. Chinese vs. Turkish, or whatever, but rather a mix of linguistics, socio-economics, and geographics. </p>

<p>I am white as can be but I have a hard time relating to many of the other white kids at my college on the basis that the majority of them are extremely wealthy and I simply canot keep up with their lifestyles (don't have a $2000/month allowance). I find that I identify more with middle class people across the board: whites, blacks, asians, etc. Why is this? Probalby becasue our experiences and realities are very similar and we can relate to one another on that basis. That said, when my Indian friends have a Bollywood night, I could probably attend if I wanted but I'd proabably decide not to--I generally don't understand the cultural themes in the movies and they do not entertain me. </p>

<p>What I am trying to say is that I can't relate to everyone all the time. Although I think that factors such as language and socioeconomics are fundamental in defining or social circles, I also think that all of us will never be able to relate to each other all of the time. This is the reason why I enjoy having multiple social circles where I can turn to different groups of people with different issues and interests. Just my thoughts...</p>

<p>What kind of question is this??? </p>

<p>Hang out with whoever you want to hang out with. This is so redundant and idiotic. Who cares??????????</p>

<p>ummm why don't you make like an egg and scram</p>

<p>all i have to say to people like you</p>

<p>ethnicity is just another type of "ingroup."</p>

<p>we all form our own groups, ethnicity being one of many types. we might form groups because we all like the dallas cowboys, because we like country music, because we wear tight jeans, because we're pre-meds, because we're chinese.</p>

<p>it's unfortunate that we associate by ethnicity, but that's because we all make generalizations and assumptions about each other; the fact is that there's often at least some truth in them, and it's also an evolutionary function to make quick assessments based on these generalizations so we can process information quickly. it's natural for us.</p>

<p>like i said, there's always a little truth in the generalizations we make. a christian group of korean students will undoubtedly have a lot of students who share much in common in many many aspects of life. i really don't think you can deny that. as ideal and liberal-minded we tend to be, that's the way the world works!! you might just think they are associating by color/religion, but color and religion can say a lot about somebody, and the generalizations DON'T have to be negative. if i like korean dramas and God is important in my life, can you really blame me for wanting to get involved with Korean Christ Crusade or whatever? haha.</p>

<p>ON THE OTHER HAND.. even though ethnicity can say a lot about somebody, there's so much more to a person than just ethnicity; and then of course, generalizations about ethnicity are just that - generalizations.</p>

<p>the real problem is that it seems like most people are not interested in taking the time to get to know everybody on an individual basis. instead we rely on convenient generalizations, which isn't necessarily a bad thing as i've shown, but we will undoubtedly miss out on a lot. this applies to any aspect in life.</p>

<p>social status is far more significant than ethnicity when it comes to who you can relate to.</p>

<p>"Yeah, I don't see that at all here at Maryland."
Yeah...if you're one of the "preferred" minorities (Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern), one could integrate and associate with whatever ethnic group if they wanted to. From what I've seen, UMD is one of the most self-segregated schools; and this is one of these schools that prides itself on "diversity." I understand that's its one thing if people get along easier due to a similar backgrounds, but when it's solely based on race, I just can't stand it! As for Blacks, especially non-stereotypical males who want to hang out with other races, they are given crap from both ends: From the militant (or stereotypical) blacks due to them not acting "black enough" and from nearly the rest of the races because of the stigma blacks face for being criminals, thugs, and gangsters; this is regardless of how non-stereotypical the person may present himself. And the surrounding campus being a place of high crime doesn't help the case, neither.</p>

<p>I can understand why people would want to self-segregate. I don't think it's done consciously as in done with racist thoughts or anything like that. It just has to do with finding people who share similar interests.</p>

<p>However, I would like to go to a college where there really is a lot of diversity and not so many ethnic cliques. I used to live in CA and that was a big problem there. I'm not in college yet, but will go in the fall and I haven't decided which one I would like.</p>

<p>Would you say that NYU is probably not as self-segregating as some other schools?</p>

<p>I think that just because a school is racially diverse doesn't mean all the students praise diversity and mingle together without problems. My school is around 39% Asian 50% White. We also got lots of students from India and the Middle East; a fairly diverse student body (ethnicities are not evenly proportionate, but we have lots of nationalities present). But during breaks, I notice that there are cliques here and there. I classify my school diverse in terms of its racially diverse student body, but in terms of interactions between different races, not so much. It definitely exists, but the majority interact with their own races. This is only my school, however.</p>

<p>Counter-Question: Why is this only an issue with non-white students?</p>

<p>I'm Asian, I hang out with all sorts of people and yadda yadda yadda. However, I know that a lot of my white friends can count me as one of the few non-white people they hang out with on a regular basis, but they never admit to being sooooo white. However, when I tell them I'll be in China Town on a Friday night shooting some pool, gambling and drinking bubble tea with my (mostly) Asian friends instead of at some club with 80's night - and then it's "OH MY GOD YOU'RE being SOOOOO ASIAN!!!"</p>

<p>Oh and before you ask, I go to a fairly diverse school by most people's standards.</p>

<p>I'm Asian, and I must admit, I do hang out with Asians quite often. But I think I hang out with non-Asians about 35 % of the time.</p>