Self-Segregation in Schools: Is it Healthy?

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

 

Self-Segregation in Schools: Is it Healthy?






I was shocked when I read an article in The Boston Globe about self-segregation at UMass of Amherst. The residence halls even have nicknames. such as "Chinatown" because of it's large Asian population, and "the Projects," due to a great concentration of African-American students. There is also a cluster for Native Americans, and one for those "seeking multi-cultural
experience."




This profound separation of different types of people it seems was not soley a decision made by the students but by school policy. The policy having been put in place, "as a means of providing comfort and comradeship on an overwhelmingly white campus."Officials can't say just when it began but did say that racial tensions escalated "after the beating in 1986 of Yancey Robinson, an African-American student from Springfield, after a World Series game."






Now however, the school wants to change things and make the living arrangements more integrated, and so as of the 2006 fall semester students will no longer be able to choose to live with other students based on race, or ethnicity. They can though, "choose to live with others who share their academic interests."






"There's nothing healthy about segregation,' said Michael Gargano, vice chancellor of student affairs and campus life. 'Students who come to the university need to be exposed to different opinions and ideas. When you have segregated pockets in our residence halls, we are allowing students to shut themselves off, and then they are missing out." And not only was it the residence halls but up until five years ago the school held "seperate orientations for minorities" and they were assigned "to separate academic advising offices."






What is the students reaction to this change? Some gain comfort from being with those who can best relate to them. "We are like family!, said Nisha Mungroo, a sophmore who added, "You come here and find comfort in your community. Then you find comfort at UMass."






Another student, Anton Pires, a freshman lived in "the Projects" for a semester but then moved to another residence wanting to gain some diversity in his living situation. "It can be good to be with people who have had the same struggles as you, people you can be more open with,' said Pires, a native of Cape Verde. ' But I didn't want to close myself off to people. I wanted to get a different feel."






Kerri-Ann Eldridge, a white freshman said, "Things would be better here if people were more mixed" She added, "Society is mixed, this school should be mixed." Her friend Josh Clark, an Asian-American student, didn't see things the same way and responded to her comment by saying, "You're just saying that because you're white!" He then continued, "The school doesn't tell anyone where to live - it gives students the option. And some students need that. It's comforting."






Come September their comfort will be gone and the question will be how they deal with it. Perhaps, they'll learn now to mix but if not once they are out in the real world they will no longer have a choice. Real life is about mixing and hopefully those that now are so vehmenent about keeping their comfort will allow themselves to be pleasantly surprised that people don't have to have the same color skin, or ethnicity to find common ground or comfort.








*Quotes are taken from The Boston Globe article, "Out of the comfort zone", dated March 12, 2006, and written by Sarah Schweitzer