Campus Segregation

by CHRIS HOLLOMON

I'm very unhappy, and I blame all of you. With all the advances in humanization and desegregation we have accomplished over the last hundred years, you, the Radford University Students and Administration, have decided to ignore our forefathers' struggles by self-segregating your population to an extent unimaginable by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. himself. If you don't see it yet, just sit in Dalton for an hour and watch what goes on. Or, pick up a "Clubs and Organizations" pamphlet some time.

As you sit in the lunch room, watch and see how many African-American students sit together. Notice where they tend to congregate every day-- but don't start calling me a racist yet, because you can look right past them to the white frat boys trying to avoid that aforementioned table, or even another table from a "rival" fraternity. Most of you are not even doing it on purpose. I can understand this, especially when I take a look at what the Administration has done to segregate us.

Let's begin with the dorms. First of all, Freshman Connections is a bad idea if you are trying to fit into a new crowd. There is nothing like herding a bunch of students who don't know any better into one dorm, giving them T-shirts like cattle brands, and separating them from contact of the more experienced upper-class students. Now, I understand that events based on student unity are a good experience. But being a student whose first friends were mostly seniors and juniors, there is nothing like learning the ropes from the students who have already "been there." Heck, that's what student orientation is all about. That's why RU uses students for school tours, right??

It's not just the freshman either, let's review the "Honors Academy." I was lucky to have an honors student as my roommate my freshman year. He was a great student. Just having him around helped me sit down and do my work. First, they remove residents of the second floor of Pocahontas Hall to house the Academy. Not only was that close community ripped apart, but they separated the "smart kids" from the rest of us average students. Gosh, I hope they could get rid of a few more good influences from the remainder of the student body pool, because I'm really looking forward to my pot-head roommate next year.

While on the topic of dorms, let's discuss Stuart hall. The "International" dorm is another great blunder of communication. Ask any Communication student and they'll tell you the same thing. I had the luxury of going overseas, and if I did not have the ability to interact with the people of that country while I was there, why the hell would I have gone there in the first place?? Why put all of the international students together causing an unnecessary amount of cross-cultural confusion?? Wouldn't it be better to mix them with real Radford students so they get some idea of what its like to live here? I don't think we should just throw them into the pot without a life preserver, however. People of other cultures should definitely get together with people coming from similar backgrounds who are also having the same experiences. I think that would be great, but let's not cut them off from society and herd them together as if they were goats and kangaroos.

There are other examples of self-segregation roaming about campus like race and gender-specific groups that are suppose to heighten awareness. All they really do is separate themselves and make them inaccessible to the very bigots whose beliefs they are trying to reach. They are not all bad and they have a lot of noteworthy causes. Most of them were created with the best intentions. However, I think some of them should re-evaluate their effectiveness.

So what do we do now? If you love this school as much as I do, then I highly suggest we all take a good look at ourselves and think really hard about the last time you opened your heart to somebody else. Maybe you should sit a little closer to the other students in the lunch room. How about sitting down with one of those international students and asking them what it's like back home? I doubt they'll give you any resistance. A couple of open forums would be great. Send a letter to the administration. The more they know you give a damn about something, the more likely it will get changed. Remember, if we don't keep the administration in check, who will? Imagine what we could get done if the school knew we'd stand up for things. I'll leave that for you to ponder. After all, it's your school. Your ideas count too.

Name:   

E-Mail: 
Year:   

Major:  

Comments:

Name: shadoldy
Major: MSTD
Comments:
forgive me for not understanding this article clearly..but I always thought that these special programs such as Freshman Connections, etc. in the residence halls were supposed to make residential living at RU unique. I like the variety of resident halls RU has. I was in Stuart Hall my freshman year and I made friends with girls from Spain and France. Then my 2nd year at RU I lived in Trinkle..The performing/visual arts hall. I thought that was a good choice for me since I was a music major at the time. (OK so it turned out to be the Guild Players Hall instead) :) Anyways now I am at my 3rd year at RU and i am in Madison Hall on a non smoking floor..if you smoke you are in deep trouble:) Aren't these halls set up for the enviroment we ask for? Yes..res. life guarantees it. and next year I'll be in an upper class hall because I feel that at my age I just want to live with people who are a bit more mature..that's all. I am not saying freshman are bad but I would feel weird hanging out with an 18 year old alot compared to a 23 year old.

Name: Terri Tancsak
Comments:
Great article Chris, you made some valid points, of course I am so far away from the college scene, but it goes on in the real world too. At the hospital, all the different departments sit together and segregate themselves, its very sad, but true all over the world. I think by nature, people are not into equality, and some don't care nor do they want it.

Major: CRJU
Comments:
Well I really don't have much to say about the issues brought forth in this article. The problem is a lot bigger than this article makes it. This is America and everybody is out to watch out for themselves. When leaders (administrators) try to run things to benefit everybody...someone complains. Lets keep in mind that the administration are politicans and have to abide by the requests of the Board of Visitors. If a small group of people complain about an action to desegregate the school the majority who do agree with this don't say a darn thing. Lets look at the Black Student Affairs Council and this multicultural dance the SGA tried to sponsor. These small group of students raised a concern so loud that the SGA and the Administration decided not to do it. Yet the majority of the students felt that it would celebrate our differences. Where is the world coming to? Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregation and yet Black students, international students get funding from the school to do activities that DO NOT benefit the majority. So I say unless members of the media and you the general public are willing to worry about the rest of society then this segregation issue is going to continue. Its time for everybody to wake up and realize that there are other people in the world that need your support. So don't be quiet and look at your peers who seem to be fighting for segregation.

Comments:
In making pokie an honors dorm your displacing students that have lived there for a number of years. This is not fair. To deny access to any dorm due to set standards should never be acceptable. What about allowing the honors student or the performing arts student to request a none member to be their room-mate??? By having rules and set standards for living in a dorm your creating a private country club atmosphere. The whole student body should take a very close look at this. Next you won't be allowed to have friends outside your major. We're on very dangerous ground here.

Name: Scott Cloud
Comments:
I would like to comment on that last statment- "In this world, if you have something extra to offer, something extra is offered to you, if you don't have anything extra to offer, tuff. If you do not like the hand that life has dealt you, then change your cards, do something about it." I commend this person's creed that you should act to change the "cards dealt to you", as he put it. It in encumbant on us to work towards a better life for ourselves and our community. But, I would question whether or not we could really have a shot a changing something like racism or general persecution with the attitute that you get what is dealt to you and if you don't have much to offer, tuff. Rather, I argue that we should not sit back and take what is coming to us or feel confined about what we can give or do. We must fight to make sure that decency and the ideals of fairness are afforded to all of us. If we are idle, then others can easily herd us into a much nastier world. Friends, we must agree on what the treatment of our fellow humans and then we must push so that that treatment be fairly executed and experienced by each and every human alive.

Comments:
The article makes some valid points, however, the actual outside world is not perfect either. When choosing housing for example, income is a big deciding factor, you simply cannot live on Park Avenue because you want to. Everything has a price. If the "smart kids" have a choice of living together and they do, that is their choice. In this world, if you have something extra to offer, something extra is offered to you, if you don't have anything extra to offer, tuff. If you do not like the hand that life has dealt you, then change your cards, do something about it.

Name: Chris Knauer
Comments:
T-Bear, I'm still checking up on you. Very good article and well written. Hope things are going well for you. I'm in Syracuse but am trying to get back to RU. Your UNIV 100 Instructor

Name: PeeR
Major: Advertising
Comments:
Although this article directly confronts the administration, I think it is important to also consider the fact that we have done this to ourselves. We choose to sit in the cafeteria with our friends. We walk with and talk with whomever we choose. That is our choice. Let's not forget that. Start with the man in the mirror, like my good buddy Michael Jackson once sang. The problem here is us. The Administration are now administration because they graduated from an institute of higher learning where they themselves did exactly what we are doing. There's no difference-- they're just older. We have made the same choices in life. When that changes, Chris, then we'll be in that utopian society you dream of. I hope we get there, for all of our sakes.

Comments:
As a parent of a Radford student I'm appalled at the steps I see Radford taking. First you segregrate the freshmen. (by god keep us away from snotty freshman). Then lets keep those foriegners together (they might have weird ideas or customs). Lets put all those party crazy greeks together(they might throw up on an honor student), Lets put the "artsie " performing arts students together(strange colored hair and dark lipstick),and last but not least lets put are bright "Honor" students together (we don't want them contaminated by "normal" students). Shame on you Radford administration for taking a step backward in time. We fought a war almost 60 years ago against fascism. But look it's alive at Radford. Students should be appalled at this. I didn't send by child to college to be taught caste system. Wake up RADFORD you've made a big mistake. Rosa Parks would say Shame on you.

Comments:
Radford is taking a step backward by allowing this to happen, soon you'll have each major wanting thier own floors in the dorms. Next you will have dining hours segrated. Grow up and join the real world people will always gravitate to thier own, but by making these changes the college is allowing academic prowess to be the only defining attribute of an "honor" student. An Honor student should be an all around individual, capable of functioning well in our society, not someone who for acadamia sake must be kept away from the day to day lives of common people.

Name: Scott Cloud
Comments:
Just to clarify my statement- I don't see racism "per se" as a major problem. I see racism as a part of a larger problem. Racism is indeed very destructive and prevelant, but the heart of racism is that is it is one of the more tangable ways we can define how "we" are different than "them", meaning someone who doesn't share our culture. There are far subtler wasy of doing this as well. For instance, it is common to laugh and make fun and sometimes harrass "nerds", not because of their color, but because they have different cultural priorities. These subtler differences are the overreaching problem. We have to adopt a system of thought that activly discourages any latent bigotry before racism, age discrimination, or any number of evils are thrawted.

Name: Rachel
Major: IS
Comments:
i agree with chris that the segregation must stop. i was looking over my dorm choices for next year (i will be a sophomore) and noticed that for one reason or another, i didn't qualify for most halls. i thought college was supposed to teach me about the "real world" and give me a "well rounded" view of my surroundings. by putting so many restrictions on living quarters, i am not being exposed to many potentially beneficial experiences such as living near a graduate student or international student. by conforming to the university's housing specifications, i am contributing to the ignorance that comes with not being exposed to all situations. i will have to deal with many different environments after my stay at radford. it is a shame that students will graduate here with such a narrow view of our society and what it has to offer.

Name: Brian R.
Major: Social Work
Comments:
I believe that there are many different ways that you can look at this situation. Chris, you touched on many of them and I think that's great. However, let me take the issue of the Freshman Connections or RU Connections program first. I believe that some of the things that were brought up were correct and need to be looked at. For example, I think that the principle of the RU Connections program is a good one. I also agree that it could be done better if handled a different way. I don't believe that students should be segregated by different programs such as this one. It is my belief that this program's purpose is to aid the freshman student through his or her first year here at RU. I think that every student should not be limited to being in a certain group during that early period in college. It is my feeling that new students should be put in places where they can gain something from the Upperclass Students. The ones who truly understand the changes that a new student goes through are the students that have been there. This may be an opinion only shared by me, but I think that every person on this campus has something to offer another. I think that by having the groups in some cases voluntarily secluding themselves, they can't share their experiences and save someone else from possibly making some of the same mistakes that they made in the past. Everyone should be encouraged to get to know everyone else and take what good they can out of getting to know them.

Name: anonymous - alumni
Comments:
Interesting viewpoint. I think that the author is correct, that much of the of this problem can be put back on the general population. But it is not something easily changed or corrected. This feeling of segregation, or cultural identification is nothing really new at Radford or any other community. I know from my own experiences at Radford while a student, there was a lot of pressure to find your "place". Whether the focus was on joining a Fraternity or not, whether you are or aren't an honor student, we tend to separate ourselves into groups where we feel we belong. I think that a portion of the issue here is the size of the campus. With 9000+ students, people naturally tend to congregate into groups which they feel more comfortable. College life, while boasting to be the best years, can also be a very stressful time for students. The world is made up of all sorts of people. Some will be outgoing, who want and need to reach out, and others will feel a need to keep to themselves and a small group of friends. Is that segregation? While much of this agrees with what Scott Cloud wrote about, I would disagree that there isn't a problem with racism. However, it is not something that is thrown out into the public view as often. It is something that is now muttered under one's breath as opposed to shouts and violence. There is a fear of what people don't understand. An irrational one, yes, but a fear that is still present. Unfortunately, this problem is as basic and related to cultural identity. It isn't a good thing, and definitely something that we need to rise above. As far as University policy goes, you have the opportunity to voice complaints and suggestions through organizations like the SGA, the Tartan, and even this web-site. Don't be afraid to speak up, however, be open-minded and try to listen first. You can't really learn anything if you are always the one talking. Thanks for the soapbox time.

Name: Michael M. Sos
Major: Art
Comments:
This issue was brought up and discussed at the SGA issues forum. I wanted to thank the sga repersentatives for being receptive to my whining on this issue. I found the discussion panel to be a very positive experience.The forum suprised me, I expected it to be really boring.

Name: anony
Comments:
Good luck trying to strike up a conversation with a foreign student. They won't give an European American the time of day, at least they have not me or my fraternity. Good luck.

Name: Scott Cloud
Major: pain in the...
Comments:
I remember someone once telling me that dispite advances in information technology, there would always be a place called college. There will always be a place where scholors come together to learn and live in a community of their peers. To me, that word "peer" is at the heart of the matter. I advance that in America, we no longer have racism as a major problem, we have community-ism: the descrimination against someone who does not share the same community and cultural values that we hold. Much of what my friends Mike Sos and Chris Holloman describe is not based on loating or fear of another group based on their skin color, it is based on their cultural identity. And this is true about a variety of cultural identities (from liking hip hop to thinking that he should be impeached). Remember how the Irish were treated by other whites earlier this century. Now, this whole issue is not such a simple cut and dry matter. We are all involved in varying degrees with many communities. It is this mix of allegenences that help define who we are. But they also inadvertanly give us impetus for avoiding meaningful interaction with those outside our culture and community. Now, the question for the reader of this is to examine how your perception of community affects how you interact with people from drastically different communities. I think we all have far to go towards the goal of becoming more open to those outside our radius of cultural acceptence, whether it be a honor student society discriminating because of grades or the boy scouts desriminating because of religious belief.

Name: Michael Sos
Major: Art
Comments:
This article is very biting, but so true. I was once a resident of pocahontas hall and I understand how pissed you must be. This segregation must stop! If someone with some knowledge of why honor students must live together reads this page, please post a response. I am a off-campus student now, but I would like to understand why this segregation is necessary. I think the author of this article makes a good point because I can't think of a good reason for this separation of the "smart kids".