Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Racial Representation

     The idea of racial representation is not something that I really pay attention to.  I don't look for the differences of race and ethnicity.  I did however notice some major differences when I moved here from my hometown Orangevale, CA.  When I walk around campus and look around my classrooms, I notice many things that are different from my hometown and high school.  From what I have heard, Reno has a very high white percentage of the population.  When I came here, I didn't really know what to expect, but I was shocked at the diversity here compared to my high school.  My high school was over 95% white, and there were only a few African Americans.  The rest were Hispanic and Asian, which was my second shock when i came here to Reno.  My high school may have had little Hispanic representation, but about 15% of Orangevale is Hispanic.  I now understand that I was raised in a town with very little diversity.  The University has a much higher ratio of minorities, except for Hispanics.  I have seen quite a few African Americans and many Asians here on campus.  So far I have seen only a few Hispanic people around the college.  Diversity has taken a very different meaning in my eyes since I moved here.
     I may have grown up in a very segregated community, but I had many friends from different races.  I don't think people should group up by ethnicity.  I think that they should get to know people from all over so they may get the chance to make new friends.  My high school may have had a very small non-white population, but they didn't only hang out with each other.  They spread out across my school and found their group of friends.  I don't really see segregation here on campus either.  People are not afraid to cross racial 'boundaries' and find a place they fit in.  I noticed the difference in racial representation, but I don't see anyone out of place.  I believe that there are no 'barriers' that I can see splitting up the population here at the University.

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