Panel on self-segregation says focus should be on majority

Several students said at a panel discussion last night that the term "self-segregation" does not accurately reflect social life on campus and said that racial separation is not caused by any particular segment of the student body.

The forum titled "Social Life, 'Self'-Segregation, and the Princeton Campus," was organized by the Carl A. Fields Center and held in Robertson Hall. The discussion began with presentations by four panelists involved with campus groups.

Edward Tsui '04, former president of the Asian-American Students Association, discussed a recent posting on gank.princeton.edu that accused Asian-American students of "self-segregating."

He said most Asian-American students were "outraged" by the posting, which listed the names of 21 Asian students from the Spelman room draw list.

Tsui said it wasn't a problem if a student of a minority group tends to socialize with others of that group. "It is just a group of people who non-exclusively choose to associate with each other because they share similar values, experiences and even humor," he said.

Brittani Kirkpatrick '05, president of the Black Student Union, said that "self-segregation" is a myth, adding that the term could be used to apply to athletic teams, eating clubs and conservative groups on campus.

Many minority students are excluded from the "monolithic culture" of the Street and there is a "lack of respect for diverse cultures" on campus, Kirkpatrick said. "Perhaps if Princeton's dominant culture was more accepting, we wouldn't have to have separatism," she added.

Gabrielle Ibanez-Vazquez '04, vice president of Campus Club, said students should be more active in addressing the issue of segregation. "We all know that segregation is a problem on this campus," she said.

Ibanez-Vazquez said minority student organizations should work on "projecting their culture on the dominant culture" on campus.

USG president Pettus Randall '04 said that "diversity at Princeton is not perfect and we have a long way to go." Students should focus on working towards solutions instead of "finger-pointing," he said.

The USG is working to push the administration for increased recruitment efforts aimed at minority students and for more multicultural programs, Randall said.

In the open forum following the panel discussion, Shena Elrinton '04, former president of the BSU, said that University administrators are aware of the problem of racial separation on campus. "It's our duty to demand from them that they give us the answers," she said.

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Taufiq Rahim '04, who moderated the panel discussion, suggested that students should be more vocal in pushing the administration to institute a "cultural studies" distribution requirement, an idea also backed by Randall.

William Robinson '04, USG Undergraduate Life Chair, said that students involved with eating clubs should work to make minority students feel more comfortable going to the clubs, and added that students should also organize more social events away from the Street.