"We are here tonight to move forward and ask, 'What can I do to improve race relations at the University?'"
Brett Gibson, the State of Race Relations vice president, challenged audience members to work toward fostering racial integration within the University at the State of Race Relations forum last night.
The State of Race Relations is a multicultural student organization on Grounds that conducted a survey last semester to evaluate student attitudes concerning race relations.
The survey found black students are twice as likely as white students to perceive racial bias in student institutions.
In addition, the survey found white students are far more likely to be members of fraternities, while minority students are more likely to be members of cultural organizations.
Organizers sought to discuss the results of the survey and conceptualize ways to encourage racial integration at the University.
During the forum, a panel of student leaders answered questions and addressed concerns about the racial climate at the University from audience members.
Student Council President Joe Bilby responded to accusations that Council lacks racial diversity by noting that "the racial breakdown of Council is close to that of the University as a whole."
Former Asian Student Union president Stephanie Hsu said Asian students' opinions about diversity were often on par with those of white students because Asian-Americans are "a fragmented population ... our duration in the United States is not long, and it's hard to pinpoint our ideology."
Addressing the question of racially stratified housing, Angela Davis, assistant dean of students, said black students tend to congregate in certain housing areas because "students choose to live where there's a comfort level," not because they are trying to separate themselves from other groups.
Considerable debate surrounded the perceived problem of self-separation according to race among University students.
Third-year Engineering student Bokar Ture, son of Black Panthers activist Stokely Carmichael, said black students tend to socialize within their racial group because the University "does not foster a climate of comfort for black students. This school has been predominately white and that's not going to change."
UNITE President Aisha Lloyd said "people assume black students are the only ones self-segregating," not whites or other minorities.
Michael Freedman-Schnapp, president of the State of Race Relatons, said "black students do not trust the University."
Tim Roscoe, Inter-Fraternity Council education chairman, agreed that "people do tend to gravitate toward groups based on race, but too much separation can be dangerous. This is how stereotypes become a problem."
Roscoe said it was "jarring" to see race statistics on paper.
"It reinforces that these problems do exist," he said.
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