Casually seated in a circle in W.E.B. DuBois College House's all-purpose room, about 25 students last night discussed how to survive as an African-American student on a predominantly white campus. Swing Phi Swing, the group sponsoring the forum, is a non-Greek organization dedicated to heightening cultural consciousness, community service and academic excellence. College sophomore Celandra Deane, the group's president, opened the discussion, asking the students why they chose to attend the University, knowing they would be part of a minority. "If you go to a black college it's easy to assume that you are experiencing black culture because you're in a black environment," College senior Tyrone Kelley told the group. "At Penn the cupboard is bare from a cultural perspective so it forces me to search for myself. It leads to more cultural growth." Many people also said attending the University gives them a better sense of reality than attending a black college. The University helps students feel prepared for life after college, some said, but they added this experience often has its costs. "I feel like every time I come into contact with people and tell them I go to Penn I have to prove that I'm not just here because I'm black," Deane said. "I have to show them that I'm not just fulfilling some quota." The extra pressure students feel to prove themselves is often coupled with the burden of speaking for all black students, participants said. Students told stories about professors and classmates who asked them to give the "black perspective" during discussions. "You have to realize, though, that they aren't black," Nursing freshman Kenitra Carby said, responding to the stories students told. "Because you are black they're going to assume that you know more than they do." Once the students are set apart as spokespersons for their race, they said yesterday it is difficult to decide whether to promote black unity or express their own personal opinions. "In all instances we need to say that we have the same goal of bettering the condition of our people's condition world wide," College sophomore Nina Johnson said. "Though we may have different tactics we should support each other. "That way we can be a collective and individuals at the same time," she added. "The two don't have to be mutually exclusive." For Kelley, the best way to make people look past a person's color is to concentrate on self improvement, he said. "You have to have rigor and self-determination," Kelley advised the group. "If you are the best that you can be at what you set out to do then at that point people will have no choice but to see you on a more personal level and not a representative of black people. You have a better chance of getting the respect that you deserve."
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