Students participate in skit night

The laughter started with self-conscious giggles from a few audience members, and grew into guffaws that filled the lecture hall. If the topics of the four skits presented as part of this week's Campus Organized Lectures on Racial Sensitivity were not the serious issues of discrimination and racism in today's society, the performances would have been funny. Students from all areas of campus life came together Wednesday night to portray and parody the stereotypes which impede race relations on campus. All of their efforts, Alpha Phi Alpha brother and COLORS co-chairperson Kristofer Love said, are aimed at increasing awareness of prejudice among students. The College junior said the overall goal of COLORS is to "try to identify racial stereotypes in society." Wednesday night's skits focused on the dilemmas students of different backgrounds confront when interacting socially, from choosing which parties to attend to which television programs to watch and whom to date. The rationality of fearing random street crime based on people's race was also raised. After the performances, peer facilitators from Programs for Awareness of Cultural Education divided the audience into smaller groups to discuss issues brought out by the skits. Students agreed that while the skits provided extreme examples of discriminatory behavior, they did highlight important issues. One issue raised was that increased integration of parties within the Greek system would benefit all its members. Wharton freshman Austin Rettig stressed the importance of "initial positive reaction" between brothers from the Interfraternity Council and the Black Inter-Greek Council, looking to build better relationships. College junior Seth Hamalian, chairperson of the Undergraduate Assembly, said fear of the unknown often leads to an overcautious initial reaction. "The effort to try and be open is key," he said. Love said fear is learned from the media and movies which portray African Americans as violent gang members. "[Racially-based fear] is a reaction to what you know and see," he said. College sophomore Marc Glosserman agreed. "Stereotypes exist because of what you see," he said. "People aren't born with prejudices, it's just hard to break down social barriers." Rettig and College freshman Ernesto Morales both echoed Glosserman's sentiments. "Ignorance develops because people don't make the effort to change," Morales said. "People are afraid of things that are different," Rettig added. "That's where the ignorance comes from." Students revealed personal experiences with discrimination in stores, classrooms and dormitories based on appearance, background or musical tastes. They concluded that personal biases are a result of heritage, lifestyle and upbringing. "Bridging the gap with race relations [is tough]," Rettig said. "[You want to] have racial sensitivity while maintaining your own identity and culture." "You need exposure, you need understanding," said College sophomore Jennifer Gwynne. "You can't have separation." Love said he felt the evening had gone well. However, he said, "most people who came were open. The people who most need to be here, those who are ignorant, weren't."

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