A list of stereotypes about African-Americans included "ignorant" and "violent," while Asian-Americans were labeled "intelligent" and "copycats."
Instead of ignoring these stereotypes, Penn students addressed them head-on Tuesday evening in a discussion entitled "Black-Asian Relations."
At the end of their discussion, they compiled a list of the 10 attributes most frequently associated with each group.
Some other characterizations of Asian-Americans were "nerdy," "miserly" and "hard-working." African-Americans were seen as "lazy," "fun-loving" and "all basketball players."
The group also listened to Ice Cube's 1991 hit Death Certificate, which features the conflict between a black man and a Korean shopkeeper.
While some felt that the music related only to the past, others believed that the points it brought up remain true today.
"We are still a nation of shopkeepers and Ice Cubes," one member of the audience said.
Each of the members talked at length about their own experiences growing up in mixed neighborhoods.
While they had friends of different races, their parents tended to be more biased.
One Penn student recalled how the mother of her Asian friend would look at her with suspicion.
"Her mother seemed to think I would take her daughter down the wrong path," she said.
Some felt that while there is a commonality in the experiences of the two communities, they have not learned to communicate with each other naturally.
Putting the group's experiences in a larger context was a film on the Los Angeles riots of 1991 and 1992.
Excessive media speculation on the murder of Latasha Harlins, who was black, by an Asian American exploded into rioting.
Harlins was shot by an Asian shopkeeper during a confrontation.
What the media forgot to mention was that Harlins exchanged blows with the store owner, a middle-aged woman.
Also, a feud with a family in the same neighborhood had left this woman scared for her life.
The intense discussion left the group quite satisfied.
Dyresha Harris, a first-year College of General Studies student, was quite impressed.
"They brought up a lot of issues I never thought of," she said.
Wharton sophomore Mrinal Todi planned to take what he learned from the discussion and put it to use.
"I discovered my own prejudices, and now I will try and combat them," he said.
