FREE ESSAY ON RACISM

RACISM

If there is one thing that the OJ Simpson trial will be remembered for, it is the racial
polarization felt by all who have an opinion of the trial. Even though the trial itself
was a farce, it does say something about where we are today as an American culture. It
seems as though the racial divide is growing ever wider in our culture. Terms such as
African-American or Irish-American are only helping to expand separation based on ethnic
background. Just the fact that people insist on being identified with a country where the
last known ancestor left one hundred fifty years ago speaks volumes of America's 'melting
pot'. It is only logical that this behavior has manifested itself on todays college
campuses. There is little doubt that racial hostilities are increasing for college
students (Baraka 28). The underlying question is what can be done to solve racism on
campus?
It is first necessary to comprehend the causes and effects of racism on campus, and draw
resolutions from that. There are many causes of racism on college campuses. For example,
it is common to see white students engaging in conversations about minority groups on
campus. It is in these groups, social or academic, that students have the power to
express and persuasively communicate and reflect their own opinions and attitudes to
other impressionable students. This is a prime example of how prejudice becomes shared
and may form the basis of ethnic or racial discrimination during group interaction
(Froman 521). In addition, racial conflicts on campus may be caused from a student's fear
and derive from the defense of one's individual security. As a student develops their
need for 
securing their identity, this need may feed ethnic hostility and prejudice. The search
for identity might involve, as a detour, the desire to identify, or to strengthen it
through being prejudice (Bettelheim 33). Unconsciously, by expressing a prejudice
attitude, a student can protect his own individuality. On almost all campuses, there are
special organizations for minorities. Some white students may envy these groups and
therefore condemn them in order to feel important about themselves(Feldstein 32). 
Students who cannot find their own identity and resort to racism to raise their
self-esteem have to be taught differently. Ignorance is the backbone of racism (Van Dijk
41). One approach that many universities are using to combat student racism is
pre-requisite course for incoming freshman. The courses are designed to teach students of
all colors diversity( Monroe 9). This is a very tempting solution, but a wrong one. 
A sociologist by the name of Baxter once conducted an experiment which involved a summer
camp for pre-teen boys. He divided the camp up into two separate yet equal parts. He then
gave the two camps different names. The two camps were then pitted against one another in
a variety of activities. Hatred amongst the two groups quickly erupted. Baxter noted that
after some of the activities, it was hard to control their anger toward opposing camps.
Reputations were quickly assigned to each camp by their opposition. All of the boys in
camp X told Baxter that camp Y cheats whenever they get the chance. All of the boys in
camp Y told Baxter that camp X was lazy and never did the camp chores correctly. 
After almost losing control of the experiment, Baxter switched directions at the camp. He
integrated the two camps into one. The boys were given tasks that unified the entire
camp, and involved teamwork amongst every boy. The once bitter enemies now had to work
together. Much to Baxter's surprise, the experiment worked. In the cafeteria where there
was once inter-team fighting on a regular basis, boys from opposing teams began sitting
together and becoming friends. As one final experiment, Baxter set up a fake situation
where the water pipe that brought drinking water to the camp supposedly broke. The boys
were given two options: they could re-form their old groups, or they could find and fix
the problem as one team. Given the common objective and the opportunity to get to know
one another, the boys chose the integrated team approach. The fake problem was diagnosed
and fixed quickly and without incident. Although this experiment was meant for
sociological and persuasive usage, its meaning is far more reaching than that.
This experiment gives a classic example of human nature. It is human nature to divide up
other people into categories. These categories are quickly stereotyped and looked down
upon by other groups. When a university teaches a diversity course in a passive
classroom, the only thing students could possibly learn is that people who look different
from them are different from them. A much better solution to campus racism is to design a
pre-requisite course on co-operation. Much like the Baxter experiment, having a united
goal is the solution to breaking some of the myths and lies of racism. A required course
for incoming freshman could be titled something like College Studies 100. The general
title should give no hint of the actual objective of the course. Students would be less
likely to resist change if they never notice it in the first place. The students in the
class would be broken up into smaller groups of 3 or four. Ideally, each group would be
as diversified as a textbook cover photo. Each group would be given the same objective,
and emphasis would be put on the fact that the groups are not competing against each
other. 
Each member in the group would have to give a brief introduction about themselves to
other members of the group. They would then be given a highly interactive group project
that involved each member. The group would be encouraged to meet outside of class,
preferably at the group members dorm rooms. The final project of the class would involve
all members of the class working together to achieve a common goal. This would give each
freshman the opportunity to get to know and possibly become friends with other people of
different racial and socio-economic backgrounds. The class would help students realize
that they are all more alike than they would like to admit. If nothing else, the students
would walk away from the course knowing that they can work together with their fellow
student, no matter what their skin color may be.
On college campuses, racism usually has taken the form of assertion that all members of
what is called the white race are superior in mental and emotional qualities to all
members of other races (Froman, 521). Although that statement is currently correct, there
is hope. In a recent study of minority teen aged students, racial discrimination was not
listed as their number one concern. They reported that the economy was what worried 
them the most. This leads some researchers to believe that these teen aged minorities are
not receiving the amount of racism that older generations have faced. Detractors of the
study discount this finding by saying that the test subjects are simply too young to have
been exposed to a large amount of racism. Either way the study is looked at, the results
are good news for the future students of the nations universities.
In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice
everywhere. The overall racial relations in the country seem to be improving. It is
important for the United States system of higher education lead the way. There will
always be racists in any given university, just as society as a whole. It is important to
isolate these individuals and unify campuses against racism. These student racists will
be forced into the woodwork, where their opinions will not be tolerated by others. The
future holds no absolutes. With a conscious effort by college and university officials,
the problem of campus racism can and will diminish to a level acceptable by all
minorities: zero. 
Bibliography
Bibliography
Baraka, Amrir; A Race Divided; Emerge, p 23-35; February 1996
Bettelheim, John; Social Change and Prejudice, New York: Delacorte Press, 1972
Feldstein, Stanley; The Poisoned Tongue, U.S. New and World Report, p 31-3; 
September 22, 1995
Froman, Robert; Racism in the Classroom, Higher Education Journal, p 521, January 
1996
Monroe, Sylvester; The Color of Violence is Blue, Emerge, p 9-13; June 1991
Van Dijk, Teun; Communicating Racism, Sage, p 41-3, 1995