Is Self-Segregation a Problem On Campus?

Impact

As students return to college, the debate over the role of racially-based student groups and ethnic theme houses in campus social life is once again in the spotlight.

 

For supporters, groups like Harvard’s Black Students Association, dorms like Stanford’s Chicano/Latino ethnic theme house, and Yale's cultural associations provide minority students with a place to interact and unite around their unique experiences.

 

For critics, these kinds of groups and houses foster self-segregation. By restricting extra-curricular and social activities along racial or ethnic lines, critics argue, these groups help isolate students from the rest of the community.

 

Do ethnic theme houses and racially-based student groups promote self-segregation on college campuses? Is this a problem?

Photo Credit: zilinski