2008 Woodie Awards
Amid unparalleled diversity, is De Anza segregating itself?
Kristen Toner
Issue date: 6/19/06 Section: Features
Monday, June 19, 2006
It is a Thursday afternoon on the De Anza College campus. A group of Asian students are huddled together at picnic tables enjoying their lunch, athletes still in their workout clothes are talking in the PE Quad, a group of African Americans are filling the air with laughter between classes in front of the Campus Center and the daily card game is just starting in a corner of the cafeteria.
Students at De Anza are assembling separately from the whole. They have chosen to spend their time with a specific group of peers for their own unique sense of commonality and acceptance.
Brandon Clark, a second year marketing major and football player at De Anza, moved to the Bay Area from South Carolina and says he was terrified when he got off the plane in San Francisco and didn't see a single black person in sight.
Clark, who is African American, admits he hangs out with mostly blacks and whites, but says he tries to branch out to meet other students; he enjoys the diversity of California.
Nina Lewis, a second year social work major, is also African American and shares friends with Clark. Both Clark and Lewis say they feel more comfortable with black people because they share common interests in the world, even in the movies they go to.
Culture can be a strong unifying bond and a popular theme among groups on campus. Jisun Lee, a first year at De Anza, says he notices nationalities stick together. "We want to get along with other nationalities," Lee says of himself and friends, but finds comfort in their group.
Lee's group could be mistaken as a typical Asian cluster on campus, but it is mainly composed of Japanese, Taiwanese and Koreans.
Lee, who is Korean, says he mainly hangs out with these nationalities because they are so similar to his own culture.
At the other end of the Campus Center cafeteria, another familiar group on campus is interacting, but for a different reason. They are playing the card game "Magic The Gathering." An all male group, there is no distinct ethnicity here, just a love for a fantasy card game. The students are packed shoulder to shoulder at a single round table. On top of that table and in the hands of the players are cards with detailed drawings of wizards, soldiers and dragons.
It is a Thursday afternoon on the De Anza College campus. A group of Asian students are huddled together at picnic tables enjoying their lunch, athletes still in their workout clothes are talking in the PE Quad, a group of African Americans are filling the air with laughter between classes in front of the Campus Center and the daily card game is just starting in a corner of the cafeteria.
Students at De Anza are assembling separately from the whole. They have chosen to spend their time with a specific group of peers for their own unique sense of commonality and acceptance.
Brandon Clark, a second year marketing major and football player at De Anza, moved to the Bay Area from South Carolina and says he was terrified when he got off the plane in San Francisco and didn't see a single black person in sight.
Clark, who is African American, admits he hangs out with mostly blacks and whites, but says he tries to branch out to meet other students; he enjoys the diversity of California.
Nina Lewis, a second year social work major, is also African American and shares friends with Clark. Both Clark and Lewis say they feel more comfortable with black people because they share common interests in the world, even in the movies they go to.
Culture can be a strong unifying bond and a popular theme among groups on campus. Jisun Lee, a first year at De Anza, says he notices nationalities stick together. "We want to get along with other nationalities," Lee says of himself and friends, but finds comfort in their group.
Lee's group could be mistaken as a typical Asian cluster on campus, but it is mainly composed of Japanese, Taiwanese and Koreans.
Lee, who is Korean, says he mainly hangs out with these nationalities because they are so similar to his own culture.
At the other end of the Campus Center cafeteria, another familiar group on campus is interacting, but for a different reason. They are playing the card game "Magic The Gathering." An all male group, there is no distinct ethnicity here, just a love for a fantasy card game. The students are packed shoulder to shoulder at a single round table. On top of that table and in the hands of the players are cards with detailed drawings of wizards, soldiers and dragons.
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