I never had a single racist thing happen to me at college. I went to San Diego State University and it was very diverse. I played softball, partied and studied on occasion. My freshman dorm roommate was white as were most of the girls on my floor. I got along great with them. Most of the girls on my team were white. I got along great with them. I dated a lot of white football players - and I got along great with them! It was all fun in the sun. No complaints from me.

The city of San Diego itself is conservative and Republican which is why I moved back to LA after school, but other than that my college experience was some of the best years of my life.

:::sigh::: UVA 2004 alum here..i remember that incident. As you said, I'm thankful for the relationships I developed and my education, but I have a love/hate relationship with UVA.

I went to the University of Michigan during the height of the Affirmative Action trials (I was there '99-'03). It was particularly tough because EVERYONE was talking about it, involved in it, and living it. The white kids questioned how the black students got in and the black students had to prove themselves - not only in their classes but to their white classmates. Racial tension was pretty high - I participated in many Affirmative Action marches, debates, and round tables. It was hard not to be politically active during those 4 years - I just wish that I would have been able to focus solely on my school work and not on proving my ability and/or right to be at Michigan and right to learn to other students.

For the most part, there were lots of racist people who were just raised that way. It wasn't just racism. There was a great deal of insensitivity with religious topics and A LOT of homophobia. Most of the racism was towards anyone who could pass for an Arab as this was post 9/11 in the midwest.

CT was always sold to me as the whitest place on earth which it is not. The students come from diverse backgrounds and because of this, there was a certain amount of racism and homophobia present though unlike college, people knew it wasn't PC.

There was the anti-gay email sent to everyone and when IT found out who the sender was, they didn't release his/her name. The kid was punished for abusing the e-mail system.

There was a particularly embarrassing issue of the Rumpus when newly admitted students came to visit. Some gems include:
*"Me Love You Long Time" which was about the WM and their "yellow fever." Quotes: "Asian girls are like SARS—they take my breath away." "So just remember, in the words of one yeller feller, ‘Asian girls are like New Orleans levees; they only stay tight for so long.’ Ooh…too soon?" It was in jest but only the non-minorities were laughing.

*Also included on a "This one-semester course will provide a brief introduction to Spanish phrases that are useful in everyday WASP life. Students will learn how to interact with gardeners, housekeepers, and other low income workers. Crucial phrases, such as ‘No, the outsides of the windows do have to be cleaned,’ and ‘Rosa, are you stealing change again?’ " There was also "Introductory Terrorist Arabic." This was also in jest, but is a perfect example of the racial insensitivity though everyone's PC to your face or until you get a little liquor (truth serum) in them.

I'm glad I did not go have to deal with that atmosphere. SDSU is very laid back. Kids are too busy surfing, trying to get off of academic probation b/c they spend too much time partying in Tijuana or are doing frat/sorority ish to be racist. If you tried some Spanish jokes like the ones Daria is talking about at my alma mater, you'd have Mecha tattooing La Raza on your ass. Seriously.

Blackmisstressdiva

you were one lucky student. i'm wondering though, how did you get along so well with them? were they really tolerant, or was there less of a cultural or appearance divide (ex: your interests include non-stereotypically "black" pursuits, you don't speak in the vernacular, you are mixed so they resemble your family (recent or a while back), etc.)?

BMD,
Off topic, but which MAC concealer/foundation would you recommend for heavy coverage for black head prone skin? It doesn't have to be MAC actually, but their products seem to be good and not pricey.

…or I could ask one of these kids where they get their black face paint. The Asian girl one ("Asian girls are like New Orleans levees; they only stay tight for so long") is the one that shocked me the most

Umm. I don't know how to answer that really. I guess maybe there is less of a cultural divide. It's true, a lot of my interests are not stereotypical "black" ones as you put it. As for vernacular - like most of us I can turn that on and off when needed. I am "mixed up" (as my mother says!) with a lot of things but that wouldn't make people be nicer to me. The issues you raised would imply that the people I encountered were one way toward me specifically but would act differently toward another black person. Not the case. My main click in college was a mixed group of blacks and whites. The girl that ended up being my roommate for three years was black and we got treated the same.

I think I grew up in a culture where blacks and whites freely associated with each other. So I don't know any other way to be. So, of course, I just attract other people who feel the same. My circle of friends has always been racially mixed and college was no different.

Daria - for heavy coverage use Dermablend. Not MAc.

I just Googled. They don't sell it in dept stores and there are no stores in my area . I need it applied with full instructions. I'm a bit on the slow side when it comes to all things beauty with the exception of fragrances.

Like the old-timer I am, I have to say y'all had it a lot easier than we did back in the day.

In four years of college, we had: 1. Crosses burned in the carpet outside our dorm rooms, 2. Had a pageant on the quad with white males dressed in balckface, saying they were the flower of black womanhood, 3. A university president, direct from Apartheid era South Africa, 4. Had the Grand kleagle of the klan in permanent residence in town and 5. Got car chased out of town by a group of white townies. 6. Had two units of National Guard mobilize on us because we staged a non-violent protest for equal treatment. All 60 of us. As opposed to the 2000 white folks on campus.

Did I go to school in Mississippi? Alabama? In the 40's? In the 50's? Nope. Went to school in Ohio. In 1979.

All I can say about the latest incidents on campus is, the more things change, the more they stay the same.

L'Oreal's HIP foundations offer a lot of coverage. You can use them for concealer.

I was lucky enough to go to a private art school. Everyone was so caught up in their own personal demons and self-expression to worry about everyone else.

But I remember one time in one of my acting classes, my teacher compared me and three of my fellow black female classmates to Oprah. Within the context of the conversation, what she was saying meant well, but we were very well aware of her not being familiar with any of the current black actresses.

BMD, I need to go to a store of some sort where a make up person will apply it on me and then show it to me. I'm slow like that. It's the only reason I wear dept store/Sephora beauty products

Khia, I'm not that shocked really. The midwest is a mess. Where in OH?

Clearly, being slow in that area dumbfounds me. I charge $200 for private consultations and you'd be amazed how many repeat customers I have….to show them the SAME effin thing again. LOL.

And that's why I love Nordstrom's and Sak's beauty department. My first trip took damn near two hours. It was like teaching a mentally challenged 5 year old to calculus. Didn't learn a thing. I B.S.ed my way through it.

Daria,

Granville, Ohio. 40 miles east of Columbus.

Also, MAC is heavy. If you're brakout prone, it might not be good unless you're into scrupulous cleaning regimen at night. That said, they have a three part concealer system that really works for me. It's Studio Finish Concealer Pallette.

BMD,

thanks for the clarification. your explanation makes more sense as hanging in a mixed group rather than being the only one, which was unclear from the earlier post.

khia, Denison is where white people who are frightened of the coloreds go to get their education. I wouldn't be surprised if all that stuff happened today there.

I went to Michigan State Univ. (GO GREEN!) and one of the issues that I vividly remember was the debate over black students having their own, seperate graduation in addition to the the regular graduation.
I knew it was a big deal when I read about how many students (mainly white) said that they felt is was unfair and that it just segregated the student body by having an additional race specific graduation ceremony.

I didn't go to the black graduation ceremony b/c I didn't feel it was necessary. To this day I'm still torn on how I feel about that.

Other than that, one of the places where I tended to see racist comments, about every minority you can think of, was a web forum where MSU students would post threads and topics related to school or whatever (I used it to get help with homeowrk too, A+, holla!). People could say some of the dumbest shit about minorities that would make my head spin.

BMD,

That's awesome that you played softball! I played in high school (short stop, second, and third base) and frigging LOVED it. Anytime I get to swing at something with a bat is a fun time for me!!
Every now and then I'll catch a college softball game/tournament on ESPN and I'll be glued to it for hours. It still amazes me how fast some of those girls can pitch underhand!

UVA Class of 1998 here! Lauren, I remembered that incident with the student council candidate, although I had already graduated. The alumni were PISSED.

I wrote for the CD as well…I was out covering an event and security beat up a black student (a friend of mine!) right in front of me! They were off the hook back then…clearly nothing's changed.

@JB - Holla! I played third and short from little league through Bobby Sox through high school and then in college.

Well, just in the last couple of weeks, at my uni, which is 2hrs from Minneapolis, St. Cloud State University, there have been incidences (yes, more than one) of the display of the Swastika. http://minnesota.publicradio.o.....swastikas/

If it was not for the large foreign student population (from Africa) SCSU would be unbearable!!