The tendency to put people into categories based on their race or religion and the segregation that results from such distinctions were the main topics of concern at last night's informal discussion on inter-group dating and marriage.
"If you really want to be open minded you have to stop categorizing people," Michael Sevi '02 said.
The purpose of the discussion was "to examine an area that is still unfortunately a taboo in the year 2002, despite how far we've come," according to Sevi, who organized the event along with Aquilla Raiford '03 and Myesha Jackson '02.
Sevi began the discussion -- attended by about 50 people of widely-divergent ethnicity-- by talking about his own experience growing up Jewish and being expected to marry a Jewish woman.
He expressed an attitude that he believes a lot of people share about inter-group dating: "It's okay for other people to do it, but it's not okay for me to do it."
Speaking from her own experience, Diamond Hicks '03 responded by saying, "I don't think people really understand because they never even consider it."
Several students mentioned that the problems associated with inter-group dating are made worse at a small campus like Dartmouth.
"The biggest difficulty on this campus is honestly interacting with other cultures. It's almost like there's two different worlds going on here," Jared Craft '02 said.
Some also said that the problem starts immediately upon arrival at Dartmouth. "When freshmen come here they gravitate toward people who look like them," Aisha Siebert '04 said.
During the discussion, some cited statistics indicating that the ratio of black women to black men on campus is approximately three to one to suggest that it is harder for a black man to justify dating outside of his race.
There was some disagreement, however, on who takes the brunt of the criticism for an inter-group relationship -- the male or the female.
While older age groups are traditionally considered to be less tolerant of inter-group relationships, Hicks pointed out that the situation is actually "much worse within our peer group because they are blunt about it."
Another issue that was raised over the course of the dialogue dealt with the responsibility of passing one's own culture down to the next generation.
Sevi spoke of Judaism's 5,000-year tradition and the obligation he feels to continue that tradition.
Heather McMillan '02 voiced a similar view and said, "For a lot of people religion is not something you can change. It's not arbitrary."
The discussion was sponsored by the Concerned Black Students Committee, Hillel, and MOSAIC and was held in Cutter-Shabazz.
