News
Students discussed the experiences students of African or Caribbean origin face when first moving to the United States and integrating themselves in a panel discussion Friday night at the International House.
Rodrego Byerly '98, who moderated the discussion with about 20 students, said, "It has been my experience that black students who haven't grown up in the United States have different cultures and different traditions."
The three student panelists, Isha Archer '97, Nana Ashong '99, and Dinsie Williams '97 discussed the prevalence of stereotypical images in American society.
International Office Director Guilan Wang said one reason why stereotypical images persist is that American people have been raised to make assumptions.
Panelists said many Americans think of Africa as being one country rather than a continent with separate countries and different people.
Ashong, who was born in Ghana and lived part of her life in the Middle East, said most people don't view Africa in the same context they view Europe or Asia.
Most people fail to recognize the vastly different cultures and traditions that exist within in the continent, she said.
Even schools like Dartmouth or Harvard make this same generalization by offering courses like "Women in Africa," said Risana Zitha '99, a student who attended the discussion.
"If you were to study [this topic], you would first have to ask 'Which women in Africa?'," Zitha said.
"Even within the same tribe there are so many differences," he said.
Ashong said she blames the media in part for this problem.
"When you see images of Africa on television, you see people starving or anthropologists looking at monkeys.
