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I just got back from visiting D at Grinnell and the posse students do not seem to be singled out or identified any more than FA recipients would be. There are several black students (male and female) living on the hall with D and the kids do not isolate-they are one big group. D does not detect any tension and is becoming good friends with a student who may or may not be posse. I think the point of posse is simply to provide the kids contact with each other so that they can talk out normal adjustment issues with someone coming from a similar background (really not that much different than my daughter enjoying talking with other students she's met from the south-missing trees, southern comfort foods, etc) and, since these are first generation college students, providing them with the support that other kids can get from their college educated parents.
During the parent weekend, I sat and talked with two black moms who were there to visit their children just as I was. To me, the racial interaction seemed much more relaxed than it did at D's HS which was in a liberal university town. D has verified this as well in her experience and has not detected palpable social class or ethnic tension.
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