<p>I am a black college student in the South and I had high SAT/ACT scores, but I am not performing nearly as well as I could, mainly because I don’t like my major, but that’s another story.</p>
<p>Anyway, I had 3 other roommates my freshman and sophomore years. There was another black che engineering major, a white bio major from TN, and a white philosophy major from California. I really enjoyed the diversity we had. Even the other black guy and I were very different (GASP!). The bio major was in a frat so we never saw him too much. He moved out sophomore year, while the rest of us remained roommates. We often had great conversation ranging from football to politics to religion to the new hot chicks moving in next door. We all hung out. We would go see indie bands together and then go to a hip hop club together. </p>
<p>I can definitely understand how having white roommates would make a black student want to earn better grades even more. I know I often try my hardest in the classes I enjoy to engage in the discussions and show my white classmates that there are such things as educated black men, and in fact, even the stereotypical rapper can be an intelligent individual. I was fortunate to have a roommate from California, who was more “socially & culturally” advanced than the South so he didn’t have any of those misconceptions and/or prejudices against black people. </p>
<p>Lastly, it has been my experience that there are some white students who have never interacted with black peers and probably never will unless they are at work. They just keep to their inner circles or self-perceived elitist organizations. Then you have those who have never interacted with black peers but are willing or eager to. They may ask “ignorant” questions but they are not racist. Then you have those like my roommate who obviously come from a region that is not as backwards as the South. They are friends with everybody. Finally you have those racist - whether blatant or hidden.
The same applies to black students as well - minus the ignorant questions.</p>