Cultural groups on campus unite, divide

Cultural student groups are thriving at UCLA, with many students finding their niche among those of the same culture, and nowhere is this more obvious than on Bruin Walk.

At the top of Bruin Walk, music blasts every day from the same clump of tables with many of the Latino cultural groups on campus. Across from them a row of Asian student groups always resides and nearby on the Kerckhoff steps is a large group of male Asian students.

Eliana Perez, a member of the Latino American Student Association, said she has wondered why there is always this separation and why her student group ends up at the same tables with other Latino groups, including Hermanos Unidos and several Latino/a fraternities and sororities, on Bruin Walk each day.

“I think it is an unspoken rule,” said Perez, a second-year English student. “It isn’t an intentional message we are sending (to separate racially), but it is still sending a message that we are not mixing as much as we should be.”

Diep Tran, the Vietnamese Student Union’s public relations coordinator, said she did not notice the racial separation as a freshman last year, but saw it once she became part of VSU, which tables right next to Samahang Pilipino, Taiwanese American Union and other Asian student groups. But she said she does not see this separation as a negative issue but simply a matter of cultural similarity between the different Asian groups, and the resulting close proximity reflects this connection.

“All the Asian organizations tend to work together and advocate for similar political movements,” Diep said.

Many students said they have noticed the segregation not just on Bruin Walk but also within groups of friends.

Rishi Vora, a fourth-year physiological science student, has noticed how people bond mostly with students of the same culture and join these groups because it gives them identities.

“Here everyone kind of splits, and it always seems to be cultural,” Vora said. “I didn’t see that in high school, but it is everywhere here.”

Some feel people choose that type of group for comfort.

“In high school there weren’t clubs like that, but coming to a huge school like UCLA it is appealing to join these groups,” said Kathryne Beatty, a third-year geography student.

Rita Tufenkjian, a third-year psychobiology student, agreed that students like to be around people with whom they have more in common.

“I joined the Armenian group, which I had never thought of joining until I got here,” she said. “I went straight there because that is what I am familiar with.”

Sociology Professor Min Zhou, who studies race, ethnic and minority relations, also said she sees the different racial groups as a good thing because they allow an outlet for students with similar experiences and interests to spend time together.

She said that she has not noticed a race problem on campus, and she does not think that these groups send a negative message.

“I don’t think it is a statement of racial segregation,” Zhou said. “It reflects the campus demographics, that this campus has more Asian and Latino students, and it is shown by the groups.”

Several students said there were good and bad aspects to so many students separating themselves this way, though.

“These groups give people an identity and you see that solidarity on Bruin Walk,” Vora said. “But if that is your whole day, if that is the only thing you are involved in, if those are the only people you see, then it is a problem.”

Tufenkjian agreed that being around others with a similar background has two sides.

“It is positive because people can learn about themselves and their background, but it is negative if you don’t get to see other cultures,” Tufenkjian said. “We can all learn from each other because we really are not all that different.”

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