People Like Us David Brooks Analysis

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It is popularly perceived that a college environment maintains a wide variety of diverse social groups together in one place; however, what begins to surface as men and women take their first steps into this new environment, is the amount of self-segregation that takes place among various racial, cultural, and bilingual groups. The author, David Brooks, states in his essay on diversity, “People Like Us,” that many groups of people choose to migrate to racially homogenous geographical regions because life is made easier when living with people similar to themselves (123). This is supportive of the claim that the differences in socio-cultural backgrounds among students cause a natural division within the student population at Penn State Harrisburg.…show more content…
Many people believe the United States educational system has been racially integrated since the conclusion of the civil rights movement; those people would be correct. At the same time, within an individual academic establishment such as Penn State, there is still noticeable segregation among the students themselves. Within the student population, there are a variety of racially distinct groups such as Asian, black, or white. In my limited time on campus, I have taken notice to the blatant self-segregation among these groups. Indian students tend to sit together in class, Asian students walk around campus in groups, white students all sit in one section of the cafeteria together, etc. Brooks states that “we are increasing our happiness by segmenting off so rigorously” (123). He explains that groups sharing common qualities seek out each other in order to feel more comfortable and avoid inherent discrimination. Racial segregation is usually fueled by discrimination and inequality among groups. Other reasons for this type of self-segregation are, as Beverly Tatum puts it, for people to be among others who understand their social situation amid other, more prevalent groups. People who are

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