Race relations came down to a game of trivia and a round of Pictionary last week at the first Marketplace Mixer, a social event designed to encourage diverse friendships among freshmen before racial self-segregation sets in.
The Mixers, which are hosted by Students to Unite Duke and will continue throughout the semester, include a series of icebreakers and casual getting-to-know-you games intended to put people at ease and get conversation started.
“I think that the social separation has a lot to do with the fact that people are passive about their social scene,” said senior Ade Hassan, co-chair of STUD. “They go through their Duke experience not really knowing why all their friends look like them.”
Often race issues become apparent during the spring semester, when freshmen begin to get involved in greek life and unintentionally separate themselves along the lines of black or white fraternities and sororities, STUD leaders said.
This is why STUD plans to pour so much of its energy into the freshman class, where comfort zones have yet to be solidified, Hassan said.
“It is one of the hardest things to get people to party together. It’s like pulling teeth sometimes. And there are still stigmas on campus attached to certain places, so you need to look for a new place that doesn’t have a white title or a black title or an Asian title,” said senior Kimberly Noel, co-chair of STUD.
She noted that the Devil’s Den on Central Campus is a typical gathering place for a black student group, whereas off-campus parties tend to draw few minorities and a more homogeneous crowd.
The Marketplace, where the majority of freshmen eat every day, was chosen as a place that carries no social stigma. “The Marketplace is the greatest example of self-segregation on campus,” Noel said. “It seriously defines people’s Duke experience.”
STUD’s main goal is to create relationships among unlikely groups of people in hopes that more serious discussions will follow. Leaders have noticed a recent peak in interest in the group. The organization, which directly targets race relations within Duke’s social scene, has grown to include an e-mail list of more than 200 people in addition to a core group of regular attendees.
Although only about 25 students showed up and stayed for the duration of the first mixer Sept. 15, Noel and Hassan said the event was a success. The mixer drew a balanced variety of racial groups, and organizers said they hope the event fostered actual friendships that will continue beyond the games and prizes.
“I met a lot of people I wouldn’t have met at the Marketplace usually because the Marketplace is definitely one of the most segregated places on campus,” freshman Steven Sunmonu said.
Others, however, remained unsure about the larger impact of the event.
“I think the mixers are a good idea, but it has to be a considered effort on the part of the student as well. If the student doesn’t want to change or meet new people, it’s not going to work,” said Ife Afolayan, a freshman. “We won’t just magically be friends forever because we played some games together.”
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