Why Don't We See All the White Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? Exploring the Campus Politics of Real and Perceived Racial Segregation

• In Event: 18.011 - Race on Campus: Debunking Myths With Data

Abstract

In Beverly Daniel Tatum’s (2003) classical text, she asked, Why are all the Black kids sitting alone in the cafeteria? Despite the catchy title, it is not Students of Color who are the most likely to self-segregate within institutions of higher education, as highlighted in “Race on Campus.” Rather, it is White people (in particular White men) who are the epicenters of campus-based racial segregation (Cabrera, Franklin, & Watson, 2017). This trend is especially pronounced in the housed Greek system (Cabrera, in press). This presentation will address this massive discrepancy between perception and reality.

This paper will be guided by Bonilla-Silva’s (2006) color-blind racism and Mills’ (1997) epistemologies of ignorance. Color-blind racism refers to the structured means by which White people maintain social dominance by denying the existence and power of contemporary racism. Epistemologies of ignorance refers to the numerous ways that a foundational component of contemporary, systemic racism is White ignorance that racism is even a problem. The two concepts are very closely related, but the former refers to more of a social ideology (in the sociological sense) while the latter is more a type of counter-productive collective consciousness.
[Name omitted] will address the discussion on the flawed rhetoric of self-segregation as addressed in “Race on Campus,” and will highlight his own work on the topic, demonstrating how structured racial ignorance allows White students to see campus-based racial segregation as happenstance when White students do it. Drawing from over 100 interviews with White male undergraduates, it will dive into their explanations for campus-based racial segregation while exploring how they do not find White people like themselves at fault for this phenomenon. Rather, they view it as “naturally occurring” when people like them do it. When Students of Color engage in the same behavior, however, it is seen not only as them separating but also fracturing the campus community. Ultimately, these narratives demonstrate how White denial of racial reality is central to the creation of this harmful, racist myth.

Author

• Nolan L. Cabrera, The University of Arizona