Hannah Tucker never thought twice about diversity at the University of Georgia.
“I thought it was 50 percent black and 50 percent white because that’s what’s fair,” Tucker, a sophomore at UGA, said.
Her freshman year, Tucker roomed with Danielle Cannady, 20, a black sophomore at UGA.
“There is a strong black presence, so people assume we’re even, but it’s only 8% black,” Cannady said.
Cannaday, now a Resident Assistant at Mell Hall, has 48 residents—none of which are black.
Out of all the residents in Mell Hall, there are only 9 black residents.
Because there are so few black students on campus, all black people speak to each other.
“Black people definitely seek each other out on campus,” Cannady said. “It’s a courtesy to acknowledge each other.”
Cannady and Tucker grew close during their freshman year, and Tucker frequently ate in the dining halls with Cannady and her black friends.
“The dining halls are very segregated,” Tucker said. “I got stares in the dining hall and on my floor in Brumby for being with my black friends.”
Tucker said that all the dining halls are segregated and not just into black and white.
“The Asians stick together,” she said.
But it's a different story for black athletes, who are frequently seen dining with their teams, both black and white members.
“If a black athlete was with a group of black people, it's because those were his friends,” Tucker said. “Black athletes have a bond with their whole team because it's not about color, it's about the team and their schedule.”
For the black non-athletes, it's harder to make the adjustment to being around white people.
Cannady immediately felt a sense of isolation during her orientation at UGA.
She came to UGA with the mindset that she would make a lot of friends, but by the end of her first day of orientation, the only friend she made was another black girl.
“You don't know them from Adam and Eve, but they're black, you're black, you've got to be going through the same thing,” Cannady said.
Cannady, now best friends with Tucker, doesn't worry about diversity in her life.
“I hang out with diverse people, but I hang out with black people and do black things, too.”
I liked Devin's story, but I think it could use some work. Namely, the plot line. I enjoyed the story of these two girls becoming best friends, despite thier race, but UGA is a big place. Is this the only story like this, if not, say that. Also, the whole lunch thing, if that's what this is about, then the focus needs to change a tad. Also, I know she's going to talk to my good friends Micheal J. Floyd, but I doubt he'll really tell you anything to add about the desegregation of the dining halls. Perhaps throw some more facts in there like how many ethnic people are in mell as a whole..not just on that RA's hall. I think this will be good with just a little polishing and refining.
ReplyDeleteI think this story is interesting but it needs more and there are a few grammatical things. Make sure you spell the name write because there are some inconsistencies. It would be stronger if you mentioned whether Tucker was white or black. The two sentences about Mell Hall are confusing. I thought they were contradicting each other until I read it for the third time. Also needs another source.
ReplyDeleteI thought the story was very interesting. You have really great quotes. Maybe you could find more statistics or percentages about the amount of other racially diverse students, such as asian? I didn't see any grammatical issues and I thought it was well written!
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