Conference
It's Not Just Black and White
Author
- Laura Odino (Iowa State University)
Abstract
Black and White…is it as simple as that? Everyday, biracial individuals are forced to select a preference to identify themselves. When most think of mixed race, they picture part white or black without recognizing that many other ethnicities extend beyond this classification. Increasing numbers of biracial students are common in universities today. Their entrance into college is met by a requirement to identify themselves as one race or another by their peers, professors, and university administrators. As biracial students, we have experienced several instances of being encouraged to identify ourselves with a specific ethnicity. We will discuss these circumstances and their ramifications.