Blog Entry #7

Last Thursday was the second time I have participated in an exercise like The Fall-Out Shelter. This activity is always interesting, as it allows you to see things from every participant's perspective. Because of the large diversity at the University of South Carolina, each of my classes are filled with students from all different racial, socioeconomic, and political backgrounds. These classifications are often the most influential components of one's decision-making process. However, my group showed no bias while choosing the "most valuable" seven people to be allowed in The Fall-Out Shelter. 


We had a discussion about how we would select the people who were allowed in the shelter, and we came to the consensus that it would be solely based on the contributions they would bring to the community. For example, after choosing the 60-year-old white doctor, we said that whether he was black, brown, red or yellow it would not matter. If he was a woman, it would not matter. We would've chosen the person with his characteristics and qualifications to fill the position in the shelter. This goes to show how our diverse community is growing with open minds, and the shaping of our future community because of this mindset from college students. 

In Utah, about 80% of the population is Caucasian, less than 14% is Hispanic, and less than 2% is African-American; South Carolina is very different. Personally, I have never had issues with people because of their personal identities. Rather, I judge people on the kind of person they are, and their qualities. Coming here, I knew the culture would be different, but I do not treat it differently than before. There's a quote from Morgan Freeman that addresses racism, however, I feel that it applies to all areas of this topic. He said, "How do we stop racism? Stop talking about it. I'm going to stop calling you a white man, and I'm going to ask you to stop calling me a black man."