In his Nov. 14 letter to the editor, Allan Ho concluded that to say that Americans are segregating themselves is disrespectful. I meant no disrespect, and I am stating a fact we are segregating ourselves. Americans actively choose to isolate themselves by not associating with anyone other than their ethnic group, and whites are as guilty as any.

Look around campus. Here, you see a group of African-Americans; there, a group of whites. Other places you see Asian students, all separate. It is a rare thing to see a group of mixed ethnicity walking down the Strip or at a party.

It is not my intention to strip an individual of his or her culture, and I believe diversity is a healthy thing. However, I do not believe that it should be the basis on which we think of each other.

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By asking everyone not to check those ethnicity boxes on censuses or applications, I am not implying that you must deny your heritage. While socially, culture matters, it should not matter under the law. What difference should your race make to the government and what right do they have to know? None. Racially oriented statistics only drive home the wedge that divides us.

Equally, I have no desire to abolish cultural societies. However, when an organization only allows members of a specific ethnicity, it is effectively saying that everyone else is not good enough. An association that only accepts a specific race-groups, like Matt Hale’s white supremacist church or the Nation of Islam, does not cherish diversity.

I am not implying that every cultural organization is this way. A specific cultural organization that welcomes anyone, regardless of their background or the recent Diversity Fair is a perfect example of opening one’s self and one’s heritage to everyone. Such events and such behavior are the only way to cherish diversity so that others can experience it as well. Don’t look at someone, see they are different than you and be afraid to speak to them, for they are as human as yourself and offer a wealth of culture to experience.

junior, history and English