It’s lunch time. You walk into the cafeteria and scan the sea of students for a place to sit. From the time your eyes look from the right side of the room to the left, your pupils seem to quickly dilate as they process the sudden darkening of the color of the students’ faces.

It’s no one’s fault. People don’t purposely sit as far away from the opposite race as possible. But no one can deny it: there is segregation among students.

Why is the segregation so bad? According to Assistant Principal Cheryl Swinton, the break between the races begins at home.

“I do not see the separation as a segregation problem as much as a sociological problem. Social and economic differences are a large factor,” Swinton said. “Also, as a whole, we do not know enough about each other’s cultures to respect and appreciate the differences and similarities.”

Junior Gerald Ligon has a similar opinion. “People are friends with who they grew up with. If you grew up in an all-black neighborhood, most of your friends are going to be black.”

“Students tend to gravitate towards people who are like them and have similar interests as they do,” Swinton agreed.

Junior Denicia Manigault also thinks segregation problems begin at home, adding, “People shouldn’t teach children with barriers because it bounds them. I wasn’t brought up with those barriers, so I have no trouble being friends with people of both races.”

Manigault also thinks there is an ignorance issue. “People need knowledge to break the barrier,” she said.

So what can be done to fix the problem? Swinton suggests a multi-culture study. “If we could have some kind of fair where we highlight a different culture every month, people may be able to integrate themselves more easily,” she said.

Another suggestion of Swinton’s involves the parents. “My son is a student at Laing, and he is very well integrated,” she said. “I encourage him to bring all kinds of kids to my house.”

Senior Laura Tulga and Manigault are two examples of well-integrated students. In class, Manigault tends to associate more with white students. “In some of my classes with both black and white students, I’m friendlier with the white kids because I’m not used to having many classes with black students,” she said. “But outside of class, I have black and white friends.”

Tulga is one of the few white students in both the Urban Dance Team and the Urban Contemporary Choir. She said she has friends of all kinds. “One of my best friends is black, and one’s white,” she said. “I’ve dated black guys and white guys. I’m not gonna lie; I’ve even dated a Chinese guy.”

“Where I used to live in New Mexico, there were no black people. So when I moved here, I was fascinated with their whole culture. I love to sing gospel, so I joined the choir,” said Tulga about her decision to join the two groups.

Tulga had some trouble integrating at first. “There were some black people who didn’t want to know me at first, but when they got to know me I became accepted,” she said. “But people actually give me props because they know that they won’t let you in if you’re not good.”

Swinton agrees that “as people get to know each other, they realize that they have more things in common than they have differences. This is why, for example, the band students, choir members and athletes are so well integrated; they all share a common interest.”

“I definitely think that there is a segregation problem; when you walk into the cafeteria it’s really obvious,” Tulga said. “But I know that before I joined the choir, there were some other white girls who wanted to join. They just needed someone bold to step up and try it out first.”

Swinton said there are several attempts being made to close the gap on this issue.

“Intramural activities and recruitment efforts are being made to help resolve this problem,” she said. “I wish that there was a solution, because I really don’t think that children see or know color; prejudice and racism are learned behaviors.”