To the Editor:
This letter is in regards to Mary Anne Anderson's article ("Cliquing across color lines," 10/26). I have to say that I was surprised to read that Anderson was only able to find two examples of, as she put it, a "novelty" friendship. Does she attend the same university that I do? One would have to look no further than the walls of my quad to find four people with extremely diverse backgrounds: one hispanic, one Asian, one caucasian, and myself, half African American, half caucasian. I disagree when Anderson calls this sort of relationship a "novelty" at Tufts. It may be true that in the real world and for most of us, the towns we grew up in, these were seen as unusual friendships. But now that we are members of the Tufts community these "novelty" relationships seem quite normal. In fact, if it weren't for the opportunity that Tufts has given me to meet such a diverse group of friends, I would never have been exposed to such a variety of cultures, and for this I am truly grateful.
And in response to Miller's quote in the article about all African-Americans "understanding" each other simply because of their heritage, I must disagree. I would never assume that just because mygreat-great-great grandparent, whom I've never even met, was enslaved, that I would be able to identify with another person. My other ancestors were Irish and underwent a potato famine. Does this mean that I should only have friendships with other Irish people because they're the only ones that can understand me?
I don't think so.
I understand that the article was trying to address the need for a more culturally mixed campus. While I agree that there is definite need for improvement, I felt that, at the same time, by describing Keital and Mason's friendship as an anomaly, the article belittled what progress Tufts has made in bringing cultures together. If Anderson had done her research a little better, she would've captured a broader sense of the reality at Tufts.
Arlethia Rose Lawler '03
