Mixing it up

By Hope Stadulis and Torie Deible

Walking through the cafeteria at AHS, one of the more diverse schools in Fairfax County, can be a scary experience for a student that does not know where to sit. If you were to scan the large room, you would see a variety of groups, and ethnicities-most of whom sit together because they share a common interest.

Still, AHS students cannot be classified in typical cliques that everyone sees in the movies: preps, jocks, band geeks, mathletes... None of these titles apply to the AHS students that sit together at lunch. This makes one wonder, do AHS students subconsciously choose their friends, and judge those around them by race?

The only way to find the answer to this question is to simulate the experience. We decided to test a variety of students by sitting at numerous, random tables during lunch and observing the reaction of students when we interacted with them.

We attempted to choose tables that had an array of dissimilar elasticities. That way, we were able to test whether students felt uncomfortable due solely to the fact that we differed in races, or if it was simply because we were complete strangers. We are both Caucasian.

First stop: a table of friendly looking freshmen. This group of girls was composed of a variety of races including Middle-Eastern, African American and Hispanic.

We slinked into seats next to them and initiated conversation. As with meeting any new stranger, the first greeting and introduction was a bit awkward, but as our exchange began to develop, the mood dramatically changed.

Their attitudes were purely amiable and inviting, and we found ourselves delving into interesting conversations with our new friends.
After it was revealed to this group that we were surveying effects of race on interaction, they concurred that they were only thrown-off by the fact that they did not know us.

"I did not even think about your race when you walked up to our table. I don't think that very many people at AHS notice race because we are used to interacting with everyone," said freshman Abigail Mesekerg.

It was time to move on to the next group that we had pinpointed: a quiet looking clump of boys playing cards, mostly of Asian descent. Their demeanors were a bit intimidating from the moment we approached them, and when we asked if we could join their game they simply stared at us and then continued on. Multiple times, we tried to get involved or elicit conversation, but all we received were mumbles, and a whole lot of dirty looks.

We assumed that these gamers had stereotyped us as snobbish, ditzy girls at first glance, and immediately did not want to be associated with us. This was a disappointment, especially because it was difficult to understand exactly what characteristics had inspired them to view us in that light. So we moved on.

A seemingly intellectual group of boys seated at the end of a rectangular table was our next target. After introductions, conversation ebbed and flowed, and except for a few awkward glances, we felt comfortable. Unlike the other groups that we had forced our way into, this group was clearly united by Arabic culture.

"A lot of the time, we speak Arabic when we talk to each other," said sophomore Abdelwahab Hany. "I grew up in Egypt, so I am comfortable speaking it, and we all enjoy it."

As the lunch bell rang, we realized that AHS students are not close minded when it comes to race.

Sure, we had earned some confused looks when we sat at these random tables, but it was clear that these looks were made because we had never been acquainted with these students before. AHS students seem to live by the wise saying: Never judge a book by its cover.

By simply strolling through the hallways of AHS, one can clearly see the plethora of ethnicities blended into different groups. If all were to judge one another exclusively based on race, AHS would be an entirely different environment. There will always be the classic, "What are they dong here?" question, but what we learned today was that the question is not asked because we are of a different race, but simply because we were not familiar faces at their tables.

By Alan Weintraut |  February 18, 2009; 12:57 PM ET
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