If everything is always right, then something must be wrong because nothing is perfect here on earth. We live in a society that has many great things to offer; however, there are still problems many of us face on a daily basis. Most have no overnight solution, and some may not have a solution at all.
Social problems, in my opinion, are defined by the citizens of a society. What I may consider a social problem, someone else may not because it may not be an issue where they live.
One social problem that hits close to home is segregation. I grew up in an all-white, rural, small town in Central Illinois where I witnessed white flight on more than one occasion.
White flight is when white people move to a new location because blacks moved near them or somewhere in their neighborhood. Later in life, I would experience similar situations in Cincinnati, Ohio, where segregation is an issue of concern, as well as racial oppression. Many U.S. cities, particularly those in the Midwest and Northeast, are racially segregated.
Some main reasons why segregation exists today include poverty, racial oppression in specific regions and white flight. I believe segregation is a result of people being honest and knowing within themselves that they cannot or chose not to live near people of races different from theirs. At the end of the day, people are more comfortable around their own kind, so in many ways, segregation does make sense.
For the most part, segregation is not institutionalized. In some cases, segregation is something the citizens of America created for themselves and deemed as necessary.
Segregation is highly visible in society and is even found at Bowling Green State University.
Bowling Green is home to a diverse, but small population. Without the University, Bowling Green would not be diverse. Even though the campus itself has a nice blend of people, I notice segregation here on a daily basis. It’s at the parties we go to, classes, church, and so on. Every time I go inside the Student Union, I expect to see and do see a select few tables filled with several African American students, and maybe a few Hispanics here and there.
On the flipside of things, I see countless tables filled with only Caucasian students. It used to bother me, but now I have a clearer understanding of why it’s like that. There are not many minority students at Bowling Green, so the few that are here tend to stick together because we all share the same struggles and can relate to each other well.
Things on campus such as housing honors students in Kreischer-Darrow and housing international students on the 3rd floor of Kreishcer-Compton are also segregation, but an accepted and non-controversial segregation. In other places around the nation, segregation becomes a more serious issue.
Segregation can be a problem for some people and be a preference for others. I stated earlier that it is a social problem, but that depends solely on who is looking at it. It has the capacity of leading to more serious issues such as racial tension and racial oppression, but it’s found all over the United States and can easily be overlooked because there are even more serious issues facing society than segregation.
I know most of us tend to feel more comfortable around people who are similar to us in whatever way, but we could miss out on some interesting people if we always did that. We choose to separate ourselves from others most of the time, but it doesn’t have to be like that. This is college, and it will ultimately prepare a good handful of us for the real world. And believe me, the real world is diverse.
E-mail Jeremy with comments at [email protected].
