Emily Ude March 13, 2013 EDUC 201-01 Reflection The Ohio State University performed a study on the

formation of segregated friendships within American high schools. The results showed that even as the opportunity to choose friends from different races increases, students tend to make samerace friendships. When you get larger minority populations, they reach a size where you can have a viable single-race community. At that point, students find enough friends within their own race and dont tend to make cross-racial friendships. While some school districts may be very diverse it does assure that they are integrated. A school building that consists of two different races creates a dynamic of us vs. them. Students feel more comfortable coexisting with individuals who have similar physical traits, moral beliefs, and religious practices. If there are enough people that reflect the same beliefs, students strictly make friendships based on those characteristics. Attending a diverse high school that consisted of a majority of Caucasian and African American students, I can relate to the study performed by the Ohio State University. Student friendships were strictly based off of the color of your skin and not necessarily personality and shared interests. Though we were very diverse, the school building had a racial segregation within it. There were enough students of the same race to build relationships without having to integrate and create cross-race friendships. Who you stood with in the hallway, where you sat at lunch, and whom you rode the bus with was all decided by skin color. Academic tracking also played a roll in school segregation. African American students tended to be in life skill classes while Caucasians were in

advanced placement classes. This limited the student body to whom they spent the school day with and created a superiority over the other race. Schools can take action to play a larger roll in racial integration. By mixing students in extracurricular activities, academics, lunch times, study halls, and free periods, students are more likely to make cross-race friendships. Creating classrooms and activities with a diverse student ratio rather than an equal student ratio will force students to make relationships with those surround them. Exposing students to different races will not assure integration. School districts must monitor and take action in mixing classrooms and activities according to race in order to promote integration.