Political views of first-year students

do, in fact, segregate themselves.

Most minority students admitted to this, saying that fear and awkwardness were their primary reasons.

But minority students are not the only ones who feel uncomfortable at times, according to Andy Burke, president of the Student Government Association.

Burke said that he was uncertain how to handle awkward situations such as language barriers.

Junior Ediely Espinola, a Filipino, can relate to language barrier situations. According to Espinola, sales people in stores get aggravated easily with her •mother who speaks with a thick accent.

"Just because people speak a certain way or with a certain accent does not give anyone the right to treat them like they are dumb," Espinola said.

Bob Bonfiglio, vice president for student development, told the students at the discussion that a range of choices existed for people regarding appropriate responses to given situations.

"A third alternative to fighting or walking away, for example, is to report the incident to proper authorities," Bonfiglio said.

A key point of the forum was that many students on campus have not been exposed to people of other cultures and, therefore, do not know how to interact with them. Ramos said that this forum was aimed at intertwining such diversity.

According to Primiano, great diversification has emerged since 1965, when Legislative reforms abolished the 1920s laws of restricting immigration. Since 1965, for example, there have been 14 million immigrants who have come to the United States, each of whom has brought one's own religion, language and traditions.

Students from both clubs plan to hold another open forum to continue to discuss concerns and aim for resolutions.

First-year-student Nidia Batista, of Cuban and Puerto Rican heritage, said the forum was a successful start in trying to solve existing problems.

"Let's get together and find a solution. My solution is that I don't exclude anyone," Batista said.