University of Kansas - Jayhawker Yearbook (Lawrence, KS)

Page 23 text:

l Jolved in interracial relationships said that for r J 'I photo illustration by Stephen Pingry , ground. Others did not like the idea. Whether Jpinion about interracial relationships was ,i A V fi avorable or not favorable, some students in- ihem, dating someone of a different race had I. nothing to do with color. Richard lviancinelli, junction City senior, said that as an Italian-American, he would not tell his grandparents if he was dating someone who did not have the same background. Being Italian traditionally means that you should stay within your own race, he said. Interracial dating has never been a big issue for me. I look at a person's features and physical appearance. If I see an African- American woman with attractive features, then I'll definetely be attractedf' Shelly Solon, Wheeling, Ill. senior, had been in an interracial relationship for three years. Solon, who grew up in a predomi- nantly white suburb, had never been involved in an interracial relationship before she came to college. She said she became involved in one by coincidence. kilt wasn't a planned thing-and it wasn't part of a college rebellion, she said. l'm DOI involved with him because he is Black or in spite ofthe fact that he is Black. I'm involved with him because he is a good per- son. Solon said some people thought people got involved in interracial relation- ships for the sake of being involved in one. It makes it seem as though everyone in an interracial relationship is with someone of a different culture on the basis of stereo- types. she said. When you look at something and you know it's legitimate it's a different story. Solon said interracial relationships between whites and African Americans were given more attention by society than other interracial relationships. Sometimes I think people believe that the only interracial relationships are S t u d e n t I. i f e those between blacks and whites, she said. 'lljeople seem to get more tiled-up about Black and white intrerracial relationships more than any other interracial relatiorishipsfy Stephanie Davis, Wichita senior, said it upset her that our culture accepted African-American men dating white women more than it accepted African-American women dating white men. 'Sometimes I wonder what's up with our Black menly' she said. It seems like they don't realize that often white girls just chase after them-especially the athletes. Davis said that although she was in- volved in an interracial relationship, she was not attracted to her boyfriend because of his different ethnic background. She said she and her boyfriend related to each other in differ- ent ways. She said that in some interracial relationships, it was difficult to deal with lan- guage differences and different tastes in music. I guess I get more upset when I see African-American men with white women because of the decline of the African-Ameri- can family, Davis said. The fact that our men choose them over African-American women makes me wonder what their reasons are. No matter what students thought of interracial relationships or thought of those who were involved in them, Iviancinelli said he believed in trusting his feelings. Solon agreed with this, and said that people concentrated more on the differences between cultures than on the similarities. People use traditional ideas about how different Black and white people are to avoid interracial relationships or to criticize them, she said. It's like saying that someone who dates someone from another race is unique. Like you are an exception to a rule.

Page 22 text:

Interracial relationships spark controversy on campus. I' 0 S S cultural D ati n ome students had strong fe about interracial relationships. Some by Carmen h I . r Q 5, Elnm K up b Img p e ps lieved the attraction between two people of lamllr different cultures was exciting because it WHS Wliclar Student Life 18 to be with someone of another ethnic back' lllimilg

Page 24 text:

C Permanent bod decorations reach new popularit on campus. by jennifer polson reation hen l entered Fine Line Tatoo, 29th and Massachusetts Streets, Topeka, l was shocked. A man was reclining in a chair while Teddie Fischer, wearing surgical gloves, repeatf eclly stuck him in the ann with a needle, then dipped the needle into colored pigment. She pierced his skin with the needle again. And S t u d e n t L i f e Z0 again. Fischer said the needle moved up and down quickly and pushed a colored pigmem into the skin about U32 inch deep. She said the body produced a small cyst around the pigmenl and kept it in the skin permanently. Fischer had given tattoos at for alm0SK five years. She had always been around the