University of Northern Iowa - Old Gold Yearbook (Cedar Falls, IA)

Page 22 text:

BREAKING BARRIERS America has always been known as The Great Melting Pot. People of many cultures and ethnic backgrounds called this country home. Living side-by- side, people formed friendships and dat- ing relationships with others of different races. Freshman Eric Rieners dated Brinda Shetty, a freshman at the University of Iowa. Her parents were originally from India. Since they moved to the United States twenty years ago, Brinda had lived in this country all her life. Brinda and Eric met four years ago in their home town of Mason City, and began dating in February of 1988. Both Eric and Brinda were completely open about the subject of interracial dating before they started seeing each other. 1 never thought much about it, said Brinda. That's because I've always dat- ed American guys. There aren't too many Indians around here. There was an interracial marriage in Eric's family; his cousin had married a black woman from South Africa. At first his mom didn't like the idea, Eric said. But now she is accepted by the whole family. Even though Eric and Brinda's families were from different cultures, they did not feel there were major differences in their upbringing. The only exception Brinda pointed out was that her family was Hin- du while Eric's was Christian. Eric said that they had not faced any discrimination about dating someone from another race. In fact, Brinda saw many interracial couples at the Univer- sity of Iowa. It's well-accepted there, she said. In general. Northern Iowa students were open-minded toward the subject. Students in Joe Wells' Human Identity and Relationships class demonstrated this attitude in a panel in September. Six classmembers participated in the panel to discuss issues and attitudes concern- ing racism. The six people expressed their beliefs about how racism was spread. Other members of the class of- fered their opinions as well. Several students in the class said they or their friends dated people of other races. Some told of parental dissaproval, while others gave instances where fam- ily and friends gave support and accept- ed the relationships. One student pointed out that discrim- ination could show up on both sides of the coin in a relationship; both blacks and whites might have disapproved of friends who had dated outside their race. It was not only whites who might not accept the idea. Wells explained that some people had a particularly hard time accepting an in- terracial couple if one member of the couple had much darker skin than the other. The prejudice runs more along the lines of darkness of skin, Wells said. If you have an oriental-caucasian couple, people are less likely to think of it as interracial. When it comes to Indians or blacks, unfortunately people are more prejudiced toward them than they are toward someone with lighter skin. Although discrimination did occur, many students at UNI were open- minded about the subject of interracial dating. In this melting pot, many peo- ple have formed lasting relationships with someone of a different race. — Michelle Gardner No limitations are found by couples of different races or religions who want to be friends or form a more serious dating relationship. pimo fry D»vU w»g r 20 Interracial Dating

Page 21 text:

Spending time with sis Ix ri, Brock Reed takes time out of his afternoon to watch movies in Noehm Hall. Him y tru Kttrr. Student Life 19

Page 23 text:

Eric Reiners and Brinda Shetty don't feel that difference in skin color should place boundries on dating. Photo h D vU V egnrr Strange looks on the street haven't caused much of a problem for Eric and Brinda. Photo by D vnw gntr. Decisions, decisions, decisions are cause for any couple, regardless of race, to have disagreements. Especially when the decision is over what to order! PMO h Dm Wtgr.tr Student Life 21