People have a tendency to gravitate toward others who look or sound like themselves. Students are no exception as it is completely natural to want to associate with people of a similar background on campus.

At Sacramento State, many students seem to be content with spending a majority of their free time among those with whom they identify, limiting their college experience.

Anyone can see groups of students studying, relaxing and eating together on campus. It is not rare for those groups to be made up of people of all the same background. Stepping out of one’s comfort zone might feel unnatural at first, but it is a positive thing and can lead to countless experiences, which would be missed by mostly associating with one group of people.

Besides learning and getting a degree, a reason people should go to college is to meet new people and create lifelong memories.

There are clubs for just about every ethnicity on campus for students, giving students the chance to meet people they can feel familiar with.

“I honestly bond more with my race, but I would encourage others to join other clubs,” said junior psychology major Susana Alvarez.

Clubs can teach members things about their ethnic heritage they may not have known or were confused about.

“It gives the chance to share your culture,” said senior chemistry major Michael Yadao, who is not part of an ethnic club but would consider it.

It’s understandable to seek out a group and have a sense of belonging, but students risk segregating themselves when they spend most of their free time with people of the same ethnicity.

Of the 10 engineering organizations on campus, three of them are based on race or gender: the National Society of Black Engineers, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers and the Society of Women Engineers. Why not just have all students who are interested in a particular type of engineering work and study together? When one is finished with college and a career begins, being able to work well alongside all types of people is going to be needed.

Graduating is an accomplishment and everybody should celebrate together. Segregated pre-graduation ceremonies are a sad reminder of how people do not get to interact with each other as much as they should, especially on a campus with as diverse a background as Sac State.

Seeing fliers and hearing announcements for events targeting only a certain group of people can create a sense of resentment. While these events are open to everyone, it’s clear certain students are wanted and others would stick out like a sore thumb.

Instead of a pre-graduation ceremony specifically for black, Latino or LGBT students, why not a huge pre-graduation party for all seniors? Everyone who has worked to the brink of achieving their degree deserves to celebrate; there is no reason why one last blast on campus shouldn’t be like commencement where everyone gets recognition.

Empowerment via segregation is ultimately divisive and a backwards way of thinking for society.

Forcing students to not group together based on ethnicity cannot and should not be done, but more events on campus can certainly encourage students of all backgrounds to spend time together, not to separate themselves from the rest of campus.

Segregation took a long time for society to fight and it’s still an ongoing battle; it’s not a way of thinking in need of embracing once again, even with good intentions.

The Editorial Staff can be reached at [email protected]