Besides classes that start before 9 a.m., a paper due two hours ago and an embarrassing cell phone ringing during class, formidable issues like racism and prejudice shadow an often oblivious student demographic.
Incidents like that at Ed's Express in March, when black residents thought a white supervisor who reprimanded them for leaving messes on the tables was singling them out in a racist manner, bring new attention to racial issues on a campus of 40,000 not-so-similar people.
Students like Ma Yin, a senior, still experience the often subtle effects of racism.
\Personally, I really like this place. I find Madison very accommodating,"" Yin said. ""I meet a lot of people that are very curious of my culture, but I also meet a lot of people who are just ignorant of my culture.""
Through its racial justice programs, the YWCA of Madison addresses racial issues like those at Ed's and misunderstandings like Yin's. It offers a quarterly program called ""Unlearning Racism"" at the Pyle Center, the next one taking place today from 8 a.m. to noon. Included in the program is the 90-minute film, ""The Color of Fear"" and a guided dialogue about racism.
""I think a lot of times people think of Madison as a liberal and diverse community and they don't expect that there are the types of racial disparities in Madison that they know to exist in other places,"" said Colleen Butler, YWCA Racial Justice program manager.
On campus, minority students feel racism primarily through Caucasian ignorance or insensitivity to other cultures. Although Yin was born in Taiwan, she lived in the United States for six years of her childhood and speaks flawless English.
""There's a lot of people who go, 'So where are you from?'"" Yin said. ""It gets really annoying because most Caucasians wouldn't get asked that question. It's as if no matter how many generations you've been here, you're still never considered a true American.""
Yin also believes international students could reach out to Caucasians more effectively.
""Since they're coming to this country as a guest, they need to respect its values and culture and language,"" she said. ""As for being an international student, sometimes I feel international students don't take advantage of what they have here. They only spend time with their own culture.""
The YWCA encourages both minority and non-minority students to join the discussions at its racial justice programs. On May 18, it offers an ""It's Time to Talk"" brown bag lunch for community members to discuss racial issues over the noon hour. Details can be found at
