[DubaiSis]

The "I don't see race" thing might even be more northern. But that's the sort of thing that you can tell an 18 year old girl is not cool to say, explain WHY it makes her sound like a doofus, and she will, after a few minutes of embarrassment, get the message and watch what she says in the future. The problem is there is no good way to talk about it without sounding either racist or superior.

That may be why this forum is a good place to hash it all out. We can say something, make a mistake, get corrected, and learn something from the process. All with a certain amount of anonymity.

I still contend that the land between segregation and diversity is tokenism, and there's not much you can do about that if you want to get from A to B. These college girls can be really proud of themselves for pledging a black girl, but if things go well, the result will be that some of these girls will end up with an actual friend who is black. And that's a good thing. She might have been pledged because of her race, but presuming she doesn't have horns, they may actually get to like her over time as a person, not a fill in the blank person. But that doesn't happen over night, and we have to give these girls a bit of a break as they transition into new territory. And if the worst thing that happens is some girls say some less than graceful statements in an attempt to sound worldly, then we should call that a win.