Last week, Professor Ariela Keysar hosted a dinner conversation regarding prejudice and micro aggressions present in today’s society and specifically on a college campus. Given recent events, racism and inequality has become an extremely prevalent issue in the country and I believe conversations like this allow for people to witness others’ perspectives and opinions on the current situation. A majority of the conversation consisted of students discussing their personal experience with micro aggressions at Cornell. I deeply resonated with this topic as I have begun to consider my race a lot more since I’ve arrived here. Coming from a huge school like Rutgers University, Cornell’s environment came as quite a shock. Since Rutgers is almost three times the size of Cornell, that population comes with a significant amount of diversity. While Cornell is relatively diverse to an extent, my experience here has noted that a lot of the minority groups tend to flock together. So, if you’re a minority who chooses to not join said group, you experience this weird limbo where you’re not fully accepted by your minority group. Before coming here, I have never experienced these feelings. I grew up in a community where there was a large Indian presence, but I considered myself to have two groups of friends- my Indian/church friends and my school friends. At Rutgers I was able to maintain a similar balance, I was involved in one south Asian focused club and had my other friends. Despite being a part of these two groups, I never felt any sort of strain on my social life. In contrast, here I feel that if you are involved with a minority group on campus they are also your major friend group. Having the two groups I used to experience did not seem like much of an option. Overall, I feel increasingly more aware of my race here at Cornell and I have not come to a conclusion of whether or not this is a good or bad thing. On one hand, I am allowing my culture to take a larger role in my identity, but on the other, I am feeling somewhat excluded because of my race. This thought provoking discussion allowed me to really explore my position here and the role my race plays in my identity. I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to speak with Dr. Keysar regarding this matter and I hope to have similar Rose house events like this in the future.