Multiracial Students Discover Identities in College

USA Today published an online article in 2013 on college multiracial students discovering their identity. The University of Kansas in Lawrence held open conversations about race, aiming to aid students in discovering their identities. The article opens with focusing on Sam Ho, a student who is half Asian and half Caucasian, although most people assume he is solely Caucasian. Sam's experience is common of biracial people. 

The pictured quote was said by Belinda Biscoe, the associate vice president for University Outreach at the University of Oklahoma in Norman and a coordinator of The National Conference on Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE). She describes how prevalant of a role race still plays in our society today and how common it is for people who are biracial to hear the question "What are you?" Willie L. Banks Jr., associate dean of students at Cleveland State University, also described the biracial struggle of not being "enough" of a particular race. Banks states "that's the question that's always addressed to these students: Where do you fit in?"

Common issues such as these show how necessary it is for colleges to have discussions and programs on race so that students are able to converse about problems they have experienced, which is exactly what the University of Kansas is beginning to. This article also gives another suggestion that all colleges can do to increase inclusivity of multiracial students, which is to give a 'multiracial' option when completing surveys or biographical information instead of having to choose one race. This shows that colleges acknowledge that race is not just black or white, or a single race for that matter, but rather can be a blend/mixture of races.