Discrimination Day is a little bit childish, a little bit superficial and really missing the point.

Today, students will be told not to enter their residence hall if they are not wearing the school colors, red and black. Though students will not be physically stopped from entering, those who enter anyway will be given a sheet explaining the banning.

John Huddleston, Residence Hall Association programming vice president, said the purpose of the event “is to expose students to what it feels like to be discriminated against.”

The intentions are good since discrimination based on race still exists.

The problem is that the idea misses the real racial problem on campus—separation. The fact is, race has become the basis for the college clique. Whites stay in white groups, blacks stay in black groups and even foreign students stay in foreign groups.

The separation causes ignorance and anger between the groups. One would hope that college could be a true melting pot. But it isn’t. In fact, NIU may have even stiffer walls of avoidance than the real world.

So, what is the solution? Definitely not Discrimination Day. Some sort of event forcing racial groups to talk to each other and be with each other would help relieve the real problem. Something like a camping trip, a dinner, a field trip or even a party for multi-racial groups would be more productive.

If colleges want to promote real racial harmony, they have to organize real events that help solve real problems.