Panel to discuss interracial dating

By Darrell Hassler

Some people who claim to be non-racist might be when it comes to dating, a Student Association Minority Relations committee member said.

“If you date someone of another race, you sometimes lose yourself. Some people think that way,” said Vernon Rucker, who is setting up a panel about interracial relationships.

The panel will contain a variety of races including blacks, whites, Asians and maybe a Filipino and a Native American, Rucker said. There will be one interracial couple, he said.

They will meet Monday at 7 p.m. in the Capitol South Room of the Holmes Student Center.

ucker said most of the panelists are for interracial relationships, “but we try to get people who are against or some people are going to be neutral.”

The panel also might deal with questions about children born from interracial marriages and how to deal with racial identity, said SA Minority Relations Adviser Belinda Tijerina.

“What is the danger of raising a child in an interracial marriage? Is identity lost? Is a new identity found? Are you becoming more open-minded now that you are dating interracially?” Tijerina asked.

“There are just a whole bunch of different aspects that you can touch on when you have a discussion panel like this,” she said. “To go into an interracial relationship, you have to be identified with yourself and who you are.”

“I think (the panel) would bring out sensitivities, identities and things like that, that maybe some people do not consider before they go into an interracial relationship.”

“Things like that might come up,” Tijerina said. “It is going to let students voice opinions and gain new opinions.”

Panelists will have some questions prepared for the discussion, but Rucker said he “hopes the audience will get into it.”

The panel discussion, sponsored by the SA Minority Relations Committee, is part of Black Heritage Month.