Rubina Javeri, the community education director for the Undergraduate Student Government, said she feels interracial dating is an issue that needs to be addressed at Penn State.

"This is a great subject to focus on because this is an often taboo topic that not many want to bring forth and talk about; however, it affects our community greatly," said Javeri (junior-finance and international business).

Soniya Vaidya, coordinator for the event and the multicultural affairs director, was very pleased with the unexpected turnout and the discussions that developed.

"This is the first year we brought this topic to a venue where it can be discussed. Penn State can really benefit from breaking away from all the misconceptions," said Vaidya (senior-chemical engineering.)

Vaidya enlisted Tristana Harvey, a multicultural resource center counselor, to be the facilitator for the event.

Harvey led the discussion through the many different obstacles of interracial dating, but the participants in the audience kept the night interesting.

When Harvey mentioned several interracial dating films, the most recent being Save the Last Dance, many students were enthusiastic to share their opinions.

"I understand the struggle of finding a good, black male; so of course, I was kind of angered by the situation in Save the Last Dance," said Rochele Haynes (junior-human development and family studies.)

Haynes was referring to the fact that the character Derek, a black male, was dating a white woman.

"It's very rare to see a positive black male image on campus," she said.

The topic soon became society's ideas of dating ideals.

Rita Samper (senior-psychology) believed that there are no set guidelines with dating.

"When you love someone, it goes beyond sex and race; there are no boundaries," she said.

However, the topic that created the most controversy was the discussion of family and friends as obstacles in interracial relationships.

Participants discussed the difficulty of bringing new boyfriends or girlfriends of different races home to their families.

USG Vice President Amanda Hudnall shared a story of dating someone of a different race her freshman year and the anxiety she faced when telling her parents.

"I look back and I see how weak I was and how I was afraid my parents wouldn't accept me," she said.

Other students, however, felt that it is just as easy to forget those who scorn you instead of fighting for their support.

Harvey then directed the forum to the issue of these relationships in big cities versus here in State College.

It appeared to be an overall consensus that interracial relationships are much harder here at Penn State than in cities like Philadelphia or New York.

Raina Leòn, a former Daily Collegian staff member, explained how she feels about how people on campus react to her own interracial relationship.

"It's 2001 and people are still staring at you for holding hands in State College," she said.