Diversity requirements being pushed by the Penn State administration are not necessarily trickling down to students' social life on campus.

Many students said that although the school does provide a wide range of diversity courses, multiculturalism is left in the classroom and ethnic segregation is a common scene. Some administrators agree that diversity outside of Penn State's prescribed courses on the subject is severely lacking.

But with little exception, they have few definite plans to fix the problem, and are instead hoping that diversity in the classroom will eventually seep into everyday life.

Corey Sebro (senior-communications) said he believes students see groups sitting in the HUB-Robeson Center, for example, as split along racial and ethnic lines.

"[The HUB] is divided. I see Asians sitting with Asians and football players sitting with football players," Sebro said. "So, it's hard to [integrate] because there are too many cliques. You come into the HUB and you know where people are going to sit for the most part."

While many students say they do not see diversity in groups outside the classroom, Penn State is actually the most diverse it has ever been in terms of the number of minority students, said Terrell Jones, vice provost for educational equity.

But the system that focuses on increasing the number of minority students does not cure all the problems with diversity, he said, including with group interactions.

"Someone told me that diversity isn't rocket science; it's harder. We already sent someone to the moon, but with diversity ... our society has lost its will to do a lot about getting people to understand different cultures," Jones said.

The classroom setting is where the administration is focusing its attention, leaving diverse social groups to follow students out of the classroom. Whether it translates to student social groups is not a priority, he added.

"We do education, not focus on the social component. We care about what will make you a better student, community member and a better educational product. If you can't go to other parts of the world or the country, we have done you a disservice," Jones said.

However, Jones said the concept of diversity within social networks seems to be lacking, agreeing with many students that everyday life is not as progressive as academia.

"The U.S. is more segregated now than 10 or 15 years ago," he said. "People find comfort and recreate the same groups as when they were younger. ... It's the K to 12 environment before coming to college; we see the by-product of the segregation coming from K to 12."

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But the trickling down aspect -- and the fact that it is not happening well enough -- is a concern for many students. Some say that the lack of diversity outside of prescribed courses causes a disconnect between students of different cultures in real-life situations. The problem augments issues on a campus that is already very white.

Jessica Teh (sophomore-biotechnology) said as an international student from Malaysia, she came to Penn State on scholarship with other students and sees little variety here.

"I don't see diversity," Teh said. "Yes, there are different types of people, but I see predominantly white [students]."

Some courses available to students, not including Intercultural/International Competence (GI) general education classes, are slanted toward the American audience, she said.

"A lot of courses are more American-related. I mean, we're in America," she added. "My friend is taking a health policy class and it's health policy in America. I don't know how it will relate to her future or how it will apply."

Teh said she is not the only student to feel this way.

Anyite Igga (junior-hotel, restaurant and institutional management) agreed with Sebro about cultural partitions, as the two black students sat together before heading off to class. But Igga added that the reason comes from a student's upbringing.

"You do see a clique by culture," Igga said. "A lot of people that grew up around one race are so used to being around what they're accustomed to. Penn State could be the first time they took a class with a minority student."

He said the GI classes are doing a good job educating students about foreign culture, but not in terms of furthering varied social associations.

"I don't think these classes will help me make friends, but it will help educate me on different cultures," he said. "It could help others, but for me, I grew up around all types of people."

Lihe Yeo (junior-food science and nutrition) is also an international student and said being part of the Malaysian Student Association is helpful in a strange country and does not divide the campus.

"We're in America, so it's good to have this support," Yeo said. "I don't think it's segregating the school because we try to promote our culture to other people."

There is something that Yeo said is important for all to remember -- whether student, faculty or administrator -- even if there are many opportunities, no one can be forced into multiculturalism.

"It depends on the individual. If they want, there are a lot of chances if they want to open up," she said.

Penn State has many other international clubs on campus that ranges in national, cultural, ethnic and sexual orientation variation. But many club presidents said the diversity within the groups is still lacking.

The Chinese Friendship Association aims to bridge Chinese and American cultures, and to promote the Chinese culture at Penn State, said its president, Changying Li. However, Li said he still notices a homogenous composition.

"I think we need to do more work to integrate Chinese and American cultures together, because some students are concerned that eastern culture is cut off from others," Li said. "Our club of hundreds of student members are basically all Chinese students studying at Penn State."

The assorted student body is a step in the right direction, Li said, but more can be done to further multicultural incorporation.

"There are many international students here and it is diverse, but we can still do more work and make it better," he added.

Kenny Gerszberg (sophomore-premedicine) said that even though these clubs try to promote inclusion, they instead show cultural divisions.

"If someone outside went [to participate], it could be intimidating. It does segregate the school," Gerszberg said. "I think Penn State is one of the least diverse schools out there."

Oscar Barbosa, president of the Latin American Student Association, also said his club is mostly composed of Latin American students, but is beginning to branch out.

"There are about 100 people, ... mostly Latin American," Barbosa said. "But we have Pakistani, Japanese and American people also."

But Barbosa said that clubs such as his might inadvertently segregate students of different ethnicities. It is not purposely separated, but instead tends to turn out that way.

"I don't think there is segregation. It's more about culture and getting to know each other," he said.

Barbosa added that the clubs also help students keep identity and he is not the only one who feels that way.

Mer Syles (senior-psychology) said identity is imperative for every student to value.

"[Clubs] are a way to help students from losing themselves and keep their identity," Syles said. "It's important to keep their own identity."

And the need for identity puts many students in "other cultures" classes about groups with which they can relate. Barbosa said most of the people in his Latin American-oriented classes are members of Spanish-speaking cultures.

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The administration and faculty have pushed to have more of these classes added to the curriculum, said Sydney Aboul-Hosn, undergraduate program director and senior lecturer of comparative literature.

The purpose for adding the courses has been for students to be exposed to cultures other than the ones to which they belong.

The reason, though, that most students are enrolled in these courses is to fulfill general requirements, Aboul-Hosn said.

"These courses meet diversity requirements," she said. "And ultimately, the ideal would be for students to think about world and culture issues on a global scale. But that is not the case."

Instead, many students may take other culture classes about their own cultures.

"I don't think they make you more diverse; most people take GI courses that relate to them already, because those are the easiest," Gerszberg said.

Aboul-Hosn teaches Comparative Literature 101 (The Theme of Identity in World Literature: Race, Gender and Other Issues of Diversity). And even though her class focuses on global concerns, it is not made up of a wide cross-section of the student body.

"It's not any more diverse than other Penn State classes ... and I think we would like to see diversity in every class, not just one that meets diversity requirements; it shouldn't be treated differently," she said.

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But, some professors do get a more integrated mix of students in their classroom.

And Sam Richards is one of those professors.

In a classroom with 500 students, Richards, lecturer of Sociology 119 (Race and Ethnic Relations), said his class focuses on culture and race interactions. It appeals to all groups, he said, and the make-up of the class reflects the appeal.

"My class is generally more diverse than other courses on campus. And while about 15 percent of undergraduate student are of color, it's more like 25 to 30 percent in this class," he said.

Richards said many students who think Penn State is not ethnically diverse have approached him, but he added that diversity is based on race.

"If we look at diversity, we can see most of the same mainstream white students, but in this class we look at their cultures, where they're from, social class, their views and personal experiences in the world," he said. "Penn State is incredibly diverse in those other aspects."

Looking back over the past 14 years of teaching this course, Richards said he has seen many positive effects, even outside the classroom.

"Students see that Penn State is so disproportionately white, but they tend to be pretty committed to seeing it prosper and expand," he added.

Most agree, though, that this expansion is still not up to par, despite university efforts.

Syles said that as a white student, Penn State looks diverse, but that would probably not be the case if she were part of a minority group.

"I consider Penn State diverse. There are a lot of different people walking down the street -- different races, colors and ethnicities," Syles said. "But I think if someone is a minority, then [the] campus is not diverse."

This comfort level leads many minority students to find a niche with people like them.

Richards said this may result in self-imposed segregation, making the lack of diversity seem worse to some. But, he added, the problem is not severe.

"There are many groups that are divided on lines of ethnicity and nationality," he said. "On one hand, they bring out other cultures and open up people to experience them, but on the other hand, they can divide the student body. It can be a problem when the Chinese Friendship Association only hangs out with people in their own group. But I don't see that."

Richards added that as groups came to the United States, many people worried that they would create separated communities instead of associating with minority groups, leading them to believe the American "melting pot" to break down and ruin the country.

"[Immigrants] held onto their own cultures and people argued that it would lead to the downfall of the United States," he said. "It is possible for people to push division too far and their own cultural agenda, but at this point, especially at Penn State, I don't see that happening."

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However, Major Coleman, professor of African and African American studies, political science, and labor studies and industrial relations, said the American trend of assimilation is not a entirely a good thing.

"I have never accepted the melting pot idea that has applied to non-whites. The melting pot is only applied to white ethnic groups who left their ethnicity to become white," Coleman said. "There are also blacks, Latinos and Asians, and it's important to recognize all cultures."

In his classrooms, he said, there is a mix of students, and maintained that differences are key components to teaching different perspectives.

"[White] attitudes and ideas influence the university so much so that many areas that we teach come only from that perspective. That is why it is necessary to implement integration ... to make sure that those other cultures and voices are heard and recognized," he said. "It's unfortunate that we have to do that, but it's necessary."

Coleman also emphasized a distinction between diversity and integration. He said the latter definitely is found on campus through the different groups built around ethnic groupings that have a collective voice.

"I think [Penn State] is integrated because not only are there lots of cultures in one place, but they share power. That's the difference between integration and diversity," he said. "Institutions need to be integrated."

Coleman said with cultural schisms apparent at Penn State, he likes teaching all students.

"The nation is divided racially and that is seen by the students, but I enjoy teaching every student," he said.