MovieChat Forums > A Different World (1987) Discussion > What's the big deal about a white studen...

What's the big deal about a white student at a black college?


I briefly considered going to Howard for a different experience than what I had before. I have several black friends and we openly discuss racism and preconceptions. Those preconceptions go both ways, you know. It's the only way it's ever going to change.



This positively infantile preoccupation with bosoms!Terry-Thomas about US 1963.Hasnt changed much!

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its not big deal and you would have gotten a minority scholarship

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I remember years ago there was an article in Ebony Magazine about a white student going to an all black college. It wouldn't be that much of a stretch to have a few of them there. It would be interesting to hear why the white student chose to attend an HBCU as opposed to a mainstream college or university.

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http://time.com/2907332/historically-black-colleges-increasingly-serve-white-students/

The article discusses the change in HBCU's since desegregation, most black students are going elsewhere. Bluefield State in West Verginia became predominately white since they closed the dorms. St. Philips College in Texas enrollment in 2011 was half Hispanic. A lot of the reasons is money, the schools offer more affordable education.

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Because you are using today's understanding to judge the past. It's not such a big deal today, but it was something more notable in 70s, 80s, and even 90s. It really was a different world back then. You would have had to live in those times to truly understand why it was considered so significant.

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That was actually the original concept of the show Denise going to Hillman and Maggie played by Meg Ryan would be one of the few white students at the school.

Maggie who'd lived around the world came to the school because Lena Horne was teaching a class.

By time the show went into preproduction the original producing staff left, Lena Horne dropped out and Top Gun was relased and Meg Ryan was getting film offers so she dropped.

Anne Beatts was brought in and used old scripts from Square Pegs throughout the first season.

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You mean Marissa Tomei not Meg Ryan

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No, she means Meg Ryan. Meg Ryan was initially cast in the role of Maggie. She dropped out before filming because she was getting film roles, and she was replaced with Marissa Tomei.

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Having to rethink ideas of 'majority' and 'minority' is challenging. Some students enjoy it and can adapt. Others are uncomfortable

My Texas public university was traditionally female and integrated. It requires every undergrad to take multicultural women's studies regardless of degree/intended degree.

Some guys understand this and learn/grow from experience they find out they like feminist theory and women's history. Same way I learned about African American and Latinx history

There are white men who do feel threatened by feminist/womanist theory they have to learn---because they find out they are not the center of the world after all. They had enrolled merely looking for easy A and/or a date. Oops!!

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Show about women's college now going co-ed might be interesting.

My fear is that either it will digress into week after week of just sleeping around. Or with the sleeping around---the networks then won't air the series at all because they won't be able to show what they really want.

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