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... the prejudicesare more subtle ...Shirley Nettles was one of two Black students to attendD.U. under an exchange program with Southerncolleges instituted by Dean John Rice Winter Quarter.The following are some of her reactions to D.U.students and the school.You are always brainwashed to believe that Whiteuniversities are better than Black schools, sosince D.U. is highly rated in the East, of course Iwas expecting the Ivy League type of stuff, andhoping for more of a "Berkeley" situation, when Icame here. I think it is time for it to go down inthe University of Denver's memoirs that it isn't asmuch as it is thought to be. This may be a prejudicedpoint of view; if it is, I can't help it. I haven't beenexposed to all of the departments, but even a lotof the White kids say that what has made D.U. whatit is, is money. I have been to better schools in theSouth. At Clark there were 15 people in mycalculus class; six people in geometry. To come hereand have class with 150 people was a mentaladjustment. I don't think the individual assistancegiven here is as great as it should be in any of thelearning processes.I would like to be quoted on this: I only want tobe respected for what I am and for what I stand for,if that means anything. I do not want to be integratedinto White Protestant America. Personally, I wouldrather live in the South than in the North; in theSouth you always know where you stand. When youhear people, Blacks as well as Whites, say, "I hateWhites", or "I hate Blacks", this type of thing, it isstereotyping, and I don't think you should do this.You should look at people on an individual basis,not merely at the color of their skin. I think thatat the present time there are a lot of Whites who aremoving away from stereotyping a Black as soon asthey see him. Thus I cannot agree with the premisethat in the South all Whites are prejudiced towardsBlacks, just as I do not feel that in the North allWhites are liberal towards Blacks. In the North theprejudices are more subtle.My overall impression of the Blacks here, as a group,is one of apathy, which goes right along with theschool. The school is made up of a bunch of apatheticpeople who are wrapped up in their own individualcauses, if they have any at all, which I doubt.I find the same thing to be true of the Blacks here.The average Black students at D.U. are from middleclass or upper class families. Thus, economicallyspeaking, they feel accepted, and would never see areason to demand the type of things you might hearfrom Blacks of different backgrounds.278

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