Spring Break
When it's mostly a minority
Colleen Watson and David Zugnoni
Issue date: 5/5/08 Section: News
Stephen Bringuel, a freshman electrical engineering major, said his engineering courses have mostly Indian and white students, but that the demographics don't matter to the particular subject.
"It's not like we're talking about political issues," Bringuel, 19, said about his engineering courses. "It's just science."
However, Tamer Abuelata, a senior philosophy major, said the diversity at SJSU benefits debate in politically involved courses.
"If you're taking a political science class, and you learn about making political decisions, it's good to know how it's going to affect different classes of society," said Abuelata, 25. "It helps you consider the consequences of your decisions. Sometimes, we seem to have simplistic ideas, and they seem to work for us, but they don't necessarily work for other people. So, when there's diversity, you notice a lot of the ideas that don't work for everybody."
Lauren Edwards, a senior political science major, said the Israeli-Palenstinian conflict has been an issue of discussion in her War and Peace class.
"We spend a lot of time talking about Israel and Palestine, and we have people from Israel and Palestine in the class," Edwards said. "It's really nice because they grew up there, and they have firsthand knowledge about what it's like."
"It's not like we're talking about political issues," Bringuel, 19, said about his engineering courses. "It's just science."
However, Tamer Abuelata, a senior philosophy major, said the diversity at SJSU benefits debate in politically involved courses.
"If you're taking a political science class, and you learn about making political decisions, it's good to know how it's going to affect different classes of society," said Abuelata, 25. "It helps you consider the consequences of your decisions. Sometimes, we seem to have simplistic ideas, and they seem to work for us, but they don't necessarily work for other people. So, when there's diversity, you notice a lot of the ideas that don't work for everybody."
Lauren Edwards, a senior political science major, said the Israeli-Palenstinian conflict has been an issue of discussion in her War and Peace class.
"We spend a lot of time talking about Israel and Palestine, and we have people from Israel and Palestine in the class," Edwards said. "It's really nice because they grew up there, and they have firsthand knowledge about what it's like."
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