Nicholas Holderman/The Falcon

Dating. Isn't it funny that with that single word, I can instantly heighten the attention you are now going to give this article? Your eyes are focused, the pages are neatly folded to provide optimum viewing and your mind is tuned in, ready to catch whatever droplets of insight might fall your way.

It's spring, and the lingering smell of bark mulch isn't the only thing in the air. With weddings and engagements well on their way, it is easy to get sucked into the proverbial rabbit hole of "why not me" questions.

"Why aren't I getting married?"

"Why aren't I dating?"

"Why can't I find someone?"

Putting aside the consequences of attending a predominately female Christian university, it is important that we consider the consequences of attending a predominately white university in an increasingly diverse world.

What would your parents think if you brought home an African-American boyfriend?

Or a Hispanic girlfriend?

What would your family think if you dated a different ethnicity other than yours at all?

It's easy to hide behind the flattering belief that in this progressive age, someone's ethnicity doesn't make a difference, and to move on to more pressing questions.

But despite what many think, we don't live in a colorblind world. Although it's nice to think that your family wouldn't care whom you brought home to meet them, the issue of race becomes a bigger deal the closer it gets to home.

Avery Matro is a sophomore double-majoring in english literature and classics

"My mom told me to never bring home a black boyfriend," says senior Alexa Megna.

"My family couldn't help making comments when I dated a Chinese guy," says senior Abigail Stahl. "My mom would be talking to someone and be like, 'and her boyfriend is Chinese.' She always had to mention it."

Laughing, Stahl talked about how her mother would always think something her boyfriend did was a result of his race or culture.

"He would come over and be really shy, and my mom would be like, 'Well, he is Chinese,' and I tried telling her, 'No, mom, I think that's just him," Stahl said.

This resistance to interracial dating often gets stronger when older generations become involved.

"My mom wouldn't care whom I brought home," said senior Angela Kelley, "but my grandmother would have a hard time. She couldn't watch a movie with an interracial couple in it."

Another common misconception about interracial dating is that it is only a problem amongst whites. Interracial dating isn't just an issue that is exclusive to couples involving a white partner.

My boyfriend is mostly Japanese, and I am mostly Filipino, and to the rest of the world, we're a cute Asian couple. The rest of the world, that is, excluding his family. When we first started dating, my boyfriend talked about me to his grandmother at a family party. One of her first questions was what ethnicity I was.

Upon hearing that I was part Filipino, she became upset until my boyfriend showed her a picture of me. When she saw the picture she was relieved and said, "Oh, it's OK, she looks Japanese enough."

Our generation likes to compartmentalize the issues of race to be the problems of the 1960s. We have enough problems of our own. We want to live without having to worry about the problems inherited from past generations.

Unfortunately, we don't have a choice. We can't shut our eyes, plug our ears and shout, "nah, nah, nah, I can't hear you," over the racially prejudice voices of older generations. Whether we like it or not, and hopefully we don't, issues associated to interracial dating aren't a thing of the past. They remain in the present.