Black students were forced to sit apart from their peers when the Student Union Lobby was transformed into a caf?(c) run in accordance with Jim Crow Laws, which were enforced in the US between 1876 and 1965.
The NAACP hosted the annual Segregation Caf?(c) on Feb. 4 in honor of Black History Month to raise awareness of the conditions blacks experienced throughout history.
The section designated as "colored" was shabby and filthy on purpose, according to UB NAACP members. Overturned tables, broken chairs and litter left few seats open for diners. A section labeled "whites only" included a clean area with fancy tables and an abundance of chairs.
Signs explaining the live exhibit of discrimination surrounded the segregated dining area. Many students braved the conditions and sat in their designated areas. Two bouncers questioned people about their nationalities before allowing them to enter the caf?(c).
The "whites only" section sat only Caucasian Americans who weren't Jewish or mixed with other ethnicities. Everyone else - Jews, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans and Native Americans were only allowed to dine in the "colored" section.
They were ushered to their designated areas.
"You have people who are friends who are multicultural, some are black [and] some are white, and the white people wanted to sit [with their friends] in the black section, because they felt bad," said Angela Jones, vice president of UB's NAACP and a junior health and human services major.
In the "colored" section, students were treated the same way they would have been during the time of Jim Crow Laws. Black students were served small pieces of food and treated with no hospitality.
White students were treated courteously. They were given normal slices of pizza and regular sized cups.
"It's interesting how they [non-whites] even get smaller pieces of pizza," said Anthony Emiliani, a junior communication major.
Bojan Percevic, a sophomore legal studies major, thought the event was innovative and effective.
"I've actually never seen something at UB like this before and I think it's kind of cool," Percevic said.
Jay Lee, a junior business and accounting major, said he was quite appalled at the way he was treated.
"I cannot believe that as I was attempting to go to the white side, that the body guard would come up and confront me right there, but that was the reality and I do realize it," Lee said.
Lee's display of irritation demonstrated how African Americans must have felt in the past when they were denied equal treatment, according to attendees.
David Rose, a junior environmental design major, explained that the event should have been more inclusive towards students of other ethnicities. The NAACP and other student-run groups should work together to create a community at UB, according to Rose.
"There is diversity at the school but no community," he said.
