A new study conducted by Spectrum in WBHS shows that more than a third of students show signs of racial preference when choosing who to sit with at lunch. The study was conducted  in mid-October when sheets of paper were passed out to each lunch table. Under the guise of a correlational survey about race and how satisfied people are with the staff and curriculum of WBHS, the survey really measured who people chose to sit with at lunch.

First, it is important to make some clarifications. It is reasonable to assume that a person both chooses where to sit at lunch, sits with people they prefer to be around. Racial preference for the purpose of this study is displayed by an individual when he or she is part of a group that both has at least two members at the table and are significantly overrepresented at the table according to a chi squared calculation of goodness of fit.

The following are the findings:

There are some conclusions that can be made from this data. First, Black students and Asian, Middle Eastern, and Pacific Islander students are about twice as likely as white students to show signs of racial preference. Native American students showed no signs of racial preference, though only three responded.

We at WBHS often pride ourselves on the diversity of our school, but what does it say about us that so many people here self segregate?