USM fashion merchandising major Minta Jones had known Quentin Ward for seven years before she accepted his offer to come to a music show in New Orleans where he lives.
"I was really afraid to cross the twin span (bridge) by myself before they fixed the hurricane damage," Minta said.
But one day, a friend of a friend accompanied her across the bridge -- dissolving her fear, but filling the dead air of the car ride with inappropriate sexual comments, making Minta grow increasingly uncomfortable with each mile put behind them. She said Quentin "rescued" her from "the creepy guy" once in New Orleans.
The interracial relationship began.
Two weeks later, Quentin treated her to dinner and a George Clinton show, cementing the affection they felt for each other.
Although this began Minta's first interracial relationship, Quentin had tread these waters before.
"I never really think about it," Quentin said. I've dated every kind of girl on the face of the Earth -- white, Hispanic and all kinds of foreign women."
Perhaps surprisingly, Quentin said the Deep South exhibited the least societal backlash against his choice of non-black women. He cited places he's traveled before with girlfriends, such as various destinations in the northeastern and mid-western United States.
"There's more emphasis on sticking with your neighborhood," Quentin said, noting the heavily segregated boroughs of large cities in comparison with the close proximity of the races in the south.
"And in the midwest, you have places like Iowa, Kansas," Quentin said. "There's very few African-American people in those areas."
Junior entertainment industry major Malcolm Evans shares this observation. A black man from Miramar, Fla., he has done his fair share of dating outside his race.
Evans said the only experiences with his non-black girlfriends beyond the occasional double take or sideways eyes were in urban areas of South Florida or Conneticut. He even recalls an occasion on which he and his significant other were practically refused service at a large, nationally franchised restaurant in Florida.
"It's an attitude shift in the room that's really subtle -- narrowed eyes and lots of muttering," he said of his time being ignored by a wait staff for half an hour until he left.
Although most of America has accepted interracial dating, couples still aren't immune to funny looks from the public at large.
White senior broadcast journalism major Whitney Roberts said she prefers black men, and recalls an occasion in a Wal Mart checkout line with a black boyfriend.
"An old white lady was just staring us up and down," Roberts said, adding other minor anecdotes about funny looks, as did all the interracial daters interviewed.
Most also noted that people currently aged under 50 find interracial dating tolerable at least. This is supported by a Gallup poll conducted in 2005, wherein 95 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 approved of interracial relationships.
"There's a point in the generations where it becomes socially acceptable," Quentin said.
Although Quentin and Minta have dated for nearly 6 months, Minta still hasn't told her parents she's involved with a black man.
"I'm just trying to figure out how to say ‘hey, this is Quentin, we're together,'" Minta said. "There's just that first impression knee-jerk."
Evans said he encounters parental problems with his partner choice as well -- but from the women in his family exclusively.
"My mom will say ‘what's wrong with black women?' And ‘nothing' is always my answer," Evans said.
Although he thinks there is nothing wrong with black women, Evans said his social circles usually facilitate his meeting of whites.
"The hip-hop culture has its own thing going on, and I've never been a part of that," he said.
He added that coming from a military family has exposed him to multiple cultures, broadening his views as such. This motif can be found in many interracial couples.
"I don't have a distinct cultural identity," Minta said.
Although most of the college-age generation doesn't discriminate, cultural differences could provide a barrier to interracial romance, an idea subscribed to by senior human resource management major Whtney Johnson.
"I'm not against the idea," the black woman said. "I just don't know if I would do it.
"I think it would be a change in lifestyle. It would just be too much of a cultural difference -- too many issues that wouldn't otherwise be a problem."
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