BY PRERNA CHAUDHARY ’22

I began to think critically about the role of race in friendship during my firstyear seminar, The Meaning of Friendship. Our Vice President of Student Life and Dean of Students, Marcella Runell Hall, is the professor for this class. We learned about social identities, which are the groups a person identifies with that shape their daily experiences. In Hall’s book, “UnCommon Bonds,” women of various social identities tell stories about friendships that bridge various social divides. Professor Sonia Nieto from UMass Amherst wrote that it is “not easy” to be friends with people different than you.