HSF’s plans to bring in Human Race Machine intrigues staff and students
Krista Cyr
Life Reporter
HSF has ordered a machine that will be available for everyone curious to see what they would look like as a different ethnicity.
“It would be interesting to see what they might choose,” said Nitin Deckha, teacher of sociology of cultural difference. “Looking at different films in class, predominant people were changing their features with surgery to look lighter, fairer, with straighter noses and it is the mainstream media images that push that kind of fashion and film, where people look Europeanized.”
HSF programming director Aaron Miller said it’s a way to celebrate diversity.
“For example, you get to see what you would look like as Asian or black,” he said.
The contraption, called The Human Race Machine, will be available April 2-3 at North Campus.
After your picture is taken inside the large machine, a program adjusts your image by changing it to any race you select.
Parminder Lachhar, a first-year business administration student, said he thinks it would be fun especially with a group of friends.
“I wonder what I would look like as a white guy,” he said.
Satwinder Jhajj, a first-year business administration student, said “[he] would do it because it would be interesting to see what [he] would look like as a different race.”
Jaspreet Bhangu, a first-year general arts and science student said “sometimes people take their look for granted because they want to be lighter or darker and this would show you if it would look good or not. A lot of girls go to a certain extent because they want to fit in.”
Deckha said there really isn’t much of a difference between races.
“We are all one species and if we tour around the world there are merging features with faces changes gradually, it is all a blur,” Deckha said. “How would we decide what an Asian nose looks like? It would be a stereotype of eyes, lips, hair and we would reduce people to these.”
Melanie Chaparian, co-ordinator of liberal arts and sciences, said people see the world differently based on identity and can be influenced by ethnicity.
“It is more than being nice,” she said. “We should stop and think to see the world from different perspectives.”