College students are products of their environments. Outside of individuals who purposely reject their environments, we dress, talk and act like the people we grew up with.

With this in mind, we must look at the phenomenon of "wiggers," or white males who dress and act like black males. These individuals are also know as "posers" because people perceive them to be purposely trying to "act black."

Many of these white students believe they are not trying to act or imitate black people, but are simply acting like themselves. Much like accents, people unknowingly exhibit traits of the places they were raised.

If a white male grows up in a predominantly black neighborhood, he is not just imitating black culture, but sharing the same overall traits of his surroundings.

The idea of acting black, white or any other race is ridiculous. How exactly does someone act black? Does acting black involve positive or negative traits?

Due to longstanding stereotypes, society believes that a white person wearing baggy jeans, a white T-shirt, a crisp sideways cap and jewelry is a wigger. A person’s clothing, music preference or attitude do not determine his or her race, it is skin color - that’s it. Most, but not all, people who are considered posers or "acting black" are simply representing the traits of the area they grew up in.

This is not exclusively a white situation, either. Black individuals allegedly acting white, are re ferred to as "Uncle Toms." Once again, what does acting white involve? Does wearing a sweater vest, dancing terribly and listening to AC/DC make a black person white? Of course not.

It is insulting and racist to stigmatize people for acting the only way they know how to. During a young person’s development, he or she is unable to determine where they live and how they will be affected. This fact explains why people are the way they are.

These so-called "wiggers" and "Uncle Toms" are seen by their respective races as race traitors. Though I cannot speak intelligently on the feelings of the black community, inside the white community, wiggers are the butt of constant jokes. Posers are generally seen by other white people as trying to be something they are not.

Outside of the white community, Hollywood has also gotten into making so-called "wiggers" look stupid and constantly out of place. Actors such as Jamie Kennedy, Seth Green and Vince Vaughn have all played the stereotypical white guy trying too hard to be black.

People who share similar traits with different races know, understand and don’t care that they will never be a different race. Communities put more thought into how some people are supposedly trying to act than the people who are just living their lives. We all, in some way, represent the towns and communities we grew up in.

The clothes we wear and the people we hang out with don’t determine our race. Since we are all products of our environment, we need to look past the racial stereotypes and just let people be who they are.