Couples start dating for all sorts of reasons in college. Maybe there was chemistry while sharing test tubes in a lab, or maybe they bumped into each other at a crowded basketball game. Whatever the beginning, many couples around the campus have enjoyed successful dating lives. Obviously no relationship is perfect, and each individual has aspects that must be worked on to keep the relationship healthy. There are other personal characteristics that cannot be changed, and these are the ones people must decide whether they can live with in a relationship.

One issue that comes up for many college students is interracial dating. Nearly one-fourth of all college students have been in some sort of interracial relationship, and half say they would be interested in someone of another race if the opportunity arose, according to the College Student Journal.

At a university as diverse as ours, it’s surprising the hands we see other people holding are so often the same color. Some people may be hesitant to start an interracial relationship.

For generations, people held the notion they must stick to their own race when looking for potential partners. Many of our grandparents — and even our parents — grew up in communities that were not multicultural. Most students only had classmates of their own race and as a result did not have the chance to meet members of the opposite sex of other races. Now that individualism is promoted among the country’s young people and there are more minorities enrolling in colleges and universities, we have the advantage of meeting people who come from all walks of life, not just those with backgrounds identical to our own.

By dating either outside or within our own spheres, we give ourselves the chance to meet new people who can share their own experiences and perspectives with us. College is a time to expand our horizons, so why not develop a more diverse dating pool as well? When students date only within their own race, they limit their happiness. Rarely can anything be separated into one category or another based on one aspect of its whole. There is so much more to each person than the color of his or her skin; people lose more than a relationship if race is a determining factor.

Dating people from different cultural backgrounds not only introduces a person to their beliefs and heritages, but also to someone they might not have had contact with otherwise.

Everyone talks about making connections and networking in college to get a good job after graduation, and tapping into a new resource could be another opportunity for future success. A Hispanic junior said that dating white girls gave him the chance to meet white men who became good connections. He believes he might not have these job prospects without this dating experience.

Trying new things is never easy. There will always be hurdles to jump, such as disapproving looks from friends, family and strangers. No matter where people grow up or attend college, old prejudices still exist, and many are passed from one generation to the next. While it may seem a lot less complicated to stick to what has always worked, how other people view a relationship should not be the only factor that terminates it. If the members of an interracial couple really care about each other and think they can make it work, real friends and loving families will eventually back them. After all, any true friend would rather see him or her happy as one-half of a biracial couple than lonely.

Let’s be honest: Few of us have ever been in an interracial dating relationship, and more than a few of us would think twice before entering one. But opening yourself up to new opportunities will allow you to grow more than simply remaining comfortable ever could.

Lissa Barker is a junior journalism major. She can be reached at ebarker@umd.edu.