Ten students from the University of Nevada Reno took a break from their tour of the SF State black studies department for a quick luncheon on Tuesday.

As students enjoyed turkey sandwiches and caesar salads, members of the ethnic studies department and a student in the program took 30 minutes to answer questions and describe the cultural atmosphere at the campus.

“The professors here are really open to students,” said a black studies senior from Oakland who preferred to remain nameless.

“Part of your education is in class, the other part is outside,” he said.

Dr. Wade Nobles, a professor of ethnic studies, explained one of the benefits of having a black studies department. Every year Nobles, who is a tribal chief in the West African country of Ghana, takes students to experience their homeland.

“We do not go as tourists,” he said. “It is our home. You don’t tour your home.”

Reg Stewart, who brought the group here from Reno, thinks highly of the ethnic and black studies departments at SF State; he was a graduate in 1993.

“We want them to learn the culture of having an ethnic studies program,” said Stewart, the director of the Center for Student Culture and Diversity at UN Reno.

“These students need a real-world take on ethnic studies because we have no such program in Nevada,” said Stewart in comparing SF State and UN Reno.

Stewart also explained that most students in Reno and Las Vegas who do well in high school end up at UN Reno because it is a more academically challenging university.

Vishal Shah, the black studies coordinator, explained that during the entire day, the students attended three classes.

“They sat in Ancient Egypt History, Introduction into Black Psychology and Economics of the Black Community,” he said.

Some of the students reveled in the atmosphere of SF State. After making the six-hour bus ride from Reno Tuesday morning, UN Reno freshman Scott McAbee liked what he saw.

“State has a lot more culture and diversity than my school in Nevada,” McAbee said.