In an attempt to pull racially diverse students together after a divisive election, West Chester University is trying a different approach, writes Susan Svrluga for The Washington Post.

In the wake of riots and sometimes fiery media coverage following the election, many college students across the country have been feeling disenfranchised. However, Anita Foeman, a lecturer at WCU, came up with an innovative way to bring her students together.

Foeman firmly believes in bringing people together, partly from her work in race mediation. So instead of confrontation, she tried to get her students to recognize their own biases, and thought it would be helpful if her students knew more about their genetic roots.

Her solution was to give any of her students who were willing a DNA test, so that they could see exactly what their heritage is. For many of the students, the results were fascinating.

When a white student found out that one percent of his ancestry was African, the two black students sitting next to him gave him a fist bump, and said, “Yes, Brother!”

“Some people have never had a happy conversation about race,” said Foeman. But in her class at West Chester University, there’s laughter. “Our differences are fascinating.”

Read more about Foeman’s class in The Washington Post here, and check out previous VISTA Today coverage of WCU here.