Students See Their Lives as Different Races

By Jennifer Pierce, NEWS 9

EL RENO, Oklahoma -- Have you ever wanted to know what you would look like if you were someone else?

Students at Redlands Community College are seeing what it's like to be someone totally different through a Human Race Machine.

The Human Race Machine was brought in as part of Black History Month. It's a way for students and staff to learn and see life through a different race.

"In the back of my mind, I always think what if you do wake up one morning and you weren't white or you were Hispanic or Middle Eastern, you know?," student Matthew Mobley said.

At first glance, the Human Race Machine looks like a regular photo booth but once inside, you see it's not just taking your picture. It morphs your image into six different people, faces of different colors and races.

Some do it out of curiosity, but one English class is morphing for a grade. Student Rita Rhodes, who is writing a paper for close about her experience, said the Human Race Machine is not only fun but eye opening.

"It shows that we are all the same. Just because we're different colors and different races, we are all the same," Rhodes said.

That was the purpose of brining the machine to the college. Redlands staff member Joel Drury hopes the students can take away more than just a picture.

"We're born with what we're born with. We don't have that choice, but we have a choice in how we perceive that from a cultural stand point rather than a biological standpoint," Drury said.

The machine can also age you 20 years, and two people can sit in the booth and see what their kids would look like.

Read more about the Human Race Machine on the official Web site.