After sparking students' interests last year, The Human Race Machine will return to Ohio University today as a part of this year's Diversity Awareness Month.
By capturing the participant's image through a camera and then modifying it, the Human Race Machine allows people to envision themselves as different races, ages, genders or even with disabilities. It also allows couples to combine their images to see what their children might look like, said John O'Marra, a booking agent for Wolfman Productions, an agency that arranges programs that promote diversity.
The company also brought the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll ' Hot Topics Debate Series to OU last quarter, which brought in speakers about religion, porn and marijuana.
This is the second time the machine has come to OU. In January 2007, approximately 2,500 students utilized the machine, with 15 to 20 students going through every hour, said Alicia Boards, the assistant director for multicultural programs at OU.
Although the Human Race Machine is the only program Wolfman Productions offers that isn't a lecture, it is still an interesting tool to broaden one's horizons, O'Marra said.
The images generated by the machine are not a distinct scientific representation but more of an impression of what one might look like, O'Marra said, adding that the purpose of the machine is to provoke dialogue about diversity.
It's not about how drastic you might look but just to trigger some thought processes
he said.
O'Marra said that many people are interested in the machine because of a natural curiosity about other cultures, races, ages and genders, which could be why the machine's popularity has grown over the years.
- it's another thing to experience it G? diversity is not just about race Boards said.
It costs $4,600 to rent the machine for the week, O'Marra said. This year's event was sponsored by the Black Student Cultural Programming Board.
Junior African-American Studies major Bryson Rose, the cultural arts chair for the board, tried the machine last year and said that most of the people who used it were generally more intrigued but not shocked by their results.
There weren't many changes G? it wasn't like you were a whole different person
he said.
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Katherine Bercik
Race Machine shows people as different races, ages, genders
