what do you represent?

What is the profile of the average minority student in a PWI? Talented 10th or quota standards?
as I'm sitting in my University's Student Union trying to raise money for Haitian relief efforts, I stop trying to flag people down to push money into my team's decorated Timberland box and I spend about 45 minutes "people watching". I notice that my PWI (primarily white institution) was not as diverse as they make it look online or in info packets.
So I'm sitting there watching the hundreds of white/caucasian LOOKING people (there's no way to look at everyone and KNOW their background) and its easy to pick out people and group them into high school cliques... There are the techies, skaters, goths/darkies, populars, artsy types divided into actors, dancers, photographers, graphic designers, and of course the lames.

Then I see one "Black" female. She has on camel Uggs, black leggings, an oversized sweater, a pea coat and Coach purse in hand, and a BAD (defined as "not good") dark brown armpit/mid back length fluffy curly wig thingy. I think to myself "really?"

Next I spot a "Black" male student. I automatically assume he's in a NPHC fraternity because he is clean cut, has on a button down shirt, knee legnth pea coat, dress pants with a belt and nice shoes. He walks with a suttle confidence as he dissapears into the crowd of white faces. As I notice all the white faced young men strolling along I take note of the gross amount of Timberlands, over sized Tees, and baggy jeans. Thinking to myself, I ask, "isn't that the "black" look?" I understand its ignorance on my part to say something like this, but isn't it true?

After a while of sitting here observing and inwardly judging people, my caucasian teammate, Justin, joins me at the table. We exchange greetings and are approached by someone i consciously placed in the "artsy" clique of my mental high school quad. The person drops some coinage into our box and walks away.

The rest of my time sitting at the table in the student union, I pick out a few more "Black" students while trying to guess their level of "Blackatude". This experience brought to questions to mind:

1) Do I need to do a Tyra Show social experiment?
2) Do the African American -scratch that- the Ethnic minorities-scratch that- MINORITIES (Black, African, African American, Indian, West Indian, Asian, Native American, Pacific Islanders, Arabian, physically handicapped, mentally disabled, etc) who are accepted to PWIs the exeption in their homes, communities, cultures? Do they represent a people who were never given a chance to excel and are now being handed a "great" opportunity? Are WE, in our own right, a "Talented 10th" because of our extremely small numbers?

Or are we here to fill quotas? a number? A salary payer?