The Student Activity Office’s website lists a slew of Boston University cultural groups. But even with these groups, many minorities at BU say student activities are not as diverse as they seem.

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Yves-William Ferrier said that despite his affection for the university, he sometimes feels out of place.

“I have had someone say to me personally, ‘You are the only black person I have seen on campus,'” Ferrier said. “It hurts when someone says that. You go to class-a 250-person lecture-and there are less than a handful of black students and a few Hispanics.”

To combat these feelings of isolation, Ferrier got involved.

“I joined [the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and Umoja] to be around people that have the general same kind of feelings,” he said. “My attendance in these organizations allows me to see more people of my race.”

Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences junior Jemima Chambers said she was comforted by the presence of BU’s diversity groups, including the BU’s Black Student Union.

“In the beginning, I had a hard time here,” she said. “I had to reach out to the black community.”

Chambers said she feels comfortable at BU and that a lot of her friends are not black.

“After figuring out who I was as a person, I realized it isn’t skin color that matters, and began to appreciate the differences in people,” she said. “I’m really glad I didn’t go to a historic all-black college.”

But Chambers said she might not have many black friends at BU because there simply are not a lot of them on campus.

According to Fiske’s Guide to Colleges published in 2005, Boston University is comprised of 18 percent minorities, with eight percent coming from outside the United States.

College of General Studies freshman Soraya Eatemadpour said she has never encountered problems expressing her Iranian roots while at school.

“I am always talking about my culture to everyone, and everyone is really open-minded,” she said.

CAS sophomore Kaori Fujita, a member of the Japanese Student Association, said he believes BU is very accepting of people with different backgrounds.

“I think BU is a community [in] which we can easily express our culture,” he said.

According to SAO Director Carolyn Norris, some of BU’s ethnic organizations were awarded Program and Organization of the Year last year.

Norris said the Taiwanese Student Association won for best program with its “Night Market,” and the International Student’s Consortium was voted best student organization at BU.

Culture is a major part of many student associations, even if it is not the group’s main concern, Norris said.

“It is not just cultural groups that focus on culture,” she said. “For example, performing arts groups like ‘Step About Boston’ incorporate Irish culture into their dance.”

However, despite an array of student groups, some say they still feel out of place on campus.

CAS freshman Carrington Yarde said it is the general attitude toward blacks in Boston that is the problem.

“I feel as though there is this unspoken racism that is all over Boston, and I don’t mean BU,” he said. “It’s not that there are a lot of white people, I’m used to seeing that, but it’s just how a good portion of white people act and the looks they give to me and other black people.”