(NAME-MCE) We boast about our diversity, but are we really that diverse?

[Bill Howe]

 We boast about our diversity, but are we really that diverse?

The University of Kansas has an obligation to find under-represented groups
and provide opportunities to help them. If the problem is wealth
distribution, then the State of Kansas has the responsibility to help those
less fortunate.

By Lucas Lux <http://www.kansan.com/staff/lucas_lux/>

Tuesday, March 27, 2007

 Having a diverse student body is something worth boasting about. The
University of Kansas' Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Richard
Lariviere said on the University's Web site that diversity mattered because
it "enriches our ability to solve problems and create new knowledge." If
what Lariviere said was true, the University was sure to have trouble
solving problems and creating new knowledge.

If a diverse student body helps create new knowledge, one would hope that it
would not be closed up in buildings like the Multicultural Resource Center.

Students hear constantly about the University's diversity and the strengths
that it brings to campus. But where is this diversity, you may ask. And
you're right; if you are looking for diversity, the Hill is not the place to
find it. But the diversity is nowhere to be found. Of the 26,733 students
enrolled in the University for the 2007 school year, 20,977 — nearly 80
percent — call themselves white. The second largest category is non-resident
aliens with 1,579. The University's African-American and Hispanic-American
students combine to account for less than 2,000 or 7 percent of enrollees.
For as much as the University talks about its focus on diversity, it is
evident that little action takes place.

If a diverse student body helps create new knowledge, one would hope that it
would not be closed up in buildings like the Multicultural Resource Center.
Opened in 1995 as a reaction to racial tensions on campus, the center's Web
site says it was created "to promote multicultural education and
understanding." More than 10 years later little racial tension exists on
campus. There is equally little racial diversity, however. Out of the same
26,000 students, 8,139 come from Johnson County, a suburban county outside
Kansas City, Kan. Only 711 students come from Wyandotte, the county home to
Kansas City, Kan. The case that the University is a diverse campus is
difficult to make with such overrepresented areas.

The best way to promote multicultural education and understanding is
interaction with different cultures. This interaction rarely comes from
workshops; this interaction comes from everyday encounters with people who
are different from oneself. People who go out of their way to attend
workshops usually already appreciate the diversity they show up to learn
about; the people who most need multicultural education and understanding
are unlikely to participate in a multicultural activity. To truly promote
understanding between cultures the University must find a way to bring
diversity to campus.

The University can't force minorities or students from different areas to
apply, nor is the University systematically denying admission based on race
or hometown. But the University does have a role to play as a public
education and research institution. It has an obligation to find reasons for
gaps in diversity and to try to close them. The University should not stop
admitting Johnson County students, but should look into why students from
areas like Wyandotte County don't apply. If the problem is a deficiency of
K-12 education, Kansas should find ways to help. If money is the problem,
the University should make scholarships available so less fortunate students
can attend. Diversity makes our university stronger, but boasting about a
diversity that is not present makes us weaker and ignorant.

Lux is a Topeka freshman in German.


-- 
Bill Howe
http://www.billhowe.org

Join me this summer in China - Multicultural Educators to China Summer 2007
Trip - http://billhowe.org/China2007.htm

Asian Pacific American Coalition - http://www.apaact.com/

Past-President
National Association for Multicultural Education (NAME)
http://www.nameorg.org