Darcy Richie: The dire need for diversity education

Diversity has become a buzzword for racial sensitivity, while at the same time losing all of its depth and substance. As debates concerning the validity of a diversity requirement spread throughout campus, hitting the doors of classrooms and dormitory rooms and even reaching the ears of the apathetic, I found myself discouraged by the lack of information supporting the status quo.

In a class about identity politics, where one would hope to find students who might drift more to the left, I began to argue that a well-rounded and effective curriculum should include some type of in-depth diversity education, similar to the requirements of language, quantitative skills and writing.

To this argument, I received the response, "I'm all about diversity, but why can't we all just be Americans?" By "Americans" he meant, "white, middle-class, monolingual English-speaking individuals who have had little direct experience with cultural, ethnic or other kinds of diversity." While proving that students have yet to grasp the dynamics of diversity, this individual's point reflected a common belief that diversity is somehow the agitator of peace, integration and unity.

In America, we have barely come to reject the melting pot philosophy, gradually replacing it with metaphors such as salad bowl and jellybeans; however, we have not internalized what these metaphors stand for. On campus, we haven't even come that far. While we mouth sentiments like "working together" and "associate" with people we deem different, we still look each other in the eye, seeing brown skin or a pink face, and continue to pass without even minimal knowledge or curiosity of their history or experience.

It is because white culture is the default, unfortunately, that some type of diversity education is extremely warranted. We live in a society where my race and ethnicity must be constantly legitimated for the majority. We study in a school where individuals' racist comments, like "monkey" and "nigger," are justified as a result of the current abundant "diversity" that exists. We study in classrooms where our peers believe a diversity education -- one that incorporates substantive, persistently neglected elements of history, race relations and culture -- is as secondary as arts and crafts.

Prioritization of diversity within a curriculum does not mean using culture as a supplement. It does not mean celebrating interracial complexity through multicultural dinners, ethnic parades or hollow activities that do not also confront the structural inequalities that exist in places like this campus.

It means helping students on a multicultural campus to recognize the complexities of interaction and internal struggles. It means calling upon history and joint experiences to help students understand exactly why it is incorrect to place the picture of a black male face next to the words, "students urged to lock doors." It also means recognizing culture under the light of contemporary circumstances, and the very economic disparities that divide those who regularly travel to New York City on the weekends and those who choose to stay in Philadelphia.

It is not discouraging that there are so many differences and complexities between populations on campus. Honestly, that is almost exciting. Complexities are a reality of society, and their existence on campus draws us closer to the world beyond the glass bubble. It is discouraging, however, that we can live amongst these very complexities and turn a blind eye to them, claiming they do not affect us. When we are finally forced to step past 40th Street, and graduate, it might be too late to try to learn how actions could be seen as racist and insensitive, especially since we will inevitably have to care.

The privilege of embodying the American identity has caused individuals to deny blaring facts of inequalities, from the income disparities in the United States to the testing scores that correlate perfectly with income rather than with intelligence or ability. A diverse education is necessary; we do not even recognize that 10 dollars per meal is too much for some and too little for others.

Schools reflect and build on the society they serve, and universities inevitably filter populations with certain ideologies, priorities and beliefs. Addressing the structural inequalities and racial complexities of our society means offering the students who leave the University the tools to understand these issues, and to begin to truly conceptualize how history feeds into the present. A diverse education is the only viable solution to ignorance and division.

Darcy Richie is a senior urban studies major from Birmingham, Mich. Strange Fruit will appear on Wednesdays.

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