Wheeler: Defining True Diversity
By Katie Wheeler, Contributing Columnist
Published on Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The other day, a prospective student asked me about diversity at Dartmouth. I recalled some statistics that the Admissions Office had once thrown at me. Dartmouth students, it said, come from all 50 states and from over 50 foreign countries, with almost 30 percent being students of color and 60 percent receiving financial aid. Yet the seemingly simple question about diversity left me perplexed and doubtful. Could I really say that these statistics reflected true diversity? What is true diversity, anyway?
I look at the idealized Dartmouth culture and wonder how divergent perspectives and customs can be accepted, appreciated and encouraged within it. And I look at Dartmouth’s various affinity groups that celebrate diversity — Native Americans at Dartmouth, the Pan Asian Community, the Afro-American Society and so on. While these groups undoubtedly promote diversity, I find myself wondering whether they unintentionally cultivate some insularity among campus communities unless the Dartmouth community as a whole works to promote inter-community dialogue.
Because we go to a school where many ethnicities, cultures and economic backgrounds are represented, we tend to think that we are more accepting and open-minded individuals. We would like to believe that we abstain from discrimination and that we wholeheartedly embrace new ideas, cultures and people. Yet I have come to notice that many of us fail to truly become close with those who are radically different from ourselves. Sometimes it appears that we retreat into social circles and organizations that insulate us from people of different socioeconomic backgrounds and races. Although many of us deem such differences to be irrelevant in the relationships we form, we often allow these very differences to define us and the way we view others.
Despite what the Admissions Office tells us, Dartmouth is not a truly diverse campus. The notion of diversity cannot be reduced to a statistic. The Admissions Office reported that in the Class of 2015, 8.3 percent of students are African-American, 15.5 percent are Asian-American, 7 percent are Latino, 3.4 percent are Native American and 0.6 percent are multiracial. Yet these numbers are somewhat meaningless. True diversity is not represented by the number of students of a certain race, the number of affinity groups on campus or the number of students belonging to a specific social class. True diversity is measured by the interactions between these different students. It is not enough to simply coexist with our peers of diverse backgrounds here at Dartmouth. True diversity means really getting to know those who are different from us and genuinely making an effort to understand and appreciate foreign perspectives.
In my experience, interactions of true diversity at Dartmouth are much more limited than we would like to admit. Often, without really realizing it, we isolate ourselves with people whose backgrounds are very similar to our own. Of course, people of the same socioeconomic background or race can still have a variety of perspectives, but we cannot fool ourselves into thinking that we have achieved anything close to true diversity. Naturally, many of us are most comfortable with the familiar, are quick to judge those of a different background on a superficial basis and dislike it when our ways of life are questioned. Sometimes, in celebrating our own cultures and perspectives, we become overly immersed in them and, consequently, fail to appreciate and relate with those from other backgrounds. In order to embrace diversity, we must become aware of these tendencies and must push ourselves to communicate and form relationships with those who are different from us.
As students, we must abandon our assumptions about what it means to be of a particular race or socioeconomic background. We must be eager to learn about and celebrate each other. Dartmouth should make an even greater effort to supplement its cultural affinity groups with facilitated interaction between these groups and engage a broader sector of campus in these conversations. We must venture out of our comfort zones and make an active effort to meet different people and have new experiences. We can no longer hide behind the guise of numbers and statistics. We must work toward becoming a diverse, accepting and knowledgeable student body.
Diversity is a representation of all things other than ethnicity. Diversity can be shared between ethnic groups. It’s sexual identity, socioeconomic status, it’s your family background, it’s all the things you can’t see, and the things that make us who we are. It’s all the things that are sometimes hard to share with others.
Multiculturalism is a representation of ethnic groups and is important for any organization to achieve. You can see multiculturalism in silos here on campus. You have your various houses and offices. You also have your highly paid professionals representing the silos. It all fits the bill of “diversity” and is much easier to spot.
If we had a student center, one that was free from the silos and various professionals, we might have a chance at experiencing diversity. But hey we have the class of 53 commons to experience it. We also have Collis. But we don’t have a student center free from big brother.
By yeahyeahyeah on Apr 25 | 11:32 am
“Dartmouth should make an even greater effort to supplement its cultural affinity groups with facilitated interaction between these groups and engage a broader sector of campus in these conversations.” Please be more specific on how Dartmouth should do this. Propose real solutions for real problems, not abstract ones. Talk about them with your peers (and with SA, PB, faculty and administrators) and figure out what the real challenges are. You would be amazed how many people really care about these issues and the amount of resources they are willing to allocate for community oriented causes (as long at they do not involve drinking).
Personally (as an ‘08 alum), I think Dartmouth provides many great opportunities for students to gain knowledge from a wide range of cultural sources. I think the onus has to be the students to reach out and take advantage of these opportunities. The Brewster international house is great for getting to live with people from all over the world. LaLacs and La Casa are awesome.
I have found most members of affinity houses were also the ones who frequently attended other cultural events (they were required to attend a min number of events at their own house) but to build upon your suggestion, they could be required to attend say 20% of these events individually or as a group in other houses. But the truth imho is that these people are not the ones on campus who need that sort of encouragement.
Try living for a term in Foley House or one of the affinity houses on campus. You do not have to become a member or live in these places (but I encourage you to consider it), but do monitor their bulletin boards/mailing lists and make the effort to attend a dinner, discussion or event. Most of these places are very inclusive and welcoming of guests and many of their events have great food too! But don’t be just another “eat and run”. Stay there and contribute to the discussion.
The best new ideas (maybe develop something like a diversity quotient metric or a smartphone app and some sort of points system to track your cultural education with checkins) must come from current students like you. If you can qualify or quantify the costs/benefits, the funds/support will magically appear. I always remember Dartmouth fondly as the place where no one ever says “No” to you and your new ideas. When I was there the student assembly funded fuel for a Dartmouth van and partially for the hotel so that 8 of us could drive to NYC to attend a salsa concert.
By Anonymouse on Apr 25 | 11:40 am
Dartmouth’s “false” diversity is built on bedrock that is white, male, straight, and wealthy. For those who do not buy in, safe silos are provided.
By DartBored on Apr 25 | 12:42 pm
@yeahyeahyeah Why are you waiting for some building to appear that will magically solve the problem of student interaction? There are tons of spaces at Dartmouth that could be used for a variety of purposes – why not use the resources that you have right now rather than lamenting that you don’t have a new student center? And if you want space that is controlled by students rather than administrators, why doesn’t the student assembly negotiate student control and oversight of some of the existing spaces?
Moreover, isn’t there wireless networking basically everywhere on campus, and doesn’t everyone have a laptop and a smartphone or other mobile device? Why not make use of this “internet” thing to facilitate both electronic and face-to-face interaction?
By Anonymous on Apr 26 | 12:18 am
“why doesn’t the student assembly negotiate student control and oversight of some of the existing spaces?” Now there is an idea! Let’s educate and learn about each other in a strictly student run building. Let students schedule the spaces, let students set the hours of operation of their building, and let students plan the events. Bring student culture into the modern era. The Affinity houses represent multiculturalism in a very positive manner and their role is certainly important. But they house only a few students. The expression and shared understanding of diversity should happen naturally and shouldn’t be forced. Let diversity happen in a student driven manner, and in a manner that isn’t measured by programmatic success and checked boxes of an ethnic tone.
By yeahyeahyeah2 on Apr 26 | 8:40 pm