Fostering Diversity On School Campuses

Racial diversity is something that is often discussed on college campuses. As a student who self-identifies as a minority in more ways than one I often feel like I have a pretty good understanding of the subject of racism and race. However, often times when these issue are discussed I learn something new; this was the case when reading the articles this week. This week’s articles examined the issue of race from different perspectives. This allowed me to re-examine the issue in a fuller manner; it also allowed me to question some of my own notions that I hadn’t really challenged before.

Poverty is a serious issue which our society and children faces every day. It is a constant struggle that shouldn’t be ignored. UNICEF states “The study of OECD countries in 2007, over fourteen percent of Australian children under the age of eighteen are currently living in households who are defined as poor or with incomes less than half of the median national income”. The increase in the number and percentage of children living in poverty within our society has contributed to making today's classrooms more diverse than ever it has been. This highlights and makes both teaching and learning more challenging. Diversity exists in the students who are living in poverty and the education assistant and teachers must provide the concept of diversity

Diversity is a term known for, "variety." To be diverse is to have a range of different types of people all in one place. Different types of people can range from their race, background, social class, age, or religion. Those are just a few examples that can separate a person from others. To be aware of diversity around you is something everyone should take note of. Many people may not realize that they live in such a diverse world that they do not know how to cope with someone when they do find someone with a different background than they do. Washburn University has a very diverse population and Washburn and most of the students and faculty are aware of this and take great pride in it. Washburn University is not the biggest college and it

As a member of several clubs and organizations, I have always valued the wide range of people you can find within the walls of my high school. If you walk into my Physics lab, you will find me collaborating with a dancer strongly involved in his cultural heritage and a volleyball player in the engineering academy. If you come to my Calculus class, you will see me calculating derivatives with a football player, a snowboarder, a National Honor Society officer, and a painter. The word “diversity” is often used to describe a cross-cultural population, but it is so much more than that. At Bartlett High School, students originate from hundreds of different cultures, with an abundance interests, and participate together in an assortment of activities.

Sophia Kerby speaks out about why we need diversity on college campuses. She uses research on Fisher Vs University of Texas to challenge college and universities to make change in their admission policies. Kerby states, “If the Court bars the use of race in admissions, it will erase 50 years of progress and threaten universities’ attempts to make college campuses more diverse and inclusive” (Kerby, 2012). Kerby understands that every college and university cannot use race as a way help with diversity in intuitions. So, it’s important as a country that we continue to allow equal opportunity to higher education base on fairness to all. Kerby has 10 interesting reason why we need diversity on campuses for all students. One of the ten reason are

Being at university is such an incredible experience because it gives you a sense of what the real world looks like. You shape yourself and allow the entire experience to decide the kind of human being you want to be. Make sure you take advantage of every opportunity to meet new people, share stories and laugh. Diversity is something that as students of NMMU, we should all strive for.

I believe that I could contribute to the diversity on campus. I was raised on a farm in a small town in Pennsylvania. If I were to attend University of Colorado Boulder I could teach my fellow classmates the jobs on the farm and how important they all are. I could also teach them the importance of hard work. Growing up on a farm meant waking up before the sun and working long hours. Each day on the farm there was a new job to be done and it also involved a lot of hard work.

What better way to bring character and depth to a university than to encourage diversity? The multiple avenues diversity can be defined by is vital to understand before diving into the effects diversity can have. Race, ethnicity, religion, and gender are all important to consider when looking at their effect on a student body. By looking at each individually, one can begin to imagine the monumental effects diversity has.

As federal government has set a precedent to enhance diversity that become a great catalyst to promote diversity discourse through research and programs in higher education. In 1998, the Ford Foundation had sponsored a national opinion poll in the U.S. regarding diversity initiatives on campus, which shows that more than ninety percent respondents think that higher education has an important role to endorse diversity (Smith & Schonfeld, 2000). Moreover, diversity initiatives have been focused on improving academic experience and institutional environment for diverse student groups; specifically, aimed to make the environment inclusive for the underrepresented students (in the paper also interpreted

In recent decades, diversity have played an important role in society than what it did before. Cultural diversity, defined as differences that exist between peoples, such as languages, style, age, race, ethnicity, and traditions are representative within societies. Societies are various of groups or communities associated together for different purposes. I assert that being on diverse college campuses, where is mixed with different races and backgrounds of people will educate you and allow you to meet people you may not have met. Also, I believe that a diverse college campus can impact certain areas of society. Whether areas around the campus or in our future workplace. In that it makes us become more competitive on the world stage, by more ideas brought to the discussion, variety of perspective are pooled, innovation and creativity emerge. Moreover, since societies now are more diverse, people are more likely to pay more attention to impacts of diversity.

A diverse student body is really important to me and is a prime factor in my decision of choosing where to apply for medical school. Our society today is a multicultural one with diverse patient populations. To account for this trend, it is paramount that we graduate physicians that are more culturally aware and culturally sensitive to these issues. Having a diverse student body also facilitates a good learning environment where we can learn from each other's unique experiences.

The quota and affirmative action policies in Indian higher education have been successful to enhance the enrollment of the lower castes, women, and marginalized student groups. However, it does not provide institutional support mechanisms to protect them against discrimination and injustice. The presence of a significant and growing population of the oppressed student groups on college campuses has been perceived as a challenge to the historical hegemony of the privileged social groups. The compositional student diversity without institutional focus to benefit of diverse student body and enrich the learning environment for all. The student diversity has created a range of issues on the college campuses. Therefore, in the last decade alone, numerous incidents of caste-based discrimination, gender injustice, and coercion of democratic values have been reported on the campuses across the country.

Within the core of many educational institutions, diversity is a commercial tacit. While every institution cannot offer the same kind of diversity, the endorsement of such exists through various definitions. The Western Association of Schools and Colleges define diversity through the various classes: race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, disability, national origin, religion, sexual orientation, and age (“Statement on Diversity”)

It is a common expectation nowadays at schools, colleges, and workplaces to be able to respect diversity, speak multi languages and communicate in a highly skilled manner. Humankind and society demand a successful intercultural communication to survive. Having the understanding of communication among people from different regions, languages, and cultures is critically important. For instance, 500 companies advocate that diversity is essential for the bottom line and came out with agreement to support race- based admission policies such as Coca-Cola, General Electric, and Hewlett-Packard. All students on campus can get benefit from diversity because diversity leads people to learn from a variety of backgrounds and enhance innovation and collaboration. Research indicate that increasing the racial diversity on campus impact the academic and social effects positively. However, to enhance and promote diversity, one must be able to comprehend culture concept fully and appreciate the value of different cultures.

It is essential for diversity to exist because it offers people to have the ability to take in new experiences and viewpoints. However, the definition of diversity can change from person to person. Many college campuses have varying definitions of diversity, whether it is having students of many different regions, majors, or ethnicities. The University of Colorado’s definition seems to focus on the aspect of community. The University of Colorado Boulder defines diversity as having students from a variety of backgrounds and interests, all adding to the idea that they will come together to form a strong community. However, this definition is not consistent with the actions of the university, which focus mainly on race.