'U' aims to maximize diversity

Court actions, student opinion and the nation's political climate all affect how campuses perceive issues of diversity. Finding themselves in the middle of a constantly changing debate, administrators at the University and nationwide say they share the common goal of promoting diversity in America's campuses.

Sue Rasmussen, associate director of the University's Department of Affirmative Action, said she is pleased with the University's increasingly diverse population, but says there is always room for change.

"Compared to other schools, I'd say we're doing OK," Rasmussen said. "We need to be proud of where we've come. But that doesn't mean we stop here."

Provost Nancy Cantor said a diverse campus is "absolutely necessary" in today's society.

"The most important reason to have diversity is that by having people with very diverse life experiences and perspectives, we create the richest educational environment we can," Cantor said. "I think Michigan is an extremely rich and diverse campus."

Rasmussen said while Michigan has become one of the most numerically diverse institutions in the country in the past 15 years, demographics are not the most important factors when it comes to diversity.

"It's not really that Michigan needs to be concerned with diversity, in terms of numbers," Rasmussen said. "What we really need is to maximize the diversity that's already here. We have the building blocks; the question now is, how do we take advantage of what we have, and how can we share our resources?"

Rasmussen said the question is not being sufficiently addressed. She believes students at the University "tend to stay within their own groups."

University administrators, faculty and staff are an integral part of the necessary change, Rasmussen said.

"We can't force people to integrate, but one thing the University can do is to promote intergroup action with dialogue groups, task groups, project groups, to start students talking about things," Rasmussen said. "U of M can't make people mix, but what we can do is facilitate it."

Cantor maintained that students in Ann Arbor seem to interact well.

"I think people mix on this campus quite a bit through the classroom, athletics, and extracurricular activities," Cantor said. "I think there's actually quite a bit of mixing."

John Matlock, assistant vice provost and director of the Office of Academic Multicultural Initiatives, warns against placing "too much emphasis on social diversity."

"Diversity means different things to different people, and I always caution people about putting emphasis on just numbers," Matlock said. "I also question the goal of diversity being everyone mixing. I just think sometimes we focus too much on students talking together. I mean, when you see a group of students of the same ethnic background and say, 'Oh, they're not interacting,' that's dangerous, because you're saying there's something wrong."

Matlock said students should not compromise their racial identities for the sake of interacting with others.

"We shouldn't define diversity as the goal is for all students to get along. I mean, that sounds like an integration model, and when you do that you're not recognizing the racial and gender identities that people bring," Matlock said. "I think the benefit of diversity is not only that students are getting exposed to different perspectives and opinions from different parts of the country and the world, but also that they are being exposed to ideas within an ethnic group.

More than 26 percent of the University's undergraduate enrollment falls within minority categories - either African American, Asian American, Native American or Latino/a. This percentage is relatively high compared to many schools around the country.

The University of California at Berkeley, which is one of the only campuses in the nation in which the number of minority students exceeds that of non-minority students, could well be the epitome of a diverse campus, if demographics are the main focus.

Jesus Mena, director of media relations at Berkeley, said that despite racial differences students are interacting and promoting the ideal of a diverse campus.

"I'm very proud of our campus. The atmosphere here is very good," Mena said. "Overall, students are very impressed with the diversity here. By a long shot, it's a very competitive university compared to other schools, and very diversified."

Rice University Associate Provost Roland Smith said Rice's campus, which is located in Texas, attempts to maintain a diverse campus despite last year's monumental Hopwood decision.

"It seems to me it doesn't do any good for a student to come to a school and only associate with other people of their ethnic group," Smith said. "And I think that at Rice, students are expanding, more so than at other schools. They're doing things to incorporate everyone, regardless of race."

Smith feels Rice, which was one of the last schools to convert to a non-segregated campus during the racially charged 1960s, has "caught up with everyone else, but that doesn't mean we're where we should be."

"When I talk about diversity, I'm not talking about numbers, I'm talking campus atmosphere, about being able to learn about the various ethnic groups," Smith said. "We have a long way to go before that."

Valerie Swain-Cade McCoullum, vice-provost for university life at the University of Pennsylvania, said diversifying Penn is an ongoing process.

"While there are areas where Penn students, faculty and staff would like to see improvements, the commitment and collective work of many of (them) to build and sustain a diverse community at Penn has been extraordinary," Swain-Cade McCoullum said.

Cantor said the University of Michigan and its diversity-promotion programs sit among some of the best in the nation when it comes to promoting diversity on campus.

"I think that along with a lot of other institutions, we take very seriously what diversity adds to the educational environment," Cantor said.

Rasmussen said all universities share common goals of building diversity.

"It's very important for students growing up in a very global community, growing up in a very diverse country, to have experiences with a variety of different people," Rasmussen said. "It's important for students to begin to have a dialogue so that when they go out into the world, they will be able to have a knowledge of the different cultures."

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