Diversity: Not so Black and White

Recently, there have been complaints that IWU, as a campus community, lacks diversity. But what does it mean for a campus to possess diversity? It is very easy to view the role of diversity as simply the inclusion and recognition of minorities. While it is important to acknowledge a person’s racial background, it should not be the defining characteristic of that person nor should it be the defining characteristic of diversity.  

Diversity is defined as the state or fact of being diverse, possessing variety and multiformity. At IWU, however, diversity has become a loaded term. There have been times when diversity programming on campus targets race more than any other aspect of a person. In doing so, many other unique characteristics – all of which deserve to be celebrated – are left out. I believe that, when addressing issues of diversity, our campus community should acknowledge more aspects of life than a person’s racial background.

In addition to race, diversity could refer to a person’s religion, sexuality, gender, socioeconomic status, region of origin, personal interests and life experiences; among other things. When considering all of these additional factors, it is fair to say that IWU possesses an eclectic community. The diversity on campus is shaped by both the contributions of the students and the guidance of the university mentors such as professors and professional staff members.

Wesleyan has a history of successful diversity programming. IWU Pride introduced the No H8 campaign to campus and celebrates the LGBT community at the annual drag ball. The office of the Chaplain takes great care to create events to represent the needs of various religious denominations. Socioeconomic status is addressed at the annual Hunger Banquet. These programs have been traditionally successful because they combine quality education and entertainment. These events create a dialog among participants that transcends the program, itself.

It is important that we, as an academic community, continue to explore the aspects of diversity among us. With this in mind, campus programming should be designed to integrate diversity into the lives of IWU students. At the same time, students at IWU should be open to experiencing and embracing both their own and each other’s differences. 

Argus Opinion Piece

I wrote an editorial for the Argus this week. Just in case it doesn't get accepted, I've decided to post it here on my blog.

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Do We Really Need a Play-By-Play?

While I understand that the growth and development of the new classroom building is exciting for everyone in the Illinois Wesleyan (IWU) community, do we really need a webcam play-by-play?

As if watching the construction in person wasn’t exciting enough, visitors to the IWU main page can click on a link which allows viewers to “watch minute-by-minute progress on construction of the new main classroom building.”

The webpage also says: “When workers are active between 7 a.m.-6 p.m., the webcam picture will update every minute.” Meaning, the webcam only offers live updates when the construction crews are in action. When they’re not busy at work, however, the image remains frozen.

I’m forced to wonder: Who is the university’s target audience? The obvious answer is alumni and students no longer on campus. I say this because those who are on campus are forced to endure the inconvenient and disruptive presence of the construction site.

Now, I doubt this is costing the university much in terms of funding, but I suspect it has deducted some common cents from the administration’s account. Who has time to sit and watch the construction equipment inch across the page every minute or, better yet, watch the poor employee walk from the crane to the porta potty and back?

The minute by minute updates might have been a good idea at first but, the university would be better off investing in quality photographs documenting the development of the new building.

The only time video should be used is during monumental moments such as the signing of the final pillar (which occurred this past summer). If alumni are especially invested in the development of the building, then a weekly photo update should suffice.