The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/20/09 Section: Opinions

CHRIS CHIEGO [Click to enlarge]

Despite our generation being raised without laws enforcing segregation, the disuniting of America along racial lines is already well under way.

Our University, like many other institutions ostensibly devoted to higher education, worships at the altar of the nebulous concept of diversity.

Despite its noble assertions, this so-called "commitment to diversity" manifests itself as an ideological orthodoxy that classifies students based solely on their skin color.

As a result of our University's own efforts to promote racial divisiveness in the name of diversity, there is a distinct lack of dialogue and interaction between students of different racial backgrounds at this University, which sets an ominous precedent for our generation's future.

At our University, there are separate graduation ceremonies for certain minorities, special cultural centers for certain ethnic groups, a race-specific "educational support team," a separate preview visit for admitted minority students and even a special newsletter for non-white students.

Everything from brochures to Web sites to ambassadorial organizations is designed to reflect a level of skin-color diversity that the University simply doesn't have, but spends hundreds of thousands of dollars to promote. Press releases tout the percentage of non-white students admitted, a Center for Institutional Diversity ensures that racial issues are constantly emphasized on campus and Housing marks the doors of certain minorities with special nametags.

Although fostering these events and organizations may be intended to help in some vague bureaucratic sense (i.e. when administrators want to demonstrate their "commitment to diversity"), the effects are far more ambiguous than the studies cited by supporters of diversity initiatives actually suggest.

Though intended to help minority students have a better college experience, these programs instead create a separate and unequal experience that does all students at the University a disservice.

Universities wonder why there's a racial divide on their campuses while encouraging students to define themselves by their skin color. Instead of bringing students from different backgrounds together, these organizations and events encourage the balkanization of our campus into heavily segregated fiefdoms.

Even worse, white students are afraid to make their voices heard in discussions about race for fear of being labeled a racist and being stereotyped as ignorant for holding a dissenting viewpoint. I anticipate that writing this column will likely stir up some level of controversy, but I want to make clear that my intention here is to open a frank dialogue on the racial divide on campus.

These divides seem innocuous enough until an incident - such as the Duke lacrosse case - reveals how racially focused thinking clouds the truth and encourages resentment where none should exist.

Eliminating racial divisions will be one of the greatest challenges facing our generation, as it requires us to engage in a dialogue amongst ourselves and break out of our own comfort zones.

Such a dialogue cannot be forced on students from higher authorities; it has to be an individual choice by each student. Racially divisive programs must be abandoned if universities actually hope to foster a post-racial environment on campus.

To paraphrase Chief Justice John G. Roberts, the only way to stop dividing students on the basis of race is to stop dividing students on the basis of race.

- Chris Chiego is a senior from Memphis, Tenn., majoring in international affairs and history.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools