The Red and Black

Issue date: 4/21/09 Section: Opinions

Race relations

A racial divide exists here, but it's not because of Univ. groups and programs.

Chris Chiego's Monday column argues the University's campaign to promote diversity has led to a racial divide on campus. Chiego insists he intends to open a debate on campus race relations. The numerous comments on our Web site show he's succeeded.

We do think a racial divide exists on campus. But we don't quite agree that the University and the diversity campaign is to blame.

Our school is in the South, and while we don't buy the age-old stereotype that the South is full of ignorant rednecks, we can't deny that racial division is still an institutionalized product of our geography and its history.

Attempts to promote diversity is a reaction to the fact that minorities have been excluded from many of the activities white students have enjoyed for years. Sure, minority students are represented, often disproportionately, in ambassadorial groups and promotional brochures. But how many black students feel comfortable knowing that they represent just 7 percent of the student body at a public university in a state that is approximately 30 percent black?

Given this environment, we don't fault the University in its attempts to empower minorities. An education is not gained solely in a classroom. Your experience at the University will be enriched through contact with people from different cultural, ethnic and racial backgrounds.

Maybe someday our campus won't need to emphasize the racial diversity, minorities will be accepted into every facet of campus life and students will be recognized for their character instead of their culture or skin color. But that day seems a long way off.

- Drew Wheatley for the editorial board

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