As racial tensions continue to persist in America, the word 'diversity' has become a largely utilized synonym for 'cultural inclusiveness.' However, they mean entirely different things, and when the media refers to the two contrasting terms as if they're interchangeable, the true meaning of 'diversity' seems to have been lost in translation.
According to the Google definition of 'diverse', the term means the following:
"Showing a great deal of variety; very different."
No one necessarily knows exactly why it is that there's recently been an increase in racial tensions within the United States, particularly in college communities, but what I do know is that the term 'diversity' is very often misinterpreted as something related to race and/or cultural inclusion, when in fact it simply means being different.
I acknowledge how sensitive the subject of race can be, and how difficult it must be to address issues related to race when they occur within a college community, but I feel that it's important to really grasp the meaning of 'diversity' before using it in excess with hopes of encouraging cultural inclusion.
The point I aim to make here is that 'diversity' should not be a topic of discussion or controversy amongst our society –– diversity is inherent, thus it should not be 'discussed', it should simply just be. Every individual displays traits, genes, or characteristics that do not align with those of any other individual in existence. Therefore, every single person is already diverse, but why is it that educational institutions think they have the ability to teach an already diverse individual on how to be diverse?
Various universities across the country have recently been implementing a 'diversity and cultural inclusiveness training' for faculty, with hopes of raising cultural sensitivity on college campuses. This, in my opinion, will not be an effective way of going about solving the issue of racism on campus. I'm in no way saying that I know what would be an effective way of going about this, but I do know that magnifying the word 'diversity' on a university campus only marginalizes minority groups even more so than they might already be.
I think since each person has a different cultural mentality, depending on where they grew up, their ethnic background, the school they went to when they were little, the way their parents talk about other cultures in front of them, etc., all contribute to one's cultural sensitivity or lack there of. Therefore, 'diversity training' attacks the issue of race with generalized curriculum, but whether or not a person is even willing to be accepting of cultures, other than their own, is purely subjective.
A lack of diversity in our society is not to blame for the racism that has continued to persist, but I think a lack in racial literacy is. Racial literacy is a concept that aims to encourage people to more constructively resolve issues of racism; it's about really wrapping your head around the fact that racism is not just a problem of the past, but rather a current issue and understanding that racial identities are a product of social construction. To be racially literate requires an overall improvement our vocabulary so that we may better ease the conversation effectively, rather than talking in ways that may allude to historical prejudice.
But in order to take the first steps in encouraging 'cultural sensitivity' at our universities, I think our primary focus should be on becoming better speakers about race, so that we can then be aware of the appropriate way to ask those questions about race that many people feel weird asking.
Most importantly, I want to encourage you to embrace different cultures, learn from them, admire them and then implement them into your own life –– because that's what truly embracing diversity looks like.
