Columns: Getting the Word Out About the Benefits of Diversity • Public Support for Campus Diversity
News clips from: California • Massachusetts • Michigan • Ohio • Oregon • Washington

Getting the Word Out About the Benefits of Diversity

To generate positive stories about campus diversity, it is essential to use succinct and clear language. Here are some suggestions for framing diversity issues that are based on the latest research.

Use these points to generate stories in faculty newsletters, alumni publications, or student newspapers or as an outline for a newspaper op-ed piece, or a speech.

• A student body and a curriculum that reflect the diversity of our society are important parts of all students' college education.
• A diverse student body has a positive effect on academic achievement and overall college satisfaction.
• A college's commitment to diversity positively affects students' satisfaction with their college experience.
• Diversity in higher education helps students to successfully compete in an increasingly global marketplace.
• Diversity education helps develop important skills such as flexibility, critical thinking and the ability to work in teams.
• Student who learn in diverse classrooms are more likely to feel comfortable interacting with people different from themselves in other aspects of their lives.
• Students who interact in the classroom with students different from themselves are more aware of racial issues and more likely to promote racial understanding.

For research supporting these findings and many more studies demonstrating the educational benefits of diversity, see Diversity Works: The Emerging Picture of How Students Benefit by Daryl G. Smith, et. al. (Washington, D.C.: AAC&U, 1997). To order, contact AAC&U (pub_desk@aacu. nw.dc.us).

http://www.aacu-edu.org

Public Support for Campus Diversity

Much recent media coverage has focused on campus diversity programs that are under attack. For instance, many stories have appeared about ballot initiatives in California and court decisions in Texas that threaten to diminish the diversity of public universities in those states. In addition to the messages based on recent research discussed above, new public opinion research can also be the basis of more positive stories about campus diversity.

The public does support campus diversity. The Ford Foundations' Campus Diversity Initiative recently commissioned a poll of Washington state voters gauging their attitudes toward diversity in higher education. It found:

• More than nine in ten Washingtonians agree that, "in the next generations, people will need to get along with people who are not like them" and that the "nation's growing diversity makes it more important than ever for all of us to understand people who are different from ourselves;"
• Nearly two in three Washington state voters agree that colleges should prepare students to get along in a diverse population; and
• Two in three Washingtonians (64 percent) think our nation is growing apart, and 65 percent think diversity programs on college campuses help bring society together.

It is more important than ever to get the positive message out and to build on the public's support for campus diversity.

The Campus Diversity Initiative Public Information Project will be conducting some additional polling in 1998. Watch for future poll results in upcoming issues of Diversity Digest. For complete results of the Washington poll, contact PR Solutions, 202/371-1999; (prsol@clark.net).

Washington

"Only by working together--hammering nails, painting a house, planting a community garden, organizing a neighborhood day-care center--can anything between the races really change. . . Yes, that is the ultimate goal for a nation destined to become truly multicultural within the next few decades. That's why affirmative action in the workplace and in education--places where people learn to work together--is still essential." Seattle Times columnist Mindy Cameron expressing support for affirmative action as a tool for greater racial understanding. ("Breaking Down Barriers While Breaking Bread," Seattle Times, 27 July 1997).

Oregon

"The country is better served when minorities participate in the legal system as lawyers, prosecutors and judges and in health care as doctors and nurses. The state has a compelling interest in meeting these social needs. Race and ethnicity are perfectly acceptable criteria to consider in deciding the makeup of institutions--especially public colleges supported by taxpayers of every race and ethnicity." Portland Oregonian editorial stressing the importance of educating a diverse student body. ("Ivory Towers," Portland Oregonian, 26 July 1997).

California

"Boalt Hall is a great school. But this whole thing--this affirmative action ban--is turning off a lot of people from going there. They say your race doesn't count for who you are. That's a horrible statement. My whole heritage, my whole culture--they're going to say that doesn't mean anything? That's going to hurt them badly." Student Eddie Lara explaining why he chose Columbia Law School over University of California's Boalt Law School. ("Fallout From UC Preferences Ban," Los Angeles Times, 28 June 1997).

Michigan

"My years at U-M have been enhanced by relationships with men and women from all cultures, classes, races and ethnicities. Such interactions are essential to an education. While courses teach us the history and academic value of diversity, friendships prepare us to survive and thrive in our global community. Good institutions consider not only what a potential student will gain from classes and course work, but what he or she will bring to the campus community." Former University of Michigan student body president Fiona Rose arguing that a diverse student body is good for all students. ("Universities Need Students Who Offer More Than Grades," Detroit Free Press, 17 July 1997).

Massachusetts

"Even though we live in a nation where issues of race are continually in the news, few of us have learned how to talk across racial lines. Our silence, aggravated by persistent social segregation, means that college is often the first opportunity many Americans have to live and work in a multiracial setting, and to engage in multiracial dialogue. And I've seen how hard it can be and how frightened many people are to begin a conversation about race. But I've learned that dialogue about racism can be a powerful catalyst for change." Beverly Daniel Tatum, professor of psychology and education, Mount Holyoke College, encouraging college dialogues on race. ("Overcoming the Culture of Silence on Race," Christian Science Monitor, 2 September 1997).

Ohio

"In addition to providing environments for education and intellectual growth, special-housing programs of all kinds also provide cultural-comfort zones. Research shows that students who participate in these programs feel that they become familiar with the college or university and the variety of resources available to them more quickly. They get to know other students more easily, and receive more attention from associated faculty and staff members. Their intellectual growth and social development are accelerated." Rebecca Lee Parker, Director, Ohio Unions, Ohio State University, challenging critics of ethnic housing. ("Why Special Housing for Ethnic Students Makes Sense," Chronicle of Higher Education, 12 September 1997).