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September 15, 2006 > Opinion > Diversity rank deserves closer look

Diversity rank deserves closer look

By Stephanie Jennings | Thresher Editorial Staff

The Princeton Review’s Best 361 Colleges, released last month, ranked Rice first in the “Lots of Race/Class Interaction” category. I usually wonder about the truth behind these ratings, but this one is especially questionable. Apparently, the same campus with minority flight, self-segregation and tensions between drinkers, non-drinkers, Christians, non-Christians, athletes and non-athletes is the best diversity U.S. colleges have to offer.

Rice certainly is better than the University of Texas at Austin, with its pronounced minority self-segregation. And Rice does not have Duke University’s notorious class tensions. But the ratings still feel wrong.

My problem with the Princeton Review rating is that it gives the wrong impression of Rice’s diverse campus. Yes, Rice is diverse — one just has to sit in the Student Center for five minutes to see that — but the Princeton Review makes Rice seem as if it has absolutely no diversity issues. I fear both current and prospective students will see this rating and believe this. Sure, Rice has come far from the days of blackface parties called Darki-Arts, but we need to be cognizant of the “real” Rice and its issues. If most students are not even mentioning obviously unspoken diversity issues, our superlative racial and class interaction cannot be that meaningful.

Most recently, events in preparation for Orientation Week and during O-Week itself highlighted some of the diversity issues on campus. There was the issue of the Jones O-Week theme, which was handled smoothly by all involved parties. At some campuses, a similar situation would have led to protests or boycotts.

As an O-Week diversity facilitator this year, my experience was mostly positive. The diversity workshops tend to have a reputation for spoiling the euphoric atmosphere of O-Week by introducing not-so-pleasant Rice issues.

Going into the workshops, I expected an uphill battle dealing with students thinking we were going to tell all the white people they were insensitive bigots. Usually it seems that the only students willing to bring up diversity issues — good or bad — are those in the minority, whether a female electrical engineer, black student or economically disadvantaged student. So to see entire colleges of new students, advisers and coordinators participating in the discussions was exciting, and it lent credence to the Princeton Review rating.

However, one workshop was astoundingly disappointing. The discussion was sidetracked and became a catfight about America’s role in the world — a shouting match between a few of the advisers and international students. Some of the students, especially the international students, were visibly uncomfortable.

This debate prompted new students and advisers to attack us and say how much they hate diversity workshops. The occasional adviser or student attempting to bring things back on-topic had little to no success. Advisers were talking throughout the entire session, walking around the room, using their cell phones or just leaving.

I am not trying to say that the students with dissenting opinions should not have said anything — a campus with homogenous views is not very diverse at all. However, the lack of respect for fellow students and the general level of immaturity at that diversity workshop was pitiful for a university that supposedly has the best race/class interaction in the country. According to the ranking, a diversity workshop should not have descended into the chaos that this particular one did.

Not every conversation needs to be turned into an ADVANCE meeting— talking about racial profiling at Rice probably is not very appropriate at a MATH 101 recitation. But for the Princeton Review ranking to be accurate, we need to stray from this “Oops, I didn’t mean to talk about diversity,” attitude currently present at Rice.

We should be pleased that Rice has received such a positive ranking, but we should not take it at more than its face value. Yes, the ranking is accurate in some respects, but issues and recent events on campus indicate that it is not entirely deserved. Now that we have an atmosphere of diversity that is good enough for the admissions office, it is time to honestly and respectfully address issues for the rest of campus.

Stephanie Jenningss is a Sid Richardson College junior.

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