What is diversity? Why is it important?
Diversity is an important part of the world with many topics ranging from religion to political views, culture, clothing style, talents, hobbies, you name it! The United States is more or less the melting pot of the world for cultural backgrounds. As citizens and as international students, we must wake up and start paying attention. The more we learn about others, the more compassion and understanding we can exhibit toward customers, co-workers, patients, students, friends, family, and others we interact with daily.
Have you ever stood around a party or sat in the lecture halls of Woodcrest and observed the attendees? Hair color, clothing attire and or accessories, makeup or the lack thereof, up to and including which organization they are involved in? Perhaps even their presented sexuality or cultural backgrounds?
If you haven’t, perhaps you should.
Of course, most people nowadays are ignorant of the differences in those around them because the more recent generations have tried to remove focus from differences and teach acceptance to all. However, even though I agree with this sentiment, that all walks of life are welcome and people should not be judged solely on something like their skin color or their religious preferences, I feel it is still important that, as human beings, we should all at least acknowledge the individuality in those around us.
I have traveled across the United States and have seen many walks of life from region to region. I have experienced the difference in cultures from one corner to the other. For example, most Southerners in the United States tend to act more friendly in public. They will hold doors open, pull over to offer help if they see you broken down on the side of the road, and offer you a drink if you come to fix their cable issue. On the other hand, I have also visited or lived in some areas in other regions that feel less safe to pull over and offer help, much less walk outside in the dark without a weapon for self-defense.
Diversity in college or the town in which it is located is just as important to acknowledge. Large colleges like Woodcrest University, which provide Ivy League education, attract students from all over the country, if not the world. Not only is the student population diverse, but you have the locals who run businesses and University staff who may have never left the town their entire lives. What happens when we mix these individuals? We either have an ignorant recipe for disaster due to refusal to understand, or we have a softer, more accepting atmosphere because we decide to accept those different than us.
This column will introduce many areas of diversity. I believe that by having the resources and patience to educate ourselves, we as a community, can make Woodcrest inclusive, accepting, and fun. Let’s learn to love and forget how to hate together.