Diveristy Is Nothing Without Inclusiveness

By Brooke Lederer

I see their tables with their multi-abbreviated labels as I rush through Driscol. BSA, ASA, GSA, LSA, NSA, CME. Advertising different events to promote this thing we like to call “diversity” on campus. Diversity: the state or fact of being diverse; difference; unlikeness. Something the University of Denver's Diversity Statement states it is committed to “by including and integrating individuals who represent different groups as defined by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, age, disability, national origin and religion”.

But what does this incisiveness mean? The school works on getting students of diverse backgrounds and ideas to attend the school in the first place. According to DU Student Profiles, at DU 15.6 percent of our undergraduate students are of color and 6.1 percent are international. We represent 51 different countries, 50 states, and the District of Columbia. The University of Denver even awards those who have made differences in their communities with scholarships such as the Puksta. These are all important things, but numbers can't speak to the emotions that are triggered when I think about diversity, or lack there of, at our school.

Once on campus, we have numerable student alliances, the Center For Multicultural Excellence, and our Undergraduate Student Government with its own Diversity Committee dedicated to making campus an inclusive environment for all. Due to these diversity initiatives, it has been said that DU is leading the nation in striving to create a diverse campus environment. These student organizations help many minorities find their niche within the university. They host great events to address minority issues. Just last week I attended the fabulous GLBTQIA 5^th Annual Gala Celebration themed “go gaga” which was hosted by CME. The event applauded those on campus who have been active members of this community and who have supported those who identify with any of these sexual orientations. These events have created a community of members from different diversity groups who support each other in addressing all kinds of social justice issues. But these are meetings and events where the same people seem to show up week after week. In this way, our supposed commitment to diversity conflicts with how many people on campus actually work towards acceptance and respect.

Diversity: A point or respect in which things differ. Some would say, “can't we just agree to disagree?” But I'm tired of hearing racist jokes as I pass through the halls to my room. DU's Diversity Statement notes that, “in order to achieve our goals, we must create a campus climate with an ethos of respect, understanding and appreciation of individual and group differences.” DU says it promotes diversity and inclusiveness, but I don't see it in the “average” DU student. One might say that if you don't see this diversity then you can't just sit around, but you must get off your ass and go looking for it. You must make the effort to go to the events hosted by these organizations and even become an active member. But I don't want a campus where I have to search for those who believe in acceptance.

Our Diversity Statement also says that “by achieving and maintaining a multicultural constituency of administrators, faculty, students and staff, an institution successfully connects with the demographic reality of society.” And I am seeing the realities of society. You have these groups who are awesome in passion but small in numbers working to make a positive change, but in reality you will always encounter the racist bone heads who go so far as to say things like, “it says in the bible that colored people should be enslaved” and others saying, “I don't like slavery, not because it was bad, but because it brought black people out of Africa.” What. The. Fuck. These unacceptable comments haunt me as I walk to class and they don't even represent my own racial group. And maybe that is reality, because some are just too ignorant to see how this effects our whole DU community, not just those of minority groups. I feel hurt by these comments, but mostly I feel ashamed. I'm embarrassed to admit that people I know and hang out with can make these off handed comments without breaking a sweat. And it's one thing to joke, but it goes to far and it's simply unacceptable .

So I pose the question, what can we do? Obviously there are already all kinds of organizations to get involved in, but how do we reach our community as a whole? How do we address the students who don't give a shit? How do we show that diversity and inclusiveness really do matter? I posed these questions to a couple members of the Social Justice Living and Learning community. One girl commented that “If there was some way to get everyone involved, to get people to intermingle and interact with other students outside of their “bubble” or their personal group, then people would make a more diverse group of friends.” She mentioned that this goes for minority groups too because these groups tend to stick together and then they aren't really contributing or mingling with other students. It definitely goes beyond simply, “hanging out” with diverse people, but this can be a necessary step towards learning to accept each other and what we can learn from one another.

One of the first steps towards solving this issue is simply having conversations where we can brainstorm how to address diversity and inclusiveness. Because these issues impact all of our lives, we cannot simply rely on few organizations to make our campus more inclusive. It is an issue that involves how we all treat each other and therefore, we all need to be involved in the solution.