Forget Diversity and Hit the Books
I’ve always thought it was strange that minority students pontificate about the so-called value of admitting more people “of color” into colleges and universities for the sake of diversity, but separate themselves into racial “ghettos” as soon as they get there.
Why the separation? Of course, people tend to self-segregate. It’s human nature. But shouldn’t we at least try to rise above our nature and make an effort to be inclusive? Not only would this foster good will and cooperation, in my view, it might improve academic performances all around.
Apparently, such an attitude does improve performances, at least for minority students. The Manhattan Institute’s Heather Mac Donald wrote about a study that posits the same idea. According to the study, published recently in the Journal of College Student Development, participating in so-called diversity functions involving racially segregated groups like MEChA negatively affects the grades of Hispanic science majors. Their grades are significantly lower than Hispanic students who don’t involve themselves with such groups.
What’s going on? According to the study, participating in these race-focused groups separates students from the kind of values it takes to succeed in science. “White” values, such as discipline and persistence, take a back seat to shared values of the group. Obviously, those values don’t foster academic success.
These results don’t bode well for the future, says Mac Donald. Hispanics are projected to be a majority by 2040. The number of Hispanics enrolled in college will double by 2023. Not many will graduate from schools of science and engineering. This demographic shift will affect our country’s technological competitiveness.
Mac Donald suggests schools close every race-focused organization and “turn it into mandated study hall.”
Back to human nature. It’s probably more satisfying for some people to join such groups and complain about perceived racism and persecution than it is to focus on the hard work of studying and performing.
