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- Title
THE BIG PICTURE OF CAMPUS DIVERSITY.
- Authors
Chang, Mitchell J.
- Abstract
The article focuses on how colleges and universities fumble with issues related to diversity. Although virtually all campuses are sincerely interested in addressing changes associated with shifts in their racial and ethnic composition, they frequently pursue this endeavor and related interests with uncharacteristic naivete. It seems that campus diversity policies are driven by incidents of racial antipathy, student protest, faculty unrest, or failed leadership, rather than by a core institutional mission or commitment to diversity. Policies designed to overcome diversity may temporarily appease the malcontents, but they rarely have the desired long-term impact. These desperate efforts are doomed because those who are under the gun to respond to a particular crisis often fail to see the bigger picture. Until recently, not understanding the bigger picture was a weak but reasonable excuse. After all, the widespread participation of students of color in all levels of higher education is a relatively recent phenomenon and subsequently a new area of research. Moreover, researchers had previously been better at describing the problems related to this complex shift than at offering practical solutions. Today, however, failing to conceptualize and apply campus diversity efforts more broadly not only is inexcusable, but may even be irresponsible. A few recent publications now provide us with both a conceptual and a practical handle for addressing diversity-related issues that were once thought to be too complex or explosive.
- Subjects
EDUCATION; UNIVERSITIES &; colleges; STUDENTS; RACISM; RACIAL &; ethnic attitudes
- Publication
About Campus, 2000, Vol 5, Issue 5, p30
- ISSN
1086-4822
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1177/108648220000500508