Bowen and Bok did not explore dating patterns, but a 1997 Gallup poll found that 57 percent of teenagers who dated reported having gone out with someone of another race or ethnic group. The black-white line is obviously the hardest to cross, and yet 17 percent of white teens say they have dated a black, while 44 percent of young blacks have dated a white. Anderson and Patterson may be too optimistic. The need to have a variety of voices on campus has been a major argument for racial preferences in higher education. Surely the point extends to other groups as well.
Colleges appear quite indifferent to social-class diversity.
They never seem concerned about a political or religious mix one that includes Evangelicals and Libertarians as well as Catholics and Republicans. And, in fact, both Tufts and Middlebury have been forced in recent months to confront the question of just how much diversity of viewpoint they want to tolerate on their campuses. It s the beginning of a healthy debate. Diversity is important, everyone agrees. These remain unresolved issues.