To be perfectly honest, these numbers are not that good, but they are not that bad either. It comes as a surprise to most of the people I consulted when I told them that over 30 percent of the student body are people of color. Knowing the racial makeup of the university is only one small part of its diversity. That is where last weeks article, and most discussions of diversity, go astray. Diversity encompasses a variety of aspects such as gender, age, nationality, political opinion, social-economic class, sexuality and disability in addition to race.
Multiculturalism is broader than ethnicity.
While USD has a majority of female students and is making progress in the area of racial diversity, it is clearly lacking in other areas of diversity. The disabled population here is tiny. Nontraditional age students often stick out in classrooms. Democrats are practically persecuted. Gay and lesbian students are emerging, but still fearful of making their presence known on campus.