This small soapbox rant is in no way an attack on the majority. Its sole purpose is to portray the situation as it exists in our state.

A lot of people like to talk about diversity. They like to assume that because they are intelligent; they can adequately account for the experiences and needs of those unlike them. I am here to say that these people are dellusional. When we celebrate diversity, we do not just celebrate the existance of those unlike us, we celebrate their contributions to our world. We celebrate their unique life stories and, in some cases, their unique struggle just to reach a college campus.

We all like to think that we know what goes on in the house of others, but we do not and often cannot. We might have a loose idea of the alcoholism or the dropout rates on Native American reservations, for example, but unless we live it, our claims of solidarity ring hollow. We can analyze and study as much as we want about the experiences of others, but unless we feel the tribulations of those who are different first-hand, we will only have a peripheral knowledge.

Through experience comes understanding, and it is this experience and understanding forged by the trials of everyday life that is at the center of diversity. When we celebrate diversity, we celebrate a people's history, their heritage, their customs and people themselves. We celebrate and share until we can no longer parition our heritage by ethnic or socioeconomic lines. This is the only way that we give true justice to the history of our university, our state, and our nation.

Tonight, I lobbied for a Resolution to the Student Government Association calling for the replacement of the current USD Alma Mater with one more reflective of this institution's history and the collective history of its students, faculty and staff. It was neutered by the Internal Affairs Committee. What occured today was a disgrace; and for anyone to claim the resolution that passed the SGA was a call for diversity would be a disservice to both the term and the ideas reflected by it. What passed today was an attempt to limp along with a campus-wide initiative to increase the diversity. At best, it was an attempt to say much, but ultimately do nothing. So for every Senator who voted for the resolution and SGA president Ryan Budmayr, I will simply say that I believe the resolution passed by your organisation was akin to all of you enthusiastically waving the vestial remenants of your personal conviction and multiculturalism and hoping beyond hope that it is enough of an effort to excuse you for your ignorance. It is not.

I do not pretend that I have either ability or merit to lecture you about the experiences of those different than myself, but I will say that I try my hardest to allow for the expression and exchange of all our personal and ethnic histories. I believe that this exchange leads to the discourse that begets change. And from where I stand, that effort is either beyond your convictions or beyond your capabilities.

Xiao Xi Zhang