The Meaning of Diversity
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
I don't pretend to understand what a non-caucasian person's life is like, because I've always been caucasian. That won't change anytime soon. But how Rhino and some others perceive the Alma Mater song, a beautiful old tribute to South Dakota and the pioneer spirit, to be racist or whatever is a mystery to me.
Do you want the song to actually name each and every racial group that has attended USD? African American, Asian American, Pacific Islander, Inuit, Cherokee, Sioux, Lakotah, Caucasian, the list goes on, of course. The author will have a hell of a time rhyming.
All joking aside, what would be a more proper song? What kinds of things should we demand that it mention? Just how should we write our school song?
Additionally, why must we ascribe a color to pioneer spirit? The song is about working hard ("follow the trail to the west") and the beauty of the South Dakota landscape, not color. not race.
Moreover, you assume "diversity" to mean only racial diversity. I think it should mean intellectual diversity- people of all backgrounds and cultures. Naturally, that necessarily includes a measure of racial diversity, but through intellectual diversity, we are not using race as a proxy for beliefs, culture, and background. To do that is racist in itself.
If we were indeed striving toward a colorblind society, we shouldn't dwell on race- either positively or negatively.
I believe that the song is a wonderful piece of history that is not offensive or racist at all and should not be relegated to the wastebasket.
Posted by Matt Hittle on December 10, 2008 at 09:04 AM CST #
I just posted a comment that was marked as spam because it had over 1,000 characters. Could you please post it if you've got the power to?
Posted by Matt Hittle on December 10, 2008 at 09:05 AM CST #
I'm intrigued, but is there somewhere I can read more about this specific resolution?
Posted by Matt Burton-Kelly on December 10, 2008 at 10:52 AM CST #
Matt, the problem with the song lies mainly in its interpretation of history. A lot of our student body has no connection to the pioneer spirit mentioned in the song. For some, such as our native American students, their version of events are quite different than those presented by the Alma Mater. It's not that we do not want to recognize the mainstream history of the state, but that I think a multicultural version has much more merit.
What I mean by diversity is the diversity of both heritage and ideas. The problem with the resolution passed was that it supports neither. I'd be happy to explain it further, but I tend to do a better job of it on a face to face basis.
Matt B-K - I have a copy of the original and the revise resolutions. I would be happy to send both to you.
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