Red and Yellow, Black and White: why should we care about diversity?
By Cynthia
Machamer
"Red and
yellow, black and white, we are precious in His sight. Jesus
loves the little children of the world." When talking about
diversity, there's more to the issue than skin color. While this
tune is too simplistic to represent all that encompasses diversity,
it does remind us that skin color does not matter to God. We need
to have a heart like God's. When did we begin to exclude those
who look different from us? Those whose world view does not align
with our own? When did we put away, like winter boots in spring,
the simple truths we learned early in our religious education?
Ultimately, one must examine her own heart and be willing to peer
into the dark crevices.
Who
cares?
So what are we to do? To say we do not
have diversity at Saint Mary's is a true statement. All
you have to do is step foot on campus one day, any day, and see for
yourself. To say we do not have heart is a false statement. The College
is full of faculty, staff, and students who have big hearts, hearts
full of the message of the transforming truths of the Catholic Church.
The College is full of people who want to throw wide the doors to
offer success to all women.
In this space it is unproductive to ponder the mysteries of why we
are not a diverse campus.
This article isn't even about all that has been done in these efforts.
It's about a philosophical
rationale for the very reasons we should care about diversity.
Saint
Mary's statement of philosophy and purpose proclaims that "in
order to offer the richest
educational experience possible, the College strives to
bring together women of different nations, cultures, and races." The
College seeks to nurture "awareness
and compassion for a troubled world" and prepare women
for "roles of leadership and action
in the worlds of work, church, community, and family." And
so the College continues to strive to reach this ideal.
Unfortunately, multicultural and international students
represent only about 10 percent* of the
student body.
"Saint Mary's has some intellectual and political
diversity but in social and ethnic terms is
the least diverse environment I have experienced since high
school," said
Marc Belanger,
assistant professor of political science.
Patrick White, vice president and dean of the faculty,
believes that all faculty and students ask
a fundamental question: "Is this a place where I can not only
be successful but also truly thrive and
grow?"
"Diversity is bigger than Saint Mary's and something
that the country as a whole has been
concerned with," said Terri Johnson, director of the Office
of Multicultural Affairs. Many
believe this lack of diversity could affect the future of Saint Mary's
College. "If
we don't diversify, we won't exist in 25 years because of changing
demographic realities," said
Belanger.
President Mooney
believes we need diversity because "this
is a community dedicated to
learning. Learning is enhanced by the presence
of different voices." She
goes on to say that Saint Mary's can be an excellent
academic community "only
when the discourse of the community is lively and
intense, only when the community itself is transformed by the experiences
of its varied members."
Driven
to mission
The fundamental question in this discourse
about the topic of diversity drives us to our
mission, our Catholic heritage. "A pioneer in the education
of women, the College is an academic community
where women develop their talents and prepare to make a difference
in the world. Founded by the Sisters of the Holy Cross in 1844,
Saint Mary's promotes a life of intellectual vigor, aesthetic
appreciation, religious sensibility, and social responsibility.
All members of the College remain faithful to this mission
and continually assess their response to the complex needs
and challenges of the contemporary world."
The Catholic
Church believes that all people are created in God's image and
are called to
unity with Him. Naturally flowing from this belief is respect for
all people and service to all
people. A commitment to diversity is intrinsic to who we are as
a Catholic college.
The contemporary world is a place made up of many people who have
a diverse ethnic,
social, and religious tapestry. "We should be concerned [about
diversity] because our mission is to teach
young women, and this is a much more difficult learning environment
for women who have learning disabilities or are not white, Catholic,
upper middle class, or heterosexual," said Belanger. "We
should also be concerned because Saint Mary's does not represent
the world our students will live and work in."
Susan Eyerly
Pichler '61, who was a member of the board of trustees from 1999-2005,
said, "If the College does not demonstrate sufficient ethnic
diversity in its student body, faculty,
administration, staff, and trustees, it presents a picture
of exclusivity that is not intended, but will be so perceived." Beyond that
she says "everyone benefits
by living and learning and working in an
environment that is more representative of our contemporary world.
Prospective
students, particularly African American and Latina women as the two largest
minority groups who might consider a Catholic women's college,
should see right away that Saint Mary's is a place where they can
be comfortable."
White believes "the College cannot fulfill
our best imagination of who we are as a college
unless we become more diverse, unless more
and more students and faculty of color see
in Saint Mary's a place where they can thrive and a world they can shape."
Great
minds, great ideas
Diversity has
been a topic of conversation at the College for a long time. The
establishment of
the Office of Multicultural Affairs and the Center for
Women's InterCultural Leadership (CWIL) in 2000 were great strides
forward. With this said, the College still has a long road ahead.
The Diversity Task Force was formed in 2001 as part
of the strategic plan. It is not a standing
committee and does not retain any official status. It was created
to make recommendations that would be part of the strategic
plan, and its task ended officially in March 2005, when the
committee turned in its report to President Mooney.
Made up of 19
faculty–Professor
Belanger was the chair–staff,
and students, the task force
looked at ways to infuse the curriculum
with diversity, increase enrollment of
historically
underrepresented students, including international students, and
how to increase the number of faculty and staff of
diverse backgrounds.
Envisioning
a larger future
Where does the
College go from here? President Mooney said she and Daniel Meyer,
the new vice president for enrollment management, "will be
working together to establish ambitious
yet realistic goals for the future." She
said as far as curriculum is
concerned, she will work with the General Education
Committee to address this issue.
White, who heads
this committee, believes that while progress is slow–the College
has been
working on becoming more diverse for years, even
before the formation of a task force–"we
make fundamental leaps forward, as with the establishment of CWIL...We
must realize our
successes and build on accomplishments. Diversity
advances in the area of curriculum, faculty, and students are all
interlinked, and progress happens on many levels: individual faculty,
departments and programs, and the largest initiatives of the College."
Johnson believes in order for the College to succeed in its efforts,
– "we
need to be honest,
open, and work as a team without
blame and shame, but with the goal
of truly having a climate where all people can find comfort in a learning and
engaging educational environment."
"The College community
already has a strong desire to do the right thing," said Pichler. "A
lot of good things are happening
at Saint Mary's. Student government
works hard at promoting a welcoming campus environment. CWIL brings a variety
of speakers and events to campus to focus and offer a diversity of
thought on national and international issues." She
says President Mooney brings
a new energy to the task. "It is easier said than done," said
Pichler, "but the will
is there.
One hurdle will
be to set a timetable for
specific goals; another
will be to raise dollars for more
financial aid. I am confident
that administration and
faculty will get it right,
the board of trustees will support them, and that all who love Saint
Mary's will help achieve the goals."
"The biggest hurdle I see is the lack of experience of the faculty
and staff in working in a
diverse environment," said Belanger. "Diversification
will require institutional transformation,
and that will be a painful
process."
Will you join
the chorus?
Red and yellow,
black and white, we are all precious in God's sight.
Even though this little
chorus falls far short in recognizing all that goes into the discussion
of diversity, it is useful to help us realize
that only when we see the benefits of many voices, many backgrounds, and many
experiences can we move from rhetoric to action. Now could be the time
for Saint Mary's. I'm singing the song. There are many faculty,
staff, students, and alumnae singing with me. Will you join the chorus?
*from
Saint Mary's Fact Book
Cynthia Machamer is editor of Courier.
