Diversity is more than ethnicity
I think we can all agree that the incident at the crops house was unfortunate, but is anyone else getting tired of the suddenly overblown emphasis on diversity? Don’t get me wrong, I believe that skin color has absolutely no relation to a person’s individual value or qualifications to attend Cal Poly. And that’s exactly my point. If all people are truly equal, why does it matter how many minorities students attend Cal Poly? Is there a magic percentage of whites to Hispanics to African Americans?
In “Being black on a white campus,” our own associate director of admissions states “everyone has to compete on the same playing field. it’s horrible but we cannot break the law.” Did anyone else read this and scratch their head? What’s wrong with the university subjecting all applicants to the same review? Isn’t giving “preferential treatment to women or unrepresented groups” a form of discrimination against non-minority students? Cal Poly isn’t purposely rejecting applicants because of their ethnicity. The two reasons we are a predominantly white campus are few minorities apply, and it just so happens that many minorities are less qualified academically than other applicants.
Personally, I believe that trying to fabricate diversity is further entrenching the problem. We are focusing too hard on pointing out that every race represented on campus is different yet equal, when we should be focusing on the fact that every single student, completely ignoring race, is unique. “Diversity is more than ethnicity,” the article concludes, and I couldn’t agree more.
Michael Berry, mechanical engineering sophomore
Protests don’t prove Prop 8 will be overturned; majority rules
Gale McNeeley’s arguments struck me as absurd. Consider this quote: “It is only a matter of time and hard work on the part of those who understand what truly is at stake to win equality for all.” This opinion does not contain any decent base for argument. It implies that her opponents are imbeciles, and that there is no opposition to her opinion!
Gale “knows” that Prop 8 will be overturned: “100 people who assembled at the corner of Main and Broadway.” This logic follows that lots of people want 8 overturned, therefore it should be overturned. The majority of voters in California voted for 8; 100 protesters is rather meaningless.
The next point Gale makes is not a point, but rather an appeal to diversity. She claims that a diverse group of people are against Prop 8. Her argument is that 8 must be bad if a “diverse” group dislikes it. Actually, minorities largely voted in favor of 8, with an estimated 70 percent of black Californians supporting 8. Only 45 percent of whites voted yes.
Gale asserts: “We are all equal!” Screaming trite slogans is not a respectable argument. Finally, do not compare Prop 8 to segregation and racial rights: they are separate matters. Discriminating against race is wrong, because everyone is born different. No one is born gay; sexuality is a social decision. Since race is established at birth and sexuality is a choice, the two can’t be compared freely.
Aaron Baldwin; electrical engineering sophomore